Today we rejoice because Rosemarie Smead will be ordained as
a Roman Catholic Woman Priest in the first ordination of a woman priest in Louisville,
Kentucky, in St. Andrew United Church of Christ. We are gathering at a new
moment of historical possibilities and challenges in our church.
We pray that Francis, the first Latin American
and first Jesuit pope, who washed the feet of young women and men in a juvenile
detention center, will usher in a new era of justice for all, especially for
those on the margins including women in our church. The news report that Pope Francis
plans to appoint more women to top positions in the Vatican is welcome, indeed!
There is certainly a long list of qualified women, including many nuns and
women priests, who are ready to serve in the renewal and reform of our church.
The Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement is a
justice movement. we claim equal rites to achieve equal rights in our church. We
live prophetic obedience to the spirit, who is calling women today to a renewed
priestly ministry in a community of equals. as a woman priest, Rosemarie is
leading, not leaving the catholic church into a new era of inclusivity, where
all are invited to feast at the banquet table of god’s boundless, abundant
love. As the Irish writer, James Joyce, reminded us, the word catholic means, “here
comes everybody!”
In Luke 13:10-13, Jesus encounters a woman in
the synagogue on the Sabbath who, for 18 years, has been crippled with a
condition that causes her to be bent over, incapable of standing up straight. When
Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “woman, you are free of your
infirmity.” he laid his hands on her, and immediately, she stood up straight
and began thanking God.
When the synagogue leader expressed outrage that
Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, Jesus called the religious leaders hypocrites,
and pointed out that this healing was for a daughter of Abraham and Sarah, who
had suffered for 18 years. So, there are
several take home messages here:
1) Jesus treated women as equals,
2) People have priority over rules and regulations.
3) Sexism in church and society is sinful and should always
be challenged.
4) Our compassionate god lifts up all women bent over by the
burden of patriarchy.
The good news is that the Spirit of God
continues to set us free today to live gospel equality and partnership.
The institutional church has tried to keep women
bent over when it refuses to recognize their call to the priesthood. No longer will we tolerate the Vatican’s
practice of sexism, which is rooted in the misogynist attitude of church
fathers like Tertullian who once said that women are the “gateway to the devil”
and Thomas Acquinas who defined woman as a “defective male.”
Now, in the 21st century, women are
silent and invisible and subordinate no more!
If women priests were partners in decision-making in our church, there
would be some mighty big changes in church teachings like birth control!
According to a 2012 Newsweek interview with catholic
Melinda Gates, 100,000 women annually die in childbirth after unintended
pregnancies and six hundred thousand babies die in the first month of life. A
prolife church must value women’s health and well-being.
During her long professional life, Rosemarie has
worked tirelessly to model Jesus’ healing presence in the lives of women and
girls, and to teach the value of standing up for justice no matter what
challenges they encountered.
Maryknoll Roy Bourgeois, Franciscan Jerry Zawada,
jesuit Bill Brennan, Redemptorist Tony Flannery, the Irish Priests Association,
and the Austrian Priests’ Initiative have endured condemnation and punishment
by the Vatican for their solidarity with the women priests’ movement. but the hierarchy of the Catholic Church cannot
stop justice from rising up in the people of God! In a recent poll in the U.S. 70% of Catholics
support women’s ordination.
In her own words, Rosemarie shared this
inspiring testimony explaining why she chose today’s reading for her
ordination: “this gospel reflects Jesus
telling us to take heart from this woman, ignored and persecuted by the religious
leaders of her time. Be persistent, courageous, and keep your mind open to the
spirit of God, blowing the winds of change in our church. Be part of the movement forward in the
eternal dance of love, toward the kin-dom of the unity of us all.”
Our women priests start a new inclusive catholic
community in their home areas, that honors the gifts of God in the people of God,
bringing a renewal and reforming presence to enliven our beloved church. our women priests from Lexington, Janice Sevre-Duszynska
and Donna Rougeux, are assisting Rosemarie with this new church community
started here in Louisville. it is called
“Christ-Sophia Inclusive Catholic Community.”
You are all warmly welcome to celebrate the sacraments as God’s
embracing extravagant love for all in our midst.
The bible uses feminine imagery to describe
God who is beyond all names and images. This is one of the church’s best-kept
secrets! The books of Wisdom and Proverbs
use feminine imagery to describe divine wisdom. the Greek word for wisdom is Sophia
and is always personified as a woman. Our first reading is from the book of
wisdom and refers to the holy one as she.
The New Testatment identifies Christ with the wisdom of god. “…to those who are called… Christ is the
power and the wisdom of God.” (1 cor. 1:24)
The connection in scripture is made between the crucified Jesus of Nazareth
and the Cosmic Risen Christ in Christ-Sophia.
In this liturgy today we integrate this powerful image of Christ Sophia
in our prayer and song. Thanks to our
music director, Kathleen Rosenberg, for the beautiful musical mass of Christ Sophia
which she composed.
And now, i would like to share a brief overview
of the Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement. Roman Catholic Women Priests are
ordained in apostolic succession because a male bishop with apostolic
succession and in communion with the pope ordained our first bishops!
In 2002, 7 women were ordained on the Danube. In 2006, 12 women were ordained in the first U.S.
ordination in Pittsburgh. Now there are
approximately 150 in our movement in Europe, U.S. Canada, and Latin America. As
part of an international initiative of the Roman Catholic Women Priests
movement, the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests claims equality as a
human right. Our vision is justice for
all, justice for the poor, justice for women, and justice for women in the
church including ordination.
I believe that on a deep spiritual, mystical
level women priests are beginning a healing process of centuries-old deep
misogyny in which spiritual power was invested exclusively in men. For some, like the Catholic hierarchy, women
priests are a spiritual uprising. For
millions of people, the time has come for a holy shakeup that will bring new
life, creativity and justice to the church and beyond. Let us pray that Pope Francis will join this
holy shakeup!
Amen, Rosemarie, to rocking the boat of Peter
and walking on water with Christ! i guarantee that you are in for quite a
spiritual adventure! Like the woman who was healed in the gospel, we are set
free to work for justice and to live gospel equality and partnership now!
###
Bridget Mary Meehan, D.Min.,
a Sister for Christian Community, was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania on july 31, 2006. She was ordained a bishop on April 19, 2009. Dr.
Meehan is currently dean of the Doctor of Ministry program for Global Ministries
University, and is the author of 20 books, including Living Gospel Equality Now:
Loving in the Heart of God, the Healing Power of Prayer, and Praying with Women
of the Bible. She presides at liturgies
in Mary, Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community in Sarasota, Florida, and
celebrates liturgies with groups in Northern Virginia. Dr. Meehan can be reached at sofiabmm@aol.com and www.arcwp.org
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