HOMILY FOR LOURDES DAY MASS FOR THE ORDER OF MALTA – St. Mary’s Cathedral

HOMILY FOR LOURDES DAY MASS FOR THE ORDER OF MALTA
St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 2 December 2017

On the centenary of the apparitions at Lourdes, Pope Pius XII published his encyclical Le Pelegrinage de Lourdes from which I would like to quote a few lines:

To a society which in its public life often contests the divine plan, to a culture which would gain the whole world at the expense of its own soul and hasten to its own destruction, the Virgin Mother cries out in alarm…

Ministers of the Word of God should, with supernatural confidence, point out to souls the narrow road that leads to life. They will do this without forgetting the spirit of kindness and patience which they profess, but also without concealing anything of the Gospel’s demands. In the school of Mary they will learn… to give Christ to the world… to await with faith the hour of Jesus and to remain at the foot of the Cross…

Wherever providence has placed a [person], there is always more to be done for God’s cause… Professional and civic affairs offer a vast field of action for Christians who desire to work for the renewal of society… Christians of every class and every nation must try to be of one mind in truth and charity, and to banish misunderstanding and suspicion… No reform can bear fruit, no agreement can be lasting, without a conversion and cleansing of heart…

In the School of Mary, then, people of all sorts find their identity, mission and consolation. But, the Pontiff continued:

Mary looks upon some of her children with a preferential love:… the lowly, the poor, and the afflicted… “Come to me, all you who labour and are over-burdened, and I will give you rest,” she seems to say along with her divine Son. Fly to her, then, you who are crushed by material misery, defenceless against the hardships of life and the indifference of men. Dash to her, you who are assailed by sorrows and moral trials. Hurry to her, beloved invalids and infirm, you who are sincerely welcomed and honoured at Lourdes as the suffering members of our Lord. Go to her and receive peace of heart, strength for your daily duties, joy for the sacrifice you offer. ^(49-57)

At this Special Mass for Our Lady of Lourdes, in the weeks before the 160th anniversary of the apparitions, and in company with more than eight centuries of care for the poor and sick by the Hospitaller Knights of St. John, we naturally turn to Our Lady, honoured in our Order as the Virgin of Philerme. It is interesting how the Pope describes that flight to Mary’s arms: it is as “suffering members” or limbs of our Lord. In Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ, the Lord falls in front of his Blessed Mother on the Via Dolorosa, and we flash back to a time when, as a boy, he fell and hurt his knee and his mother rushed to kiss and care for him. The sick, Lourdes tells us, are Christ’s hurting limbs, his members, his bruised knee, and when they come to Mary it is as trusting children seeking parental care.

Pope Pius pointed out that it was not just the sick who fly to her but people of all stations and in every kind of need. Two groups he mentions who should fly to her protection are “those defenceless against the hardships of life and the indifference of men” and those “assailed by moral trials”.

The first includes the unborn, the sick, the handicapped, the elderly and the dying – those most defenceless against the hardships of life and indifference of men. Lourdes tells us by its malades and its miracles of the dignity of the human person, however damaged, at however low an ebb. Lourdes says ostensively what our academics say by their research and our pastors by their teaching: that euthanasia and so-called ‘voluntary assisted dying’ make the vulnerable even more vulnerable and the suffering suffer even more. Only two weeks ago a euthanasia bill was defeated in the NSW parliament, which is consoling, but it was by the narrowest of margins which is alarming. More alarming still, it is to be legalised South of the border – the first state-sanctioned killing since capital punishment was abolished in Victoria in 1975.

Behind these threats to life are, in the Pope Pius’ words, “those assailed by sorrows and moral trials”: those with unwanted pregnancy, with handicaps, with chronic disease or terminal illness… all occasions of profound suffering and moral trial. The Premier of Victoria crowed triumphantly that he had won for his terminally ill citizens “compassion and control”. Yet as long ago as Pope Pius’ own discourses on care for the dying, upon which St John Paul II built in Evangelium Vitæ, this was exposed for the false freedom and false mercy that it is. Ours must be a control that receives and resigns, endures and serves, ours a compassion that stands by and invests us in care and prayer. Ours must be a control that defends the weak and a compassion that palliates the pained, but never dreams of ‘terminating’ anyone. Even as we recognise moral complexity and share in moral trial, we bring the lights of faith and reason to find more positive responses to suffering than killing the suffering person.

TThe Australian Association of the Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta is dedicated to that wisdom and love which ‘chose us before the world was made,’ as St. Paul writes ^{(Eph 1:3-6)}. It is dedicated to imaging God’s unconditional love for every human being whatever their suffering or struggles. Theirs is the way of the Good Samaritan, always ready to bandage and pour liniments, to transport and find accommodation and care. Theirs is the way of the Blessed Virgin of Philerme who in our Gospel rushes to the help of others ^{(Lk 1:26-38)}, just as others instinctively fly to her intercession.

Such undivided attention to those in need, informed by, proclaiming and defending the Catholic faith, is the hallmark of the ancient Order of Malta and its collaborators. Such Marian self-forgetfulness in response to need and such Marian faith in response to God’s word are precisely what are needed.

Your work, my dear confreres, consouers and collaborators, is then a work of Mary, and especially a work of Lourdes, being the place where the sick and suffering and their carers may flee, not just for healing and protection, but for relieving compassion and serving control. By the Virgin’s grace and your labours I pray that the next time it is proposed in this state that we allow the killing of our most vulnerable people, it is rejected not just by one vote but unanimously! Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

INTRODUCTION TO LOURDES DAY MASS FOR THE ORDER OF MALTA
St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 2 December 2017

Welcome to today’s special Lourdes Day Mass for the Australian Association of the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta. I acknowledge the presence of the Magistral Chaplains of the Order: the Vicar-General of the Archdiocese of Sydney, Very Rev. Gerry Gleeson, with Msgrs Tony Doherty and Vince Redden. To all the Knights and Dames of the Order of Malta, my confreres and consouers, all volunteers and friends of the Association, of the Venerable Order of St John and of St John’s Ambulance, a warm welcome. Above all I welcome our lords the poor and sick, especially the malades who have come today to be blessed.