THERE IS A TIME FOR EVERYTHING

GIVEN AT THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR HOME FOR THE ELDERLY

January 1, 2024

The shepherds made known the message that had been told them about this child. 

Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

Luke 2:16-21

This gospel passage reminded me of that famous passage from the third chapter of Ecclesiastes that says:

There is an appointed time for everything,

and a time for every affair under the heavens.

A time to give birth, and a time to die;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to rend, and a time to sew;

a time to be silent, and a time to speak.

It is that last line that stood out today to me as I read it – “a time to be silent and a time to speak.”

Think of the Martha and Mary story in the gospel. The shepherds in today's passage were the activists, like Martha, in that passage. They told everyone about what they had been told by the angels. Mary is the contemplative like Martha's sister Mary, who reflected in her heart about what had happened.

“A time to be silent and a time to speak” has been a daily part of my life over the last 54 years especially in preparing and delivering homilies.

I have never been one of those priests who believe that they can just get up and “wing it” without preparation because the “Holy Spirit will give them the right words” as they talk. I don’t believe it, I don’t practice it and I believe it is a terrible abuse of a Scripture passage. If I do not have time to reflect on the readings and prepare a homily, I just tell people that “there will be no homily today” and sit down for a few minutes of silence.

I believe in this practice so much that I have made plans to be buried holding a Lectionary in my hands. Vatican II taught us that the primary role of the priest is to preach. Because of that, the Lectionary has become my primary prayer book. The heart of my spirituality is not so much wrapped up in devotional practices as it is in “reflecting in my heart” like Mary and then “telling people about what I have heard” like the shepherds. “Telling people about what I have heard” from reflecting on the Scriptures is not just about talking from the pulpit. Since I spend so much time “reflecting in my heart” like Mary, I write them out and publish them, like the shepherds, for people to read and re-read in books and on my blog, to hear on retreats and during parish missions. I write them out because some people cannot hear, others cannot understand English all that well and still others want to spend some time, like Mary, “reflecting on them in their hearts.” The secret to writing out a good homily is to develop "an oral writing style" like the news people on TV - a simple direct style with just the right word in just the right place. Most people can not do that on their feet! It takes time. It takes thought. It takes practice. I have been very much influenced by a book by Richard Carl Hoefler (a Lutheran preaching professor), first published in 1978, entitled "Creative Preaching and Oral Writing." 

On a practical level, it would be wise for all of us to be like Mary, before we are like the shepherds. We should think before we speak. As Amy Carmichael said, "Let nothing be said about anyone unless it passes through the three sieves: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?"