Word to the Wise
Friday, February 3, 2023 - Friday in the 4th Week in Ordinary Time
[Heb 13:1-8 and Mark 6:14-29]Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. [Mark 6:14-29]
I often challenge a penitent in the Sacrament of Reconciliation to consider the phrase, "Am I living the way I want people to remember me?" That is not simply a challenge to someone else, but a continual challenge to me as well. It is a challenge not simply to my own way of living my vocation, but also to remember with gratitude those who were most influential in my life and shaped the way I go about living my vocation. The phrase from the Letter to the Hebrews, quoted above, "Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you..." means more to me than pulpit preaching or classroom teaching. It also means suggestions or directions that have come from spiritual directors or caring friends. I have in mind a Dominican friar who was one of my philosophy professors.
I entered religious life in 1964, during and in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. It is difficult to explain to those who enter the Order now the combination of excitement and uncertainty that permeated every day of religious life at that time. Coming from a legal background, I saw obedience in that way and dreaded the kind of "anarchy" I saw around me. I wondered if I belonged in religious life. I reached out to this professor, Fr. Bill Crilly, O.P., because I knew that he was the son of a lawyer. It was he who challenged every presumption or judgment I had made about what was going on around me and taught me to be the best Dominican I could be no matter what circumstances I might find myself in, and not to be distracted by the behavior of others. I took his advice to heart and am still a Dominican friar. [Only two out of our novitiate class of 24 who entered in August of 1964 remain in the Order!] He also nudged me back in the direction of law school (I had a year before entering the Order) and I ultimately received my Juris Doctor degree in 1973, two years after my ordination to the priesthood. I revere Fr. Crilly's memory as a "leader who spoke the word of God" to me. He died of a heart attack at the age of 39!!! I hope that I can be someone who can speak the "word of God" and be remembered for doing that. I pray that the students I have spoken the word of God to over the years can do the same for those who come after them and be remembered in turn with gratitude. AMEN