HOMILY WEEK 13 05 – YR II

Forgiven, Healed, Merciful – St. Maria Goretti

(Amos 8:4-6, 9-12; Ps 119; Mt 9:9-13)

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“No one lives by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” and “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”

These two sentences from the readings today frame a powerful message for us centered on Matthew: Listen to the Word, repent, heal and be merciful. This message actually became a mantra for my prayer time – Forgiven, Healed, Merciful – seven syllables that coincide readily with breathing in and out.

That was Matthew’s experience. A tax collector, his job was to collude with the Roman occupiers of his land, collect taxes from the people, add his commission to the amount (the Roman governor probably didn’t care how much or how unjust that amount might be), keep what was his and turn the rest over to the government. It was a system ripe for abuse and corruption, and Matthew was implicit in that system.

Then his life changed. Matthew heard Jesus call his name and invite him to follow. For some reason, that call penetrated Matthew’s hard shell. I believe it was the shock of being accepted as he was and forgiven all the sins he had committed that was conveyed to him by the voice of Jesus that day. This should not surprise us, as being forgiven seems to be the preferred criteria God uses in choosing spiritual leaders – from Moses to David in the Old Testament, to Peter and Paul, and for that matter, all the apostles in the New.

The next effect was transformation, healing, a change of life. Certainly, Matthew left all his devious, crooked ways behind, was healed of his greed and selfishness, and became a follower of Jesus. What we can be very grateful about is his experience of mercy from Jesus led him to be merciful in turn. It is Matthew who more than any other author in the New Testament teaches the importance of both forgiving and apologizing, of being merciful and opening ourselves up to receiving mercy from others.

In Matthew 18:15-23, he has Jesus teaching us how to forgive as well as how often to forgive and be merciful, and in Matthew 5:23, he has Jesus teaching us the importance of being reconciled with others, even leaving worship to do that when we realize someone may have a grudge against us.

With the statement desiring mercy more than sacrifice, certainly Jesus is much more interested in our attempts at reconciliation wherever it is needed, than in any amount of prayers or fasting or other sacrifices we might make trying to please him.

The first reading in its own way underlines the importance of listening to and living the word of God. The prophet Amos continues to berate his fellow Israelites for their infidelity and ignoring the Word of God, the commandments of the Covenant or Law they were given by Moses – which in his own time is what Matthew was all about as well. Amos has an interesting way of portraying the consequences of that infidelity as a drought not of water, but of the Word of God. It is as if they had no use for the Word, so the Word will now be of no use to them – they won’t even be able to find it!

The psalm response underlines the importance of being attentive to God’s Word: “No one lives by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” This psalm 119 contains within every stanza one or more references to the law or Word of God, except for one (as nothing is perfect in this life). The three verses today mention decrees, commands, ordinances and precepts.

The story of St. Maria Goretti, whom we honor today, and that of her mother is one of mercy and forgiveness. Maria was third of seven children in a poor family in the province of Ancona, Italy. Her father died in 1900 when she was ten. When Maria was twelve, she rebuffed the sexual advances of an eighteen-year old neighbor, Allesandro, who threatened to kill her if she did not submit to him. Enraged by Maria’s refusal, he stabbed her fourteen times. She was taken to a hospital seven-miles away on a horse drawn ambulance with her entrails hanging out, operated on for two hours and lived for twenty-four hours. She became a Child of Mary, was anointed, received communion and forgave her murderer. She died in the afternoon of July 6, 1902. Alessandro was almost lynched, tried and sentenced to thirty years hard labor. He was cynical and defiant for the first seven years, but then repented, with dreams of her figuring largely in his conversion. After his release in 1928, he sought – and received – forgiveness from Maria’s mother. Maria was beatified in 1927. Alessandro and Maria’s mother received Communion side by side on Christmas day 1937 and spent Christmas together. Pope Pius XII canonized Maria in 1950 for her defense of Christian virtue. Her mother was present at the ceremony, a first. Alessandro spent the last years of his life in a Capuchin monastery. He died in 1970.

The Eucharist brings into play all the elements of these readings – word, forgiveness, transformation and mercy. We ponder the Word of God, experience God’s mercy as forgiveness and healing, and are missioned to go out and be merciful in turn, like Matthew.