Taking up the cross in difficult times

Taking up the cross in difficult times September 13, 2015
This morning I preached this homily at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Savannah.  Part of the homily came from an article I wrote about one year ago about my two priest friends from Aleppo, Father Michel Kayal and Father Antoine Tahan.  When Mass ended, an elderly man dressed as a priest approached me and began thanking me for this homily.  He was a retired Syriac Orthodox Bishop.  It confirmed to me that this homily needed to be preached this morning.
Before starting the Vigil Mass for Palm Sunday two years ago I decided to check the headlines on a Catholic news website.  My heart almost skipped a beat as I read towards the bottom of the page, “Syrian priest kidnapped as war rages on.”

During my time in seminary I became a very close friend of two Syrian seminarians from Aleppo.  Throughout the three years that we studied together in Rome I compared the conditions that awaited me in the United States and those that awaited them in Syria.  Any personal challenge I foresaw was quickly crushed by considering the challenges they would face by returning to Aleppo.  I admired their courage and bravery.  I was returning to a sandbox, they were going to a war zone.

I hesitantly clicked on the headline and to my horror saw a picture of Father Michele Kayal in red vestments.  My heart sank and I shed a few tears.  I immediately emailed my other friend, Antoine, and he responded confirming the sad news.  On February 9th, 2013, Father Kayal and a Greek Orthodox priest were taken off a bus by rebels near Damascus and they were never seen again.

Me with Father Michel as seminarians in 2006

On July 2013 I heard from Father Antoine again.  Aleppo was under siege by rebels making it impossible to leave the city.  Food was scarce and expensive.  Factories lay in ruins.  He described the situation as “truly difficult.”  His greatest fear was that Christians in Syria would imitate Christians in Iraq and leave their homeland.

In mid-2014 while taking some time to rest in Rome, a missile hit his bishop’s residence in Aleppo.  Part of the complex was destroyed, much of it damaged, including my friend’s bedroom.  Father Antoine wrote to me, “for the moment there is no hope because the war is already so long.”

In February of this year his church was bombed and it had to be closed.  My friend now lives with his parents, teaches at a school.

In the midst of all this, Father Antoine continues to serve the many families entrusted to his care.  He does so faithfully and courageously.  Any money he receives he divides among his parishioners; there are now many orphans and widows.

Someone recently asked me regarding my friend, “why doesn’t he stay away?  He goes to Rome occasionally, he goes to Lebanon, why does he return to Aleppo?”

The answer is in today’s Gospel:

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.”

While Saint Paul traveled in Syria centuries ago, he heard the following words from Jesus himself: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”  This led Paul to the realization that those he persecuted were part of the Body of Christ; the same body that was nailed to the cross.

The body of Christ continues to be desecrated and profaned today as Christians are killed for their faith.  A recent figure estimates that 100,000 Christians die each year on account of their faith.  All Christians, as part of the same body, must feel the pain of those suffering tremendously.  Their pain must be ours.  Their sorrow must be ours.  We cannot remain indifferent to the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  They are not just a headline or a statistic; they are one with us in the communion of saints. We must stand in solidarity with the suffering Body of Christ.  If we do not care about the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Christ, then who will?

Persecution is not something new in the Church, but rather, something that has existed from the beginning.  Christ did not present to us a nicely manicured Church, but rather a radical way of life that pricks the world’s conscience – something the world often dislikes.

Responding to the question Jesus poses to his disciples (and to us) has consequences: “Who do you say that I am?”  To believe that Jesus Christ truly is the Son of God who has risen from the dead changes everything.  If this were not the case, why else would the Christians suffering in Syria remain faithful?  They have responded to Jesus’ question with faith and they will not go back on their word.

Today we criticize those who remained silent during the Holocaust… will we be judged for not speaking against the systematic atrocities happening today in Syria?  Four million refugees, eleven million internally displaced people and a Christian minority that is quickly disappearing.

We must remain informed about the situation in Syria.  We must not dismiss the suffering of these ancient Christian communities.  We must share with others what is happening.  We must pray for them to persevere in faith and not waiver.  Make contributions to Catholic institutions that directly help the churches in Syria.

May Jesus Christ grant us the grace to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him, even if it means following the footsteps of the Syrian Christians.

Pictures are mine, all rights reserved.


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