4th Sunday of Easter, Year A (Gospel: John 10:1-10) They have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb

 

Pontifical Irish College, Rome

 As you probably know, I got to study in Rome for three years, from 2002-05. While I was there I lived in the Irish College, which is both a seminary and post-graduate college. There are not enough Irish students to fill the college, so it is now an international college. For one of my years there we had students from 23 different countries. This makes for a great cultural experience and it gave me a great sense of the universal Church. I was there studying and living with other young men from all over the world. We came from many very different cultures, but we all shared the same faith and the same enthusiasm to make it known to other people. When we finished there, some of us went back to wealthier countries, some to parishes in dire poverty and others to war zones. It was very inspiring to live in such an environment, although of course it also had its moments as we had very different ways of doing things. One priest I got to know was from Serbia. He had been in the Serbian communist army and was an atheist. Eventually he converted and became a Catholic priest. He was also trained by the military as a computer hacker. He used often come to me offering me a program for different things, but they were illegal and I wouldn’t take them. Eventually he came to me and said, ‘Murchadh, I have this excellent program for you. It is just slightly illegal…’

 

People’s stories are fascinating. Another man I met several times, was an Irish archbishop called Michael Courtney. He was the papal nuncio to Burundi. In 2003 he was ambushed and shot dead as he worked to try and bring about peace between two warring tribes.

 

One of my neighbours for a year and a half, was a priest by the name of Ragheed Ganni. He was from Iraq. I didn’t even know there were Catholics in Iraq until I met him. He was a young, very talented and very likable priest. He was from the city of Mosul in northern Iraq, which is the modern-day city of Nineveh (Remember the prophet Jonah was sent to the people of Nineveh). Ragheed did all his studies for priesthood in Rome, since if he had returned to Iraq during his studies he may not have been able to leave again to complete them. So he studied in Rome, living in the Irish College and he spent several summers in Ireland.

 

During our time there the Iraq war took place and the over-throwing of Sadam Hussein. This was a very difficult and stressful time for Ragheed, as he watched his country being thrown into chaos, while wondering daily if his family were safe or not. Having someone in the room next to me who was going through this, made the war very real. Just before the war started, I asked him as an Iraqi what he thought would happen. He said that the problem was not so much when the American forces took over, as when they later pulled out. He said that there would be civil war between the Shiite and Sunny Muslims and then the Christians would be wiped, as the Muslim extremists would not have any tolerance for them. Sadly, that is exactly what happened.

 

In 2003 Ragheed returned to Iraq. It was now a very different country to the one he had left. To get into the country he told me that he had to fly into Syria and then take a bus across the border. I received a few emails from him after he returned. He said that there was a curfew almost every night and that it was becoming more and more difficult for the Christian community there. One day he sent me an email with photos of his church on fire. He said that gunmen had come in and taken him out at gunpoint. He thought he was going to be shot, but instead they blew up the church. Ragheed was able to return to Rome at least twice over the next three years, and I met him on one of those visits. He had put on some weight and he said that this was because he could not go outside to exercise, as it was too dangerous. As time passed more and more of his parishioners began to leave and those of us who knew him worried for his safety. Whoever could afford to leave the parish got out. Ragheed knew that staying on in Iraq was becoming increasingly dangerous, but he believed that that was where God was asking him to be. He wanted to remain with his people so that they could have the mass. In spite of death threats and the obvious danger, he continued to minister to his people and they continued to come to pray and celebrate mass. One of the neighbouring churches was hit by a car bomb, killing two people and injuring many. The bishop’s house was blown up and Ragheed’s sister was injured by a grenade, which was thrown at her while she was going to clean the church in preparation for Sunday mass.  Despite this, Ragheed and the other priests continued to minister to their people.

 

Fr. Ragheed Ganni

On 3^nd June, 2007 I received a phone call from a friend to tell me the terrible news that Ragheed along with three others, had been shot dead the day before. He had just finished celebrating Mass and was leaving the church with another sub-deacon. Two other sub-deacons and the wife of one of them were in the car behind. One year later the woman and only survivor, Bayan Adam Bella, had the courage to speak out. Here are some excerpts from an interview she gave to Ankawa.com. 

‘At a certain point the car was stopped by armed men. Fr. Ragheed could have fled but he did not want to, because he knew they were looking for him. They forced us to get out of the car and led me away. 

Then one of the killers screamed at Ragheed,

“I told you to close the church. Why didn’t you do it? Why are you still here?”  And he simply responded,

“How can I close the house of God?” 

They immediately pushed him to the ground, and Ragheed had only enough time to gesture to me with his head that I should run away. Then they opened fire and killed all four of them.’ At this point Bayan fainted.

 

Ragheed Ganni was only 35 when he was shot dead and had been a priest for 6 years. 

 

In the book of the Apocalypse (7:14) we hear of the great numbers of people who stand before the Lamb holding palms in their hands. The palm is a symbol of martyrdom.  When the writer asks who they are he is told,

‘These are the people who have been through the great persecution and because they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb, they now stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his sanctuary; and the One who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.’

 

A few years after Ragheed’s death, the chapel in the Irish College in Rome was redecorated with a beautiful mosaic. Behind the altar there is a mosaic with Christ the Good Shepherd at the centre and several saints on either side including Fr. Ragheed to the far right holding the martyr’s palm. I always find it very moving to see this image having known Ragheed myself.

 

Pontifical Irish College Chapel, Rome

Icon of Ragheed Ganni to the right with the martyr's palm

In different parts of the world many people continue to put their lives at risk in order to pass on the teachings of Christ as he asked us to. Many, including Ragheed, have paid with their lives. Although it is sad for me to think of Ragheed’s death, it is also a great source of strength and inspiration. Jesus told us we would be persecuted for following him, but He also told us that He is our shepherd who continues to guide and look after us. That doesn’t mean that we won’t suffer, but it does mean that He is always with us. Even though none of us want to have to suffer for our faith, what could be more important than to be faithful to Jesus? He is the only one who makes sense of why we are here. Without Christ we are nothing. Our time on earth is temporary and we need to stay faithful to the only One who can give us eternal life.

 

‘The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice.  I know them and they follow me.’

 

3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A (Gospel: Luke 24:13-35) “Were not our hearts burning within us…?

 

Shanghai, China

 Friends of mine were telling me recently that they had been on a visit to China. As you probably know, even visiting China, what you can and cannot do, is carefully controlled. When they were saying goodbye to their guide, he said, ‘Go enjoy your freedom.’ They were very struck by that. We often forget what it means to be in a land where we are free to do whatever we choose.

 

Today we talk a lot about freedom, protecting our freedom at all costs. ‘The land of the free, because of the brave.’ Thank God that we do live in a country where we are able to choose what we do and don’t want to do, and to go wherever we want to go. Real freedom is not just doing whatever you want. Choosing what is good is what leads to real freedom. If we choose what is evil, it doesn’t lead to true freedom, but to sin, which brings suffering. If we choose what is good as God shows us, it will lead to true freedom, which brings interior peace and joy. If we choose what is evil. it will lead to suffering.

 

What is true freedom? Real freedom is living in God’s kingdom, living by the teachings of God. If you back to the story of Adam and Eve. God told them they could eat of any tree in the garden, except for the tree of good and evil. He was telling them not to step beyond their limitations—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Recognize and respect your limitations as human beings. They experienced fulfillment and happiness because they were living in the realm of God, as He asked them to. As long as they didn’t try to play God they were fine. But they were tempted to disobey God and they gave in to the temptation. They didn’t listen to what God told them. They gave in to the temptation that ‘they could be like gods’, in other words, to choose whatever they wanted, respecting no limitations and look at what happened. It brought sin into the world, which lead to suffering. They were free to choose, but their choices did not lead to freedom, but to sin. With freedom comes responsibility.

 

It says that they suddenly experienced, shame, guilt, fear. They were no longer at peace with God, with each other, or within themselves, because they went against what God told them. Listening and being obedient to what God told them, led to their fulfillment. Rejecting it caused them to lose the happiness God wanted for them.

 

In documentaries on drug smuggling, I have often heard the reporters ask the drug dealers, or smugglers, ‘Are you not concerned about all the deaths that these drugs cause?’ and they nearly always give the same answer: ‘I just supply the drug. It’s up to the people to do whatever they want with it.’ In other words, I take no responsibility for my actions. We tell our young women that they can dress whatever way want, no matter how provocative and if it causes men to sin, that is their problem. I take no responsibility for my actions. Our society tells us that it is ok to sleep around and you don’t have to take responsibility for the consequences. If a young woman gets pregnant, we tell her that she can have an abortion. I take no responsibility for my actions.

 

Today, many people have abandoned the ways of God, refuse to listen to God, even deny God and sin continues to multiply. We see more and more evil. What is good is often called evil—‘Everyone should be able to do whatever they want, regardless of the consequences’—and evil is called good: abortion, euthanasia, telling children to choose their own gender. These things go against God’s commandments, and they lead to destruction and suffering. And if you criticize what God tells us is evil, then you are called evil and hateful. People are being accused of hate speech, just for quoting Scripture.

 

It says in the prophet Isaiah, ‘Woe to those who call evil good evil and good evil… Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.’ (Is 5:20a-21)

 

Recently you heard me talk about the Church in Germany, where many of the bishops have decided they now know better [than God’s word] and so can go away from Church teaching. They have now decided that it is ok to bless gay marriage, even though this goes against Church teaching. ‘Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes.’

 

Throughout history God continually offered the Jewish people the chance to enjoy true freedom, by living his Commandments, but they continually rejected it. Moses said to the people:

See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.  For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. (Deut 30:15-16)

 

True freedom is to live under God’s commandments, but it comes with responsibility. We have free will, but we are also responsible for our actions. So God points out specifically what we need to do, by giving us the Commandments. This is the path for us to find freedom.

 

I remember seeing one of those programs called Super-nanny, where they bring a psychologist into a family where they are having a lot of problems with their kids. In this particular case, two young children were becoming wilder and wilder and the parents didn’t know what to do. The psychologist pointed out that they needed definite rules and guidelines as to what they could and could not do. As soon as the parents began to do this, the children began to settle down. The parents initially had been afraid to enforce any rules, or guidelines, but in fact that is exactly what was needed. The children were happier once they knew and lived by their boundaries.

 

The Lord does the same with us. He gives us the guidelines that we need to follow and as long as we follow them, we will find inner peace. God’s commandments lead to inner freedom. It might seem like a contradiction to say that we will be free if we submit ourselves to a set of Commandments, but that is exactly what happens. It brings inner freedom.

 

In the Gospel today when the two disciples are downcast and can only see what has gone wrong, it says that Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. Only in God everything makes sense. He showed them that despite the human evil that led to the betrayal and death of an innocent man, God brought the greatest good out of it; not only a man rising from the dead, but opening the way for us to return to the original happiness we had lost through disobedience. Even though we sin and cause suffering, God can still bring great good out of any situation, but we will only recognize that in God. That is why it is so important that we keep going back to listen to what God is saying to us in the Scriptures, so that we can see things from God’s perspectives and not just from human perspectives. Our life on earth only makes sense in God.

 

The two disciples were thinking only in human terms and could only see what had gone wrong and that it hadn’t turned out as they had hoped. ‘Our own hope had been that he would be the one to free Israel…’ ‘We are so disappointed.’ But Jesus helped them to see that God has a much higher purpose that goes beyond what we can see. His plan for us is happiness and freedom, but not in the way we think. He shows us what we need to do—follow his teaching; be responsible for our actions—and that will lead to the greatest freedom, but we must listen to what He says.

 

‘If you live in my word, you will be my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.’ (John 8:31-32)