TEXT: Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 21, 2024

July 21, 2024 Father De Celles Homily


16th Sunday Ordinary Time

July 21, 2024

Homily by Fr. John De Celles

St. Raymond of Peñafort Catholic Church

Springfield, VA


Today is the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Tomorrow, July 22, is the feast of my favorite saint and patron,

St. Mary Magdalene.

I know I’ve told you before, and I’m sorry to repeat myself,

but one of the reasons the Magdalene is so dear to me is that

twenty-two years ago on her feast day,

I was miraculously and inexplicably cured as I was lying on death’s door.

Seriously. In the morning I was in a coma,

and the doctors told us I would be dead by the afternoon.

But in the afternoon, I was sitting up, talking, and eating.

I was pronounced cured—and no one could explain it.

I am absolutely convinced it was through Magdalene’s intercession.

So, I honor her to praise the Lord for the gift of life he gave back to me that day.


I was dying from sepsis, an infection that started with one microscopic bacterium

that found its way into one of my teeth.

One tiny germ that turned into a toothache, which turned into sepsis,

and then almost took my life.

This is really amazing.

How can a little bitty germ make us so sick or even kill

            a full-grown healthy man or woman?


What happens, though, isn’t that complicated, not fundamentally.

Our bodies are built to function a certain way naturally,

            and when something, no matter how small, enters our bodies

            and interferes with that normal or “natural” functioning of the body,

            problems start.

First the body’s natural defense mechanisms kick in to defend itself,

            and so, for example, you feel a fever as the fight heats up.

If that natural defense isn’t strong enough,

            eventually the body itself starts to act in ways

                        that are not normal, not natural to it.

So, it’s not just fever and pain or coughing,

            but now there’s unconsciousness, paralysis, and organs shutting down.

And then the ultimate unnatural thing for the body: death.


This is the way the body works, but it’s also the way the human mind works.

The mind also works with a certain nature.

But then when something contrary to that nature affects the mind

            —a frightening thought, a traumatic experience,

                        or a drug or physical wound to the head—

            terrible things can happen.


And this is really the same in the whole of the natural universe.

We see it writ large, for example, in the environment.

Nowadays, for example, people say that

            certain human-generated “greenhouse gases” are causing global warming.

So that, kind of like when a germ conflicts with the natural function of the body,

            these greenhouse gases conflict

            with the natural functioning of the atmosphere.

All this has a cascading effect, they say,

            as the upper atmosphere traps excessive heat

            which leads to abnormal heat or cold on the ground,

            which leads to droughts or floods,           

which lead to famines,

            which lead to deaths by starvation.

And eventually, some say, the whole planet may die.


Now, I know a lot of other people disagree.

[And I’m not taking sides here—just using this as an example.]

But let’s just assume they’re right.

After all, it is a fundamental scientific fact,

            that when something interferes with the normal or “natural” functioning

                        of a natural ecological system,

            bad things happen to it.


And yet…

When it comes to human nature, many people seem to reject science

             when it is culturally inconvenient.

They see clearly that when a germ, or even too much fatty food,

            enters the human body, or some traumatic event affects the human mind,

            illness follows.

So, they agree we must protect the natural functioning

            of the human body and mind.

But at the same time,

            they often also accept and promote things directly contrary

            to the nature of the human body and mind.


This is why Pope St. John Paul and Pope Benedict

both reminded us that, like the environment around us,

man naturally functions in a certain way

            which they called “human ecology” (another way to say “human nature”).

And harming that nature is much more dangerous

            than harming the nature of the environment.


But no Pope was more prophetic in his warnings about protecting human nature

than Pope Paul VI, when on July 25,1968, fifty-six years ago this Thursday,

            he exposed one of the most important threats to human nature

            in his courageous and historic encyclical, Humanae Vitae.

That threat was the unnatural act of contraception.


[Now, to protect innocent ears, I will use the term “marital act” to refer to the act

            by which human beings procreate—whether inside or outside of marriage.]


As Pope Paul reminded us, according to the nature of the body itself,

and as science clearly testifies,

            the marital act is clearly primarily and totally

                        designed as the sole way that human life is created in nature.

Procreation is fundamental to the nature of the marital act.

And yet, science shows that contraception is specifically designed to act

            directly contrary to the natural functioning of the body.


Why is it that a culture so concerned about the natural environment

            thinks it is a good thing to do something so contrary to nature

                        as contraception?

Especially when the most commonly used form of contraception [in the US]

            is a pill that is specifically designed to force a healthy woman’s body

                        to do what it would not do naturally, forcing it to be unhealthy?

For a culture that thinks that this or that man-made activity

            causes global warming that will lead to worldwide famines and death,

            why isn’t anyone concerned about the potential danger of

                        such an unnatural chemical attack on a woman’s body?

Especially when the World Health Organization classifies the pill

            as a carcinogen in the same category as cigarettes?

Have you ever listened to the legal disclosures in those TV ads for the pill?

            Does anyone listen when they conclude that the pill “may cause death”?


Looking beyond the bodily unnaturalness of contraception,

            Pope Paul reminded us of the effect on human nature in its totality.

The marital act is designed to create new human life:

            There is no greater thing in the world,

            nothing more important to human nature!

So that must make the marital act extremely important to human nature.

So, just as a human body is devastated by tiny little germs,

            how can a practice so contrary to human nature as contraception

            not be a catastrophe to human beings and human society?


Think about it: if you strip the marital act of its central meaning

            as the natural font that creates human life,

            what difference does it make what you do with it after that?

It’s like putting feces into food

            and then arguing about whether it would taste better with paprika or sugar.

Who cares! It’s ruined! What difference does it make after that?

And if this most sublime part of human nature

            could be so easily treated so unnaturally,

            why would you care about protecting the less important aspects

            of human nature?


So, in 1968 Pope Paul warned us that contraception

            would lead to terrible consequences for individuals, families, and society.

He warned it would lead to greater “marital infidelity,”

            to a “general lowering of morality,”

            and to rampant promiscuity among the young, particularly young men.

He also warned that governments would eventually impose contraception

            on their people to solve social problems.

And finally, Pope Paul said it would ultimately lead to

            “the man… [losing] respect for the woman and,

                        …considering her as a mere instrument of selfish enjoyment,

                        and no longer as his respected and beloved companion.”


All these and more have come to fruition

            as divorce, abortion, pornography, child and wife abuse,

            and out of wedlock births are at levels

            no one in their worst nightmares would have dreamed possible

            back in 1968.

And then there’s “gay marriage” and “transgenderism”…

            folks in 1968 would have thought you were crazy

            if you told them there were ever going to be socially acceptable.

In fifty-six years it’s almost become a different world.

But what do we expect when we introduce something so unnatural

            into the human system?


So, what do we do?

When we’re sick, we go to a physician to bring the body back to its natural order.

Well, God is the Divine Physician.

He is the divine physician who not only heals and saves lives,

but who is the generous giver of life to begin with.

The Lord who is generous beyond all our dreams

            wants us to be generous as well, especially when it comes to

sharing in his power to give life to babies.

But how are we to be generous?


For those who are married and still in your childbearing years,

            God wants you to be generous towards Him

                        by being open to His plans for you,

            and to be generous towards the children

                        that he may still be planning to give you.

Now, you don’t have to be foolish—just generous.

Some couples, I know, find themselves in difficult or challenging situations

            and it doesn’t seem the wisest time to have a baby.

The Lord doesn’t tell you not to use your minds

            when real problems seem to present themselves.

That would be contrary to your nature as a rational being.

So. live according to your nature in reason,

            but also live according to your nature in your sexuality.

If you think there’s a just reason for postponing the conception of a child right now,

            consider using one of the very rational and scientific methods

            of Natural Family Planning,

            which cooperate with the nature of the marital act and human nature itself.

Use the gift of your natural reason to plan,

            but at the same time let your reason keep in your mind and heart

            the scientific fact that the nature of the marital act includes procreation.

So, if contrary to your planning,

            God should plan to generously give you a baby,

            you will rejoice in His generosity,

            and in turn generously welcome that gift with open arms.


For those who are single or past your childbearing years,

            you be generous by imitating Jesus when, as today’s Gospel tells us,

“His heart was moved with pity for them,

…and He began to teach them many things.”

Go out and tell the world the truth about human nature

            and Christ’s generous grace.

But do it with true wisdom: Learn about and share the Church’s teachings 

            and options like Natural Family Planning.

And do it with the true love that is at the heart of generosity,

            and our human nature.


As we approach tomorrow’s feast of St. Mary Magdalene,

I commend her to you all, but especially to women and men who struggle

with the sin of contraception.

It is the ancient understanding of the Church that the Magdalene

is the exemplar of penitent saints

—of a person whose “sins were many,” but set all of them aside

through the grace of Jesus and for the love of him.

The tradition particularly considered Magdalene to be guilty of sexual sins

and to have been sexually abused by many men.

And I can attest to the power of her intercession

and say with Jesus, “She has loved much.”

What greater patron can Our Generous Jesus

give men and women struggling with contraception,

than this great loving and compassionate saint?

___

It is a scientific fact that the world and everything in it

            is created in a particular way:

                        Whether the whole environment of earth or the human race,

                        everything has a specific nature.

Even the smallest act contrary to a thing’s nature can damage or even kill it.

This is just the way things are; this is the truth.

By the light of Christ and by His grace,

            and through the intercession of St. Mary Magdalene,

may we and our society grow in understanding and accepting this truth and become the strong healthy creatures in body, mind, and soul that we are naturally meant to be