4th Sunday of Easter, C May 4, 2025
Crisis Anniversary, New Pope, Good Shepherd Sunday
Fr. Alexander Albert St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville
“With you I am a Christian, for you a bishop.” This is the quote our new Pope, Leo XIV used in his opening address. He’s quoting St. Augustine and the original context for it is even more amazing. When St. Augustine first said those words, he was afraid. The full quote is “What I am for you terrifies me; what I am with you consoles me. For you I am a bishop; but with you I am a Christian. The former is a duty; the latter a grace. The former is a danger; the latter, salvation.” Those watching Leo’s first moments on that balcony may have noticed how daunted he was then, the hint of tears in his eyes. To be the shepherd, the pastor of the entire Church? Terrifying. From those to whom much is given, much is expected. How providential that today is Good Shepherd Sunday, the 4th Sunday of Easter, when we read about Jesus the Good Shepherd in John’s Gospel. It is a day to pray especially for our shepherds, the priests, bishops, and popes who are supposed reflect Christ the Good Shepherd. “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
I vividly remember a conversation with a friend shortly after he became a pastor of a large parish. “What’s it like, being in charge?” I asked. “Terrifying,” he said. He continued, “the decisions I make actually affect people… I can’t always be certain it’s the right thing, but I have to make decisions anyway.” Indeed.
I hope it’s not too much to ask you to remember that when you think of me, when you speak of me, when you evaluate what I’m doing as your pastor. For you, I am a pastor. With you, I am a Christian. I need grace and salvation as much as anyone… probably even more because of how my role affects the souls of others. I’ve already made mistakes: perhaps I’ve not explained certain things well or acted too quickly or misjudged something. Yet, by the grace of God I am what I am. Jesus is your shepherd. Heed his voice always! Only, don’t confuse the voice of the majority, the voice of friends, or your own voice with the voice of Jesus. Some of Pope Leo XIV’s words and actions will be things you don’t like, but will still be the voice of Jesus. The same goes for me as your pastor. I hope you know that, despite failures, I sincerely strive to do his will. Please extend me that grace for what I’m about to say and for my continued ministry here. And please excuse the extra long homily today, it won’t become a habit, I promise.
A year ago today, at our 1st Communion Mass, a young man attempted to enter our church with weapons. He was stopped just inside the door, surrendered his weapons, and the police were called. Upon arrival, they were told that someone was planning to harm the priests of this community. This prompted a search. As rumors and whispers filtered through the congregation, fear and confusion took hold, so that Mass never did conclude properly. Fortunately, there was no other attacker. No one was injured, and everyone eventually went home. The legal system ran it’s course. But that experience of fear, of danger and uncertainty… that did hurt many people, it left a mark on the hearts and minds of those present and it left a mark on our community.
In the days and weeks that followed, some of the responses were good and helpful. Some mistakes were made as well. The truth is that hurt people hurt people. Human beings, when reacting to pain or fear or trauma, will often hurt other people, often without necessarily meaning to or even realizing they did. I’m not going to parse everything that happened, but it needs to be publicly acknowledged that our community was hurt that day that some of us hurt each other in response.
Then, a month and a half later, I became your new pastor. Since then, I have tried to understand, tried to make sense, to guide, to heal, to encourage. Immediately – even before I was pastor – people began demanding I do something. Fair! The problem is… what to do? Please understand that, no matter what decisions I made or what decisions I will make – and not acting is itself a decision – no matter what, some people are not going to like it, and will feel hurt or mistreated by my decisions, whether about this event or about other things. Because I am a pastor, it is impossible to avoid upsetting someone. The fact that I’m even talking about this is controversial. Some want to just move on or act like it never happened. Some are still sensitive enough that this is very difficult to hear and discuss. Nonetheless, I really have tried and am trying to reflect Christ the shepherd in all of this. And Christ the shepherd, Christ the healer brings things into the light in order to heal them. Without overdoing it, I think it’s necessary to shed light on the whole situation, to cast out shame, and to honestly face it with the faith, hope, and love that come from God. We must not obsess over it, but it’s just not helpful to hide or avoid things like this. Gossip is destructive, but when dealing with trauma and confusion, it is necessary to have the appropriate channels to talk and think through things.
So, because rumors and uncertainty can complicate all of this, let me lay out what we’ve done. I know the response of the police and the legal system were a factor, but are beyond my power to address. So, here’s what we did: Counselors were brought in. Contact information for professional help was distributed. I hosted a listening session. I’ve had many private conversations. That’s part of the reason I’m giving this homily now. We hired security for Sundays and major events. I set boundaries for some involved, asking them not to return here. We sought professional advice on safety. We’ve added cameras, improved the doors, and researched the security measures used at other Churches.
Going forward, I hope to implement some variation of a “monitored entry” policy. We used a simplified version of that yesterday morning for 1st Communion and it went well. The goal is for it to be unobtrusive and friendly, but also effective. We’re still discerning the specifics and I will explain it more when the time comes.
What I want to turn towards now, however, is what we can do as a community to help all of us find healing and peace and to move forward. There are a few different principles to keep in mind, so be careful about hyperfocusing on one aspect of it. Please see me if you have concerns.
To those who were there, if you haven’t already, please talk to someone about it. A wise advisor or mentor, a professional counselor, a priest. It’s good even to discuss with others who were present, to process it and help each other form a clearer picture of what happened. Just, please stick to what you know to be true and what you experienced. Speculation won’t help. And yes, I should say that it’s important not to obsess over it or bring it up all the time. This is the only time I plan to preach on it. Acknowledging this is important, but it’s worth saying that overindulging in the experiences can become counterproductive.
To those who weren’t there – most of you – be compassionate! Maybe you think it’s no big deal. Please don’t dismiss other people’s pain! If a fellow parishioner wants to share their experience with you, listen with kindness and try to convey a sense of camaraderie, of being their brother or sister. You don’t have to understand it, you just have to listen. Don’t try to solve it, don’t speculate, and don’t even imply they are wrong to feel what they feel.
Regardless of whether you were there or not, if you are part of these conversations, be patient and compassionate. Yes, people have made mistakes and done the wrong things. Validating a person’s experience doesn’t mean you have to agree with their choices, but jumping too quickly to challenging or correcting people can do more harm than good. I know I just warned about overindulging the experience, but please don’t be too quick to accuse someone of that, especially if you don’t know them well. Basically, be careful!
As a community, what we all need is kindness, patience, compassion, and faith. Regardless of what happened, Jesus is still good! We can still trust God! We should be prudent and careful, but we must not act only out of fear. Prayer is essential. Self-reflection is essential. Just because someone else handled the situation incorrectly doesn’t mean you didn’t make mistakes too. Just because someone hurt you doesn’t mean you should dismiss the ways you hurt them.
Lastly, let’s talk about forgiveness. Forgiving is essential, but so is understanding what it means to forgive. Forgiveness is not pretending it never happened. Forgiveness does not require trusting the person again. Forgiveness is not reconciling with them. Forgiveness is not downplaying how much it hurt. Forgiveness is ultimately the decision to release your claim on their spiritual debts. That isn’t always easy because it does cost us. If someone borrows $1000 from me and never repays it, I can forgive them, but that does mean I’m out $1000. Unlike forgiving money, however, forgiving another person’s sins will never cost you more than you can afford. Why? God’s grace and love are infinite. You know the cost, but by His grace, you can afford to let it go.
So, yes, I would be failing my duty as a Catholic priest if I didn’t tell you that you need to forgive. Just don’t confuse forgiveness with trust or friendship or feelings. We need to forgive the young man who hurt us one year ago. Perhaps you need to forgive a fellow parishioner. Perhaps you need to forgive the police, the lawyers, the civic leaders, the bishop, Fr. Nick or Fr. Louis or one of the staff or me. Perhaps you need to forgive yourself. Maybe you need to forgive someone for something else entirely, maybe to forgive me for something unrelated to this.
Whoever it is, remember that forgiving others heals you. It doesn’t disregard the pain or the evil. What it does is invite something greater into the midst of that. Forgiveness is a choice and often it’s one you have to make repeatedly or in small steps. Even if you can’t yet say “I forgive so-and-so,” you can at least pray, “God, I want to forgive so-and-so, help me to forgive them.” Don’t focus on how you feel about the decision, but focus simply on making the choice to do it. And remember, forgiving someone doesn’t mean you don’t have boundaries! You don’t have to like them or trust them, but you do need to forgive them and not seek vengeance. Not always, but in some cases, starting with forgiveness will then clear your vision enough to see what is possible, to see where maybe trust can be rebuilt, new lessons learned, new perspectives gained, relationships restored, and communities renewed. But the resentment must go first.
Resentment is poison. It kills relationships. It undermines faith. It blocks love and healing. It divides communities. Resentment is the poison you drink in order to kill someone else. Forgiveness is the only antidote, one that our Good Shepherd offers us… commands us to take. Heed his voice so that no one can take you out of the Father’s hand.
Like Pope Leo on that balcony, I sometimes find it daunting to look out at you, my people, and realize what I am for you… to realize my responsibility in shepherding you not only though what happened last year, but through the 10,000 other concerns and trials of living today as a Catholic in Abbeville, Louisiana. For you, I am a pastor, a poor reflection of the Good Shepherd and that terrifies me. But with you, I am a Christian, and that… that thrills me. To have such brothers and sisters, fellow Christians who forgive and are forgiven, who suffer and are healed, who die and are raised to life. Together, we are saved in Jesus Christ and no one can take that away from us! May that gift triumph over all the rest and, by his grace, may we make that truth known to all the world.