The following in Bishop Caggiano’s homily for the Blue Mass:
My dear friends,
What I’m about to tell you, I’m sure you will find hard to believe, but nonetheless it is true.
That when I was a young man, particularly a young boy, I was incorrigible, stubborn, wanted what I wanted, when I wanted. Of course, some people say to me, not much has changed in 65 years. That’s another story. And I got into a heap of trouble because of it. And ninety percent of the time, mom was the one who took care of it.
But every once in a while, it rose to the level of hearing the words “wait till your father comes home.” And my dad was a 245 pound longshoreman immigrant Italian from Brooklyn. So those words, even in my stubborn heart, gave me great pause to fear.
And he would sit there at the table pondering the punishment to fit the crime. And he would inevitably, somewhere in the speech, tell me “…and remember this is going to hurt me more than it’s going to hurt you.”
And in my mind I would always say “yeah, right”.
Interesting. Some of my closer associates know that as I’ve grown older I’ve come to appreciate the wisdom of my father more and more. For in fact he was right. Because as even I myself as a spiritual father of many people, I’ve come to realize that there are decisions you make for the good of the person before you, or the community in your care, that are not easy, that will not be well received.
But you don’t do it because it makes you feel good or you get satisfaction out of it. You do it because it’s right. And it is what needs to be done for the good (muffled).. take no pleasure in punishing or disciplining my sister and I. Those of you who are parents and grandparents know what I mean. But you do it so that your son or daughter could grow in wisdom, discipline and grace. That is the definition of Christian Love.
We gather here every Sunday to celebrate Divine Love. Love that has come to us in Jesus Christ. And my friends, we need to remember love is to choose to do what is good for those around us – wife, husband, children, grandchildren, relatives, friends, neighbors and even those who harm us – is to always make the choice to lift up our neighbor even when the choice is difficult, even when we may be persecuted by the choice, not appreciated because of what we do, not encouraged for the actions that we choose, but nonetheless we do it because we know it is right and it is good for the person for whom we are making the choice.
That comes as no surprise. For, my friends, each time we come here to this sacred Cathedral we have here the perfect definition of love. You don’t need a theologian to describe it. For here the Lord chose to die for us, not because it was pleasant, not because He enjoyed it, not because in the end it was inevitable. But He chose it so that you and I might have Life Eternal. He chose this for our good. This is the definition of love.
And I remind you and me of this because it’s the only way we could make sense of the scriptures today. Because Ezekiel speaks of this strange notion that if someone is doing evil, it’s not enough simply to mind your business, but to say something to them.
Well the reason is love. For love demands we choose to speak up for the good of the other person even when the person does not want to hear it. That is why the Lord in the Gospel today says the same thing. You see your brother or sister offending or sinning or doing something wrong or harmful to themselves, go and confront them. Not because it’s pleasant, not because you’re going to be welcomed by doing it, but because it is good for them.
You and I are the instruments of that goodness, to lift them up before it is too late.
If that is the vocation of every believer, then today on what we traditionally call the Blue Mass, I stand before you to thank all those who, every single day in their line of duty and active service, are the ministers of love in the world. For that, my brothers and sisters who are present here and not, that is exactly what you are.
For you go as law enforcement, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, on the front line to do what – not to serve yourself, not to lead a comfortable life, not to hide from danger or harm, but you go in every day, wherever duty calls, so that you might lift up your neighbor, whether that neighbor is in a moment of crisis or being threatened by someone, or is in peril of health, you go out there to lift that person up and make the choices that have to be made so that that person might have greater life.
Those are choices this world doesn’t always appreciate. I’m sadly we live in a world that does not fully understand the nobility of your vocation. But in this Church we do. Because in many ways, my brothers and sisters, you make God’s love real to the people whom you serve, whether they realize it or not. But in this church we do realize it. And I, for my part, and on behalf of all God’s people, wish to say thank you to every single one of you for showing the world that love is still alive.
And of course today we have the opportunity to honor one, you Officer Torreso, for your heroic work in saving the life of a newborn. To consider that that child’s future was resting in the actions you had to take. And in that moment you are not thinking of comfort, you were not thinking of anything other than to save that little infant’s life. And you did. You’re an instrument of God’s creative love. And that child, as that child grows older, I hope and pray that he will pray for you. Because you were the instrument of his life in this world, and all of us are grateful to you for your heroic service. And you represent the heroism of everyone in this church who in other ways, perhaps known and unknown, have put your life in the service of someone else that they may have life.
And of course, we also remember those who died in the line of duty 22 years ago. It seems like it was yesterday when our city was attacked in a war we didn’t choose to fight. The thousands of people (that) died, and hundreds and hundreds of the men and women on the front lines, died with them. And hundreds and hundreds served those survivors for months after. And many have been slowly dying since. Those were heroism acts of love so that Christ was present in the darkest of hours in any person’s life who was in that place we now call Ground Zero. And so many others.
And so on a day like today, we pray that they will rest in Eternal Peace for the goodness of their life. For they did not fail love, and therefore, love will not fail them.
So allow me to end by simply saying to all of you who are here – and I ask you take this message to those who could not be here, for so many other responsibilities – thank you for your service. Thank you for being honorable. Thank you for doing what you do, even at times when the world and the press and whoever else does not appreciate it and will not encourage you. Thank you for being the Ministers of Love. And remember that love, true love, Christ’s love, never fails.
