Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda
On September 28, 2009 the Peace and Social Justice Committee of the Diocesan Pastoral Council had a celebration in honor of Doctor Barbara Ball, the first recipient of the committee's Peace and Social Justice Award. Here follows the homily of Bishop Robert Kurtz, CR delivered at the 11:30 AM Mass at St. Theresa's Cathedral.
(Doctor Ball is seated in the wheel chair)
Dear Friends,
On this happy day when we honor Dr, Barbara Ball and offer this Mass for her intentions, I would like to review briefly the Scripture readings for this 26th Sunday of the Liturgical year. Then I want to reflect on some of the aspects of Dr. Ball’s life history. Finally, I will conclude by trying to relate Dr. Ball’s life and our lives to the teachings of the Scriptures that we have just heard proclaimed.
In our first reading, the Prophet Ezekiel says: “Thus says the Lord: You say, ‘The Lord’s way is not fair!’ Hear now, House of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?”
How many times have we not wondered or heard people say: “God’s ways are not fair.” Why is there so much evil and suffering in the world? Why do such bad things happen to good people? Why do the wicked prosper? Certainly, there are no simple answers to these questions, but maybe we have a part to play in responding to these profound questions.
Oftentimes in the Liturgy we do not pay too much attention to the Psalm refrain and the singing of the psalm verses that follow the first reading. Listen again to some of the words that followed the reading from the Prophet Ezekiel and the questions it raised: “Your ways, O Lord, make know to me, teach me your paths, Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior. Good and upright is the Lord, thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice and he teaches the humble his way.” The Psalmist’s prayer tells me that it takes a certain amount of humility to “know God’s ways.”
The second reading from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians calls that Church to unity through the practice of humility: “Humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others. Have in you that same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus.”
Finally, we come to the Gospel and the question addressed to the Chief Priests and Elders of the Jewish Community: Which of the two sons did the Father’s will? Like the second son, the Priests and the Elders said “Yes” to God by accepting God’s revelation in the Law and the Covenant. But they did not enter the vineyard, the Kingdom of God, when invited by the new revelation from God offered through the prophetic words of John the Baptist and Jesus Himself. On the other hand, the prostitutes and tax collectors, public sinners, are like the first son who said “No” to God’s word and revelation, but later, through the preaching of John the Baptist and Jesus, they repented and accepted the call to conversion with the promise of God’s reign in their lives. The question arises: Do we resemble the first son or the second son?
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Dear Friends, today we honor Dr. Barbara Ball, the first recipient of the award presented by the Peace and Social Justice Committee of our Diocesan Pastoral Council.
Barbara Ball was not a cradle Catholic. Having heard the Word of God, she entered the Catholic Church as an adult. Because of her personality, Barbara was not given to half-way measures. Her following of the Gospel would be radical (profound) and prophetic. Dr. Ball always seemed to march to the beat of a different drummer. She was not overly concerned what people thought, especially when issues of truth and social justice were involved. She knew how to stand up and fight for what she believed. It comes as no surprise then that Barbara Ball earned a Black Belt in Judo!
Dr. Barbara Ball was a prophetic voice in our Catholic Church and in our Bermudian society. Like all prophets, Barbara Ball was opposed for her words and her actions. Some saw her as a “False Prophet,” a traitor, especially in her support of the Bermuda Industrial Union and especially in her role during the so-called “Belco riots.”
We need to remember and humbly admit, I believe, that during the 50’s and the 60’s we were a society marked by deep social divisions, a society marked by segregation, prejudice and racism. This was the time that the “Progressive Group” that included some of the present members of our Cathedral Community, promoted the “Theater Boycott,” a social action that eventually put an end to segregation in Bermuda Theaters, restaurants and hotels. These were times when a black child could not take a book out of certain public libraries in Bermuda…a time when Black and Portuguese people “need not apply” (as the advertisements read) for certain jobs or membership in certain clubs.
I can’t say for sure how much Dr. Ball’s involvement in social justice issues led to her being banned from medical practice in KEMH. But I can say that I look with admirations at her dedication and long years of service to the poor, especially the members of the Black Community, from “Anna House” her little home in Cavendish Heights. Barbara Ball became a “one-woman indigent clinic!” She did not make a fortune from her medical practice and she lived as poorly as the people she served.
Barbara Ball is a believer, a woman of Faith. She is a long-standing member of St. Michael’s Parish, even serving for a time as the Parish Organist…a fact that never ceased to amaze me as I heard her singing off key in a loud voice during Mass at St. Michael’s Church once her hearing started to go! It was not too long ago that Dr. Ball decided to dedicate her life to the Lord by a vow of religious consecration. I see this as the culmination of her single-hearted desire to live the Faith whole-heartedly and prophetically, especially in the areas of truth and social justice. I think Dr. Ball is a worthy recipient of the first Peace and Social Justice award from the Committee and the Diocesan Pastoral Council.
So, where does all this leave the rest of us as we hear the Word of God in today’s Scripture readings? Ezekiel repeated the complaint of God’s people: “God’s ways are not fair! Why is there so much evil in the world? A wise man once said that evil survives and grows when good people do nothing! Barbara Ball is a good person who did something. The Progressive Group is a small community of good people who did something. What about us?
The Psalmist said: “The Lord guides the humble to justice and teaches the humble his way.” I believe that true progress in the areas of social justice in our society can only be achieved by humble, faith-filled people. As I see it, angry and agitated people who claim to promote peace and social justice are a contradiction to our Catholic Faith and practice.
St. Paul told the Church at Philippi: “Humbly regard others as more important than yourselves…Have the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus.” The whole of the Christian life is an invitation to know Jesus Christ, to be conformed to Jesus and to have the same “attitude” as Jesus. In this regard, the Eucharist is central to our being transformed into Christ. Saint Augustine offers a profound insight into this reality in his writings. He tells us that when we eat a piece of bread, that bread is transformed into our own bodies. However, we partake of the heavenly bread, the body of Christ in the Eucharist, we are transformed into his body! We become one body in Christ; we assume the “attitude” of Jesus Christ.
Finally, today’s Gospel warns us not to be self-righteous and close-minded like the Chief Priests and the Elders of the Jewish people. We need to maintain an attitude of openness to the mystery of God’s Word and revelation. “God’s ways are not our ways.” The word of God can also be revealed in the social situations of our own day and our own country. The challenge becomes: How do we hear God’s call and respond to God’s invitation to enter into his vineyard, here and now in Bermuda.
Are there issues of peace and social justice that need my personal response and involvement today? One person can make a difference. Today we can give thanks to God for the witness of faith of Dr. Barbara Ball. She made a difference and she teaches us that we too can make a difference. As St. Paul said: “Have in you the same attitude that is in Christ Jesus.”
Pictured below: Bishop Kurtz, CR with Doctor Ball and caregivers Leonette Anderson and Ann Caines.
