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Katherine Collard, IHM Liturgy for Final Vows May 4, 2008 On this feast of the Ascension, we gather in an especially festive mood to celebrate the final vows of Katherine Collard, IHM, who could have pronounced them, I believe, about halfway through her Novitiate. Katherine fits like a hand in the IHM glove, inserting herself with care, spreading herself wide to know us fully and doing all with the gentlest of touches. This feast always brings to mind my own foible when, with creative expression blooming after Vatican II, I prepared prayer for our local community. For the opening song, I selected the very popular, "Up, Up and Away." The looks of those upon whom I imposed my taste were disapproving at best. My own mischievous delight blocked any feeling of genuine remorse, even to this day. However, now I see that my theology left something to be desired. The Resurrection is the grand expansion bridge from the passion, death of Jesus to the Ascension and Pentecost, with their unleashing of the Spirit. Today's feast is about comings and goings, but much more about staying than leaving for good. In the reading from Acts, we learn that the Risen Christ ascends, transforming all of creation, while promising the Spirit, and charging the Twelve to witness to ends of the earth. Today, we would add, "to the universe," knowing much more science and the limitlessness of God's power. The notion of leadership also expands to include the disciples. Today is the celebration of maturity, of the adulthood of the Apostles. They are charged to begin to expand their membership to include the larger community, to leave the cloister of their security and sameness. All they experienced with Jesus in his time with them now needs to influence them, as they recognize they are partners in the transformation. Change is not simply an impulse; it is at the heart of the mission they are committed to further and make accessible. Scholars describe the Church in the reflective reading from Ephesians as cosmic. The community expects to be around for some time, and as such to envision a future here, sharing and making accessible the Risen life. They live conscious that the leaving of Christ introduced the Church and that the next coming of Christ will, in turn, signal the diminishing of the church. All of creation is included, because all benefit from God's great plan of love. Holiness is not restricted to those in heaven, but is a call to all of us, here and now. The gospel is a summary of the legacy to the Apostles to go to all the nations and to their respective cultures. Too bad we've missed that latter point. That the mores of western, Caucasian, and male were assumed to be normative, evidently because they were familiar, has impoverished the church incalculably. Granted, cultures have different gifts but some of them are indeed better than the so-called norm. For example, in the industrialized world, productivity too often takes priority over persons. That is simply not the case in most of the African and Latin American cultures. For them, persons are paramount. Imagine a day in your own life if that were the case. Change would be a major ingredient and the difference would make a big difference. Change could lead to transformation. Care for each other and for all of creation would replace the norms I mentioned. The arts would take their rightful place among other needs. The connection among peoples would not threaten, but would enrich us. The starvation of children and the slaughter of youth in war would be untenable. Even the Jesus assures us that he is with us, because the Spirit is that presence of God. That promise is perpetual "until the end of the age." It is permanent, but changing. That brings us back today, as we commit ourselves again "for the rest of our lives." We invite you, Katherine, to lead us in that solemn and daring deed. Carol Quigley, IHM |
