Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling

Today on the feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, Caravaggio's masterpiece of the call of St. Matthew has me thinking about obstacles and resistance to Christ's call in the lives of each and every one of us. I for one identify Matthew in the painting as being the young man hunched over his counting table. Four of the men in the picture have their attention directed toward Jesus or take their cue from Him and His will for Matthew. They clearly know whom Jesus is pointing to. Only the man at Matthew's elbow seems ignorant of the presence of the Master and focused on the coins.

Freedom being what it is, the greatness of the Evangelist's calling rests in Matthew's recognition and acceptance, that is, in the next two frames of the reel which the artist did not paint: the "who me?" and the adherence of the one called to Christ. Caravaggio painted our world as it is, folks too often with head down and preoccupied to the point of obsession with things, yes, things which count for naught. Our world becomes responsive and interpersonal only when we look up from that counting table to focus on the Lord Who is calling.

In all the whirling controversy and crisis which now plagues the Church in countless countries around the world, I have become somewhat preoccupied with the issue of how we are to move forward, how we might break through the present impasse, if you will, punch a big hole in that glass ceiling hanging heavy over our heads. And an impasse there is, mostly because of resistance to facing the core or root issue which has the Church hobbled if not down for the count. Virtuous living should be what we are about and for each according to his or her state in life. Sadly, that is not happening for the unwillingness of many to speak the truth about a lot of things, among which, as we know from the whole McCarrick fiasco, is the utter wrongness of, call it what you will, casual or recreational sex with whomever by anybody baptized and in any state of life.

I read somewhere recently that a bishop is said to have expressed skepticism over whether homosexuals can be kept out of the seminary and be stopped short of the priesthood, the bishop presuming their willingness to resort to dissimulation in order to pass muster. All this does is reflect negatively on the bishop's assessment of the priesthood as lived out in our day. It might be very realistic of him, but that is far from the point. Tell me what the attraction to priestly ordination might be for someone living less than virtuously or despairing of achieving sanctity this side of heaven! No exit? A glass ceiling! It reminds me of rector's conferences in college seminary, limply trying to encourage us to strive such that someday we too could accept the gravely disordered as mortally sinful. 

Matthew looked up from his counting table, had his "who me?" moment and left all behind to follow Christ. Four of the men in the picture saw it coming. 

PROPERANTES ADVENTUM DIEI DEI