“Hope in Crisis,” Timothy Radcliffe, OP

Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, former Master General of the Dominican Order, spoke at Barry on Tuesday, April 19th. Those gathered for this vesper service had expected a homily related to preaching in the modern world, “How Can We Talk about Our Faith? Break Bread and Breaking the Word,” but events had changed--globally.

Cardinal Ratzinger had been selected as the new Roman Catholic pope just hours before. And true to his calling to preach, Radcliffe felt the papal election was too great an event to warrant just a mention. Switching his topic literally moments before he spoke, Radcliffe, never-the-less, delivered a powerful homily on “Hope in Crisis.”

Noting that the election of Pope Benedict XVI would be seen by some with relief and by others with disappointment, he encouraged us to remember that we all need to live together with hope. Dominicans have long been known for their work in overcoming polarization and creating unity. In fact, he noted that St. Dominic left no rule, no form of government to make sure the members of the Order would have to work together and remain united.

Our society, Radcliffe noted, is going through a crisis of hope. The 1960’s had brought us great energy and hope to reform. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, many felt the future they had worked toward had arrived; their dreams were fulfilled and most dreamt of no new reforms. The tragedy that was 9/11 brought the vision of more terrorism and wars that no one could win. Radcliffe asserted that as society faced an unknown future, hope died.

The gospels, he noted, were written in a similar time, a time of crisis of hope. Many had expected Jesus to return soon, and he didn’t; at least not in the way some had expected. He came in a new way, in the writing of the gospels so that all could hear the good news.

Those gospel messages still speak to us today. Looking back to the gospel reading, he imaged Eucharist as both a gathering in and a seeking out. The image of the community Jesus gathered in the upper room for the breaking of the bread, Radcliffe noted, is one that appeals to Catholics who want to know who we are, who are concerned about Catholic identity. The image of the cup, being poured out for all, is attractive to those Catholics who see themselves as on pilgrimage to the Kingdom.

The Church needs both kinds of Catholics, said Radcliffe: those who are gathered in and those who seek out. It is a tension that we all have to learn to live with as we continue to live together in hope.