Optional Memorial of Saint Callistus I, pope and martyr

Lectionary: 470 

“Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets whom your fathers killed. Consequently, you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of your ancestors, for they killed them and you do the building.

On this feast of Pope Saint Callistus -- who established the first Christian cemeteries in Rome -- we hear Jesus acerbic remarks about the "memorials of the prophets." Apparently Jerusalem had innumerable memorials, plaques and steles to honor the great prophets like Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah. The monument builders had conveniently forgotten the uncomfortable truth that those same prophets had persistently accused the citizens of every kind of sin. 

The controversy is all too familiar to Americans today, as the Black Lives Matter movement has targeted the monuments of Civil War "heroes." Many were erected during the last decade of the nineteenth century; many lionized the military and political leaders who defended the peculiar institution of slavery. 

These monuments were obviously more than historical artifacts, they sought to shore up the losses of the Civil War and maintain the segregated class system which survived the collapse of slavery. A system so admired by Adolf Hitler and racists around the world. These celebrated individuals may have demonstrated remarkable military and political abilities but they flagrantly betrayed the basic principles of the American Constitution. They could be admired only by those who also despised our most cherished ideals. 

Hypocrites is not too strong a word to describe the monument builders in Jesus's Jerusalem or many American cities. They could, with a straight face and an honest gaze, claim to be patriotic while actively sabotaging the freedom and rights of African-Americans and other minorities. Many, with the same cant, promote Mr. Trump's Big Lie and sacrifice children for the sake of their "gun rights." And then they say to protesters, "America: love it or leave it." 

It's enough to make the Son of the Virgin Mary curse. 

When Catholics celebrate our beloved dead we also pray that God will forgive their sins. We don't need to pretend that they were always kind, generous, and patient. We can acknowledge their accomplishments, their courage, and their shortcomings. We can admit that their memory is tainted by their worst inclinations. 

I was consulted once by a woman who said her house was haunted. I asked had anyone died recently. She spoke of a very unhappy aunt who had lived in their home, a woman who demanded much of everyone and never thanked anyone. However, when she died, they uttered only pious platitudes about her. 

So I suggested, "Go home and talk about the woman who died, and how relieved you are that she is gone. You don't have to be unkind but you do have to be honest."

The niece never came back; perhaps she took my advice. 

There is a reason why Catholics believe in Purgatory. We have some reconciling to do with our ancestors. As we pray for their souls we pray that we will forgive them for the insults that still hurt and the neglect that left an insatiable vacuum in our hearts. We pray that we will at last love them with that affectionate mercy which...

is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account." Hebrews 4:12