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15th Sunday of Ordinary Time July 21, 2002 by Very Rev. Edward Correia
Although there were no TV cameras or newspaper reporters present, a very historical event took place in Fairhaven on Friday. St. Mary’s Church was filled with people standing for Fr. Mathew Sullivan’s Funeral Mass. Fr. Matthew Sullivan was a priest of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He has worked in the greater New Bedford area for decades. He worked in the jails; worked with people with drug addiction; worked with the divorced and remarried. He worked with so many people and was always there for people. He lived the words of the first reading from the Book of Wisdom: "those who are just , must be kind".He saw the weeds and the wheat in people. He always worked with the wheat and hoped that the weeds would change to wheat. The first reading tells us that God is all-powerful. His power lies in kindness. He always gives us time to change. We live God’s power by relating to the wheat in people and dealing with the weeds with kindness. We deal with people with kindness. We live with the hope that the weeds will lessen in other people, in ourselves and in the world. Living with kindness seems to take so long. It seems that evil is getting stronger and good is so weak. It seems that the weeds are multiplying and the wheat is so small in quantity. Kindness is like that stone that is thrown into the pond. The ripples widen the circle. It slowly reaches to the edge of the pond. When Jesus comes the second time the weeds will be separated from the wheat. Until that time we wait in hope. |
