Good evening. May the Lord bless us with every good blessing as we enter into this new year. It’s both an honor and a challenge to preach at this Ed Ryle anniversary Mass. It’s an honor to remember this good and decent man who had such a unique charism for proclaiming and applying the social dimension of the Biblical Word. To reflect with you on it and to try to integrate it into our own lives is surely a challenge.

The Gospel just proclaimed offers a relevant context for this focus. When Jesus noticed the two disciples of John following him, he said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to him, "Rabbi… Where are you staying?" Jesus said to them, "Come and see." As pilgrim people of faith we too are invited to come and see. To see how the Lord is calling and leading us to see beyond our own self-centered needs to the needs of all brothers and sisters. The mystery of Emmanuel… God is with us, continues to be incarnate among us, His followers, to whom He is saying, "Come and see." Come and see, and live and proclaim my ways of love, justice and peace.

Religious practice can too often be limited to a "me and God" relationship with little or no concern for neighbor. Such religious practice is surely myopic, isolationalist and self-centered. Full religious practice calls us to a "God and me and neighbor" relationship. Recently, I had a discussion with a couple active in our parish St. Vincent de Paul Society who were very troubled about the occupy movement and their perception of it. I suggested that the occupy movement was protesting in part the extremes of capitalism. They were adamant that capitalism is what has made the United States great. The exchange led me to raise the question, "Who is my neighbor?" And one of them responded, "Not illegals!" I then suggested that perhaps it might be good to read the story of the Good Samaritan and Jesus’ parable response to the question, "Who is my neighbor?"

We surely experience with dismay the increase polarization of our political process. To this reality Jesus, the embodiment of the Biblical Word brings a clear and definitive message of inclusion: wolf and lamb, calf and lion, cow and bear – all grazing and lying down together.

Ed Ryle, who was a living example of this and whom we remember lovingly today, lived it, it seems to me, according to the following axiom: Wherever we can build bridges instead of walls, we surely give birth to Emmanuel. Even a simple bridge can ease movement from suspicion to understanding. Justice was a major concern for the Biblical prophets and for Ed Ryle as he tried to emulate them. Micah describes concisely what God asks of us: Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God. To do this is to give birth to right relationships with our neighbor and in our communities.

In 1 John 4:7, John tells us, "Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God." God takes flesh in our lives and in the lives of those around us whenever we act unselfishly from love. In "Enter the Story" Fran Freder eloquently describes this process: Incarnation of the Holy happens whenever we act justly, love tenderly, and walk in truth with our God. Sometimes she says it develops slowly, when we consciously set out on the long journey toward integrity and honor that commitment over the course of our lives. Other times Fran Freder observes an opportunity for giving birth comes upon us when we least expect it, when we are ill-prepared for the demands of love that rises up in front of us – an apology is called for, a truth needs to be announced, words of forgiveness must be spoken, affirmation is needed.

Even if we, like Mary, cannot choose where and when we may be called upon to look to birth the Holy One, we can be alert to the small opportunities we have in our ordinary relationships and commitments. We can also affirm those who act in ways that are life-giving. Surely for those of us who knew Ed Ryle, we would have to say that Ed was always affirming those who act in ways that are life-giving across all shades of the political spectrum.

I would also like to honor Ed Ryle in this anniversary Mass by briefly referencing the new document from the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, which was released on October 24th. If my memory serves me correctly, Ed underwent a serious consideration for joining the Council of Justice and Peace in Rome some years before he died. The title of the document is formidable to say the least: "Towards reforming the international financial and monetary systems in the context of global public authority." It is a very unique title for a document - perhaps not a very good title for marketing its very relevant message. I am simplifying its title by calling it "Stewardship in the Global Village." After its release, it was quickly followed by a raft of press releases by various groups explaining that it wasn’t from Pope Benedict XVI himself. Therefore it wasn’t binding on consciences and damning it as economically naïve. Some Catholic organizations dismissed it for superficial reasons that had nothing to do with its message. My review of its content finds it very engaging, insightful and enlightening to the present reality of the worldwide economy in the global village.

An editorial in a recent magazine made the following points on some commentator’s observations on its content. I quote, "In only a matter of hours Catholic commentators were able to prayerfully reflect on its call to justice and still explain why it could safely be ignored." The editorial continues, "While the document was not issued under the signature of Pope Benedict, it situates itself in a long line of papal texts, starting with Blessed John XXIII’s ‘Pacem in Terris’ and concluding with Benedict’s most recent encyclical ‘Caritas in Veritate.’" The core message reflected in the document, as Benedict articulated some months ago is this: "The economy cannot be measured according to the maxim of profit, but rather according to the common good of all. It implies responsibility for others and only really functions well if it functions humanly, with respect for others… responsibility for one’s own nation and not only for one’s self; responsibility for… the whole of humanity."

The editorialist adds and I quote, "Feel responsible even for the poorest in lands far away?" No wonder the editorialist also observed, "That message is a tough swallow for Americans, Catholics included. A recent poll shows that more than 70 percent of Americans want to eliminate all U.S. foreign aid spending."
For all of us willing to consider this document prayerfully, we must understand that its primary assumption is and I quote that "every individual in every community shares in and is responsible for promoting the common good."

The interplay between celebrating Eucharist liturgically and living it in the complex realities of everyday life was the core and touchstone of Msgr. Ed Ryle’s life. There can too easily be a wall and a dichotomy between what we celebrate here and how the Lord who is present to us in this ritual constantly invites us to come and see Him and seek Him in the realities of everyday life.

I conclude these sharings with a personal reflection entitled "Sidewalk Altar." It is a reflection I put together after visiting nine homeless sites around the center of London during a sabbatical time in August 1999. I spent a week working with the Simon Community who work with the street homeless and on a particular Sunday morning, we did what is known as the tea run from 5:30am on the Sunday morning to 11:30am. I may add it was a most unusual tour of central London. These homeless sites are rather invisible and in close proximity to Big Ben, parliament buildings, Westminster Abbey, and Westminster Cathedral. We ended up the tea run that morning with a group of homeless people in the square outside Westminster Cathedral. I poked my head into the Cathedral to see what was happening. Mass was being celebrated and the preacher was preaching on the text, give them something to eat yourselves. Hence the following reflection... "Sidewalk Altar."

Give them something to eat yourselves,
Jesus said to his anxious disciples.
The preacher in the vast cathedral
was proclaiming the same message.

The scattering of people within
were absorbing and reflecting on the words.
In the square outside a few people
were feeding the hungry homeless… living the words.

On this Sunday morning
where was Eucharist being celebrated?
Who were the celebrants
doing the holy action?

Was God present only
at the altar in the sanctuary?
Or was he equally present
on the altar of the sidewalk?

Was the holy food of God’s compassion
present only at the holy bread line within?
Or was it most tangible
in the Simon workers in their communion with the street homeless?

I would contend that Ed Ryle, whom we fondly remember today, was exemplary in living the Eucharist and in putting into action the invitation of Jesus… Come and see and give them something to eat yourselves. Jesus calls all of us to… Come and see and give them something to eat yourselves.