The first of several types of bad homilies one often hears in Catholic churches is the excessively pious, excessively credulous homily. The priest speaks about private revelation (visions, locutions, apparitions) as if it is gospel truth. He tells pious stories about the saints that were told in the Middle Ages, again as it they were gospel truth.
For example, last Friday was the Solemnity of St. Joseph. Our priest--a very holy young man who celebrates the Eucharistic sacrifice with great devotion, and who is also an excellent confessor to whom this writer owes a debt of gratitude--explained why statues of St. Joseph often depict Jesus' foster-father with a wooden staff that ends in a lily. The story goes that St. Joseph was one of many suitors for the hand of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Virgin's father asked all the men to give him their staffs and resolved to choose the man by choosing a staff from the pile. Over night a lily--a symbol of purity--grew on Joseph's staff. Mary's father took this as a sign from God that he should choose Joseph.
Granola Conservative has no complaint with the retelling of this story as an explanation of why statues of St. Joseph often depict Joseph holding a staff that ends in a lily. The problem is with the retelling of this story as an explanation of why our Mother Mary married St. Joseph.
Let's stipulate that we do not really know the answer to this question. It is not discussed in the Bible, and, to our knowledge, there are no other reliable contemporaneous accounts. The lily story could be true--Catholics are not materialists, we do not reject a priori accounts of miracles. But is it likely? Do accounts of courtship and marriage practices in Palestine at the time evidence that it was common for a girl's father to choose her husband by choosing the staff of one of the suitors? Are there any trustworthy accounts of this practice? Do lilies sprout from staves? Again, a Catholic cannot reject out of hand the possibility of such a miracle, but he certainly can and should assert that such an event is truly extraordinary. Moreover, if there is a non-miraculous explanation of the event, such explanation ought to be presumptively preferred.
Perhaps the lily story is harmless. Yet there are a few reasons to believe that in fact it is harmful. First, it must be a turn-off to many non-Catholics who might be interested in converting to Catholicism. If a story like this one that seems so far-fetched is preached as truth, should not one also take with a grain of salt other truth claims made by the Church?
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
Very interesting Kieran, thanks! Great book review too - who is Dan?
2 - Ms. Tek
I think that within Catholicism itself there is a very subtle divisions.
I've told stories before about the different orders of father and nuns I have been educated by. The BVMs were very old fashioned and loved all the "miracle" story. They loved all the roses sprouting out of loaves of bread and brining relics in to pass around the class.
Then, I got the Benedictines in High School.
(God BLESS the Benedictines, Jesuits, and Franciscans).
I clearly remember the shift in the teaching...
All the miracles in the bible were not really miracles save for the time they happened.
For example, the red sea did not really part for Moses but the miracle was that when Moses decides to cross, the time of year and phase of the moon caused the sea to be more shallow then normal, allowing them to cross.
Same for the locusts, and the star of david.
Me, always being the smart ass decided to suggest then that Mary was not really virgin since all the other miracles had some scientific explanation.
I got detention for that. ;)
Still, they were the first to really show how the bible can work in context with the scientific world and that in-self is a miracle.
I grew older, and I am no longer a catholic but I do appreciate everything that they taught me... Esp. the Education focused orders.
This is why I say that even within the Catholic Church, there are those who really and truly believe in more of the "miracles" of the bible and stories, and others who note more the social context.