Saturday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

As we come to the end of James’s letter that we have been following for some time now, we see that St. James wraps up the letter with an exhortation to his fellow Christians. What we notice about his ending plea is that all things are to be brought to God – sufferings, good spirits, sickness, and sinfulness. This is, however, not possible by ourselves. In order to pray in our sufferings (Jas 5:13), we have to learn how to pray. In order sing a song of praise (Jas 5:13), we have to have been taught such a song. The role of our fellow Christians becomes even more obvious in the last two: the role of presbyters (priests) and our fellow Christians is made explicit (Jas 5:14, 19). All of this teaches us that it is primarily through the Church, the entire Body of Christ, the whole of Christ’s disciples, that we come to God. At least during our time on earth, it is primarily through the Church – through its sacraments, through its ministers, through our fellow Christians – that we come to know God. Indeed, it’s difficult to imagine how, if it weren’t for the work of the Church, we would have access to Christ’s gospel 2000 years later.

This message should come as both a deep relief and a poignant challenge. First the relief: we don’t (in fact we can’t!) go it alone. Our fellow Christians walk the pilgrimage of faith with us and exhort us to stay on the path. The sacraments of the Church are occasions for the gift of grace, which helps us to live as disciples. Yet, that same gift of God’s grace impels us to respond. We are challenged to be Christ’s instruments in the world, to take our place in the Church seriously: to teach as we have been taught, to comfort as we have been comforted, and to model Christ’s life as it has been modeled for us. In this holy work, our entire lives become a prayer of thanksgiving, which will “come like incense” before God (Ps 141:2).

- Tim Gabrielli