Tuesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
When I was in 6th grade, I found myself in a new school. I didn’t know anyone, and the class bully found me to be an easy target. I noticed he never bothered me when I was around the biggest kid in the class, Brian, who towered over everyone else. So, I made sure I got to know Brian, and we became pretty good friends.
Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
I don’t know about you, but discussing politics or religion with members of my extended family (and many of my friends) can get very sticky. Most everyone (myself included) comes to these conversations with their pre-established agendas and strong personal opinions; the so called ‘conversation’ can easily lead to arguments that end in hurt feelings or worse. I got to thinking about this while reading today’s Scriptures and began wondering how I could change my approach to these discussions in a way that reflects my life as a disciple of Jesus. I need to try something new.
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
In a recent homily I shared with you the Pew Research Center’s latest data on religious affiliation in the United States. Apart from the fact that atheism has shown dramatic increase over the last decade, the data also showed the emergence of new group of people when it comes to religious affiliation. They are referred to us the “nones.” On a census paperwork, they would choose “none” to the question on religious affiliation. These are not atheists or agnostics, neither are they are irreligious or ungenuine people; they are simply “none.” You might hear them make statement like “I believe in God but not in religion,” or, “I am spiritual but not religious.” Today, the “nones” make 23% of the American population.
Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist
There is a strange line in today’s first reading. Paul, in an almost off-handed manner, references how the Thessalonians have been instructed by God in fraternal charity. It is almost like God is teaching Sunday school in Thessalonica (for which I imagine there would have been a lengthy waiting list!). In all seriousness though, what is Paul referencing? When did God hold a fraternal charity seminar in Thessalonica? In today’s reflection I wish to explore three possible answers to that question, because -- as disciples -- we should all long to sit in the school of charity. For if we have not love, we are nothing.
Memorial of Saint Augustine
“Wake, awake, the night is flying!/ The watchmen from the heights are crying / Awake
Jerusalem at last./ Midnight hears the welcome voices / And at the thrilling cry rejoices./ Come
forth ye virgins, night is past. / The Bridegroom comes, awake! / Your lamps with gladness take,
alleluia! / And for his wedding feast prepare, / for ye must go and meet him there.”
Memorial of Saint Monica
Jesus gives us a very direct and specific order in today's Gospel. Stay Awake! Do not give up! I think this Gospel can be read in terms of us no longer staying vigilant and getting distracted but I think it can also be read in terms of us giving up on the world and falling asleep to the prospect of Christ's return. We need to stay awake, stay alert, stay committed. If we are not awake to welcome the Lord, we leave the door open for the devil.
Wednesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Most people know the cliché “actions speak louder than words.” The phrase is commonly understood to suggest that “how we live”, our actions, say more about each of us, than “how we say we live”, our words do. St. Francis of Assisi who lived almost 800 years ago taught his brothers, “Preach the gospel always if necessary use words.” Francis reinvigorated the idea of simple living because he knew that from a life of poverty he could more genuinely preach about the itinerant preacher he loved named Jesus. Today’s readings proclaim most clearly these thoughts and remind us how deeply rooted hypocrisy is in humanity.
Tuesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s readings provide an opportunity to consider whether we have each developed our faith in a manner that is pleasing to God. When we attempt to gain a deeper understanding of God, we are always processing that understanding through our own perception. When we attempt to understand God through our own perception, it is possible that our understanding might be more about us and less about God. When the finite mind attempts to understand the infinite, there are opportunities for problems. Our readings highlight some of these potential problems and warn us to be vigilant in discerning when our actions are really intended to please other people instead of God.
Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle
As Christians, each of us is called to bring others to Christ. Pope Francis has used the term “missionary discipleship” to describe how this is accomplished. Through our encounter with Jesus, we are transformed by God’s grace and mercy and become his disciples. Then we are sent forth to invite others to follow Him. It is through how we live our lives that those around us are introduced to Jesus. Pope Francis describes this well when he says, “This is the mission...people need words but most of all they need us to bear witness to the mercy and tenderness of the Lord, which warms the heart and rekindles hope” Just like Phillip in today’s reading, we must invite others to “come and see” the Lord. Then, through their encounter with Christ they will also be transformed and sent forth to join with us as disciples to further the kingdom of God.
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s gospel reading concludes the ‘Bread of Life’ discourse which we have been reflecting on the last few weeks. The discourse ends tragically and yet hopefully. Some of his followers left Jesus’ company after Jesus’ discourse. At this, Jesus came to his inner circle of disciples and asked them, “Do you also want to leave?” (Jn 6:67) What happens next is one of the most emotional yet poignant expressions of faith, which thankfully, has been preserved for people like us. Peter says to Jesus, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (Jn 6:68).
In this homily I would like to take Peter’s response and make it our own. If we had to affirm our faith in Christ in Peter’s words, what could it mean?
Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Christ has many difficult teachings. He tells us that adultery can be committed in the heart (Mt. 5:28), that we need to eat his flesh and drink his blood (Jn. 6:53), and that whoever is not with him is against him (Mt. 12:30). He calls us to pick up our crosses and follow him (Mk. 8:34) and to pray for and bless those who persecute us (Mt. 5:44). A teaching from today’s gospel can keep company with these other challenging commands. Jesus tells his disciples to listen to the Pharisees.
Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope
Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church
I was recently moved by a statement from Richard Lennan, a theology professor from Boston College, that described idolatry as any attempt to limit God. This challenged me to think of idolatry as more than those times that I place my faith in something other than God. Dr. Lennan’s point surfaced in a conversation emphasizing the mystery of God, how our faith journeys calls us to deeper levels of mystery as we attempt to understand and experience God within our human capacity. The challenge Richard Lennan described in this conversation called me to wrestle with and find some comfort amidst those deepening levels of mystery, rather than attempt to define and place limits upon God in a finite manner. It led me to wonder how I had placed parameters on God or compartmentalized my relationship with God. I believe in today’s readings we encounter some of these challenges in Jephthah and the parable of the wedding banquet.
Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something which is not meant to be understood literally. This is definitely true with the readings for this day. In the first reading from Judges we hear a parable which alludes to the people of God as wanting a king. In today’s gospel we hear the parable of the landowner who system of paying employees is far from what we might call capitalism.
Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
If I ever meet someone who claims to be an angel of the Lord coming to give me an impossible-sounding mission, my first thought will probably be, “either I’m crazy, or this guy is…” So, we can hardly blame Gideon for wondering if the person standing before him was really an angel. After all, Gideon was from the biggest loser in a family of losers: “My family is the lowliest in Manasseh, and I am the most insignificant in my father’s house.” How could such a wimp take care of the biggest problem in the whole Kingdom of Israel at the time, the Midianites?
Monday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
If you have not experienced the delight of reading some of the ‘sayings’ of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, try surfing the internet and they are easily found; it is time well spent. Here is a little story for you from a book called The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Alphabetical Collection by Benedicta Ward:
“Abbot Lot went to see Abbot Joseph and said, ‘Father, according as I am able, I keep my little rule,
and my little fast, my prayer, meditation, and contemplative silence; and as according as I am able
I strive to cleanse my heart of bad thoughts: now what more should I do?’ The elder rose up in reply
and stretched out his hands to heaven, and his fingers became like lamps of fire. He said, ‘Why not
become all flame?’”
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
We move to the fourth week of our reflection on the ‘bread of life discourse.’ We began with the multiplication of loaves three weeks back and for the last two weeks we have been reflecting on the meaning of “the bread that came down from heaven.’ Today, the emphasis is on the real of presence of Christ in the bread and wine. We must remember that by the time John wrote the gospel, the Eucharist had already been established in the early Christian community. However, there were serious objections to the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Gnostics, especially, emphasized the indwelling presence of Christ rather than his physical presence. Hence John statement in today’s gospel, “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”
Solemnity Of The Assumption Of The Blessed Virgin Mary
My wife watches our nephews twice a week. They are wonderful little guys, full of energy and, of course, curiosity. The older of the two, like many 3-year-olds, loves to ask, “Why?” After he has asked this question more times than the Verizon man asks, “Can you hear me now?” you just offer an exasperated, “Because that is just how it is.” But as we all know, you are immediately met by the innocent and curious, “But why?” As testing as that can be, it should also be reassuring. Our nephew asks Bess and me questions because he gives us the benefit of the doubt. He assumes that we understand something he doesn’t. Today, as we celebrate the Assumption of Mary, I want us to imitate him, because for many of us it is strange that Mary’s Assumption is dogma. The Trinity, the assertion that Christ is fully human and fully God, His real presence in the Eucharist; these are all dogmatic beliefs and it makes sense that they are so important. However, when it comes to Mary’s Assumption into Heaven, a truth definitively and dogmatically affirmed by our faith, many of us ask “Why?”
Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr
Both of today's lessons depict very clearly that our lives, even the good parts, are not wholly up to us. In the first lesson (Joshua 24:1-13), Joshua is telling the people their story, from all the way back to Genesis, with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, right down to their present day, where they live in lands they did not till, and eat from vineyards they had not planted. How would you feel as one of the Israelites, knowing this? Everything becomes a gift to receive and take care of. We realize that all of life is a gift that is not ultimately up to us.
Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
We have been following the journey of the Hebrew people under the leadership of Moses throughout these last several weeks. Today, our attention shifts to the next hero of the people, namely, Joshua. Our first reading for today comes from the book of Joshua. It is Joshua, not Moses, who leads the Hebrew people to the promised land.