Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
News media both secular and Catholic have been abuzz with news about Pope Francis’s recent interview. The Jesuit editor of the America magazine published this interview and Father Matt Malone suggests that Pope Francis personally reviewed the article and approved its publication. To say the least, both the Catholic and secular world are still trying to comprehend implications of his statements. The statements that got most attention were: "We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods.” “The church's pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently." "We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.”
Live in a Manner Worthy of the Call You have Received
Scripture Readings
Today is the Feast of St. Matthew, an apostle of Jesus and the author of the gospel of Matthew. On this feast day we reflect on the “call” each Christian has. In today’s first reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul calls himself “a prisoner for the Lord.” Rather than being prisoners to sin, we all are prisoners to the Lord. Of course, unlike prisoners in a prison, we have far more freedoms. The point is that we ought to choose to follow the Lord’s will in our freedom, unlike a prisoner who is forced to do another’s bidding because of his lack of freedom.
Memorial of Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs
Thursday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Imagine for a moment that you are Simon, the Pharisee in today’s gospel (Luke 7: 36-50) who invited Jesus to his house for dinner. You have made sure that a fine meal is cooked and everything is prepared for your guests, including Jesus. Then, as Jesus is reclined at the table (the manner in which meals were eaten), a woman from the city who is known to be sinful (perhaps a prostitute) enters uninvited and proceeds to bathe Jesus’ feet with her tears, wipe them with her hair and kiss them. She then pours oil on his feet, anointing them.
Wednesday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
There was a young man who was at home when a friend ran by and said, “there is a flood, run and escape with me.” The young man unmoved said, “God will save me” and went back inside his house. Another friend came by in a rowboat and invited his friend get into his boat. The man once again stated, “Do not worry God will save me.” Finally a helicopter came by and tried to rescue this young man off the roof of his house. Again the young man refused saying, “God will save me.” Then the young man passed on and went to heaven. In heaven he asked God, “Why did you not save me?” God responded, “I sent a friend, a row boat and a helicopter. What more do you want?”
Tuesday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's gospel (Luke 7:11-17) offers us a miracle story: Jesus raises a man from the dead, and the crowd stands amazed. This miracle made the onlookers (and hopefully we ourselves) ponder the sheer mystery of Jesus, the God who has come to earth to be among us. But what I am focused on especially is the reason why Jesus is moved to perform this miracle: he is responding to the mother's deep grief. How amazing and mysterious it is that The Lord of all creation focuses on this particular mother and makes himself part of her life.
Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs
My maternal grandmother lived to the age of 103. She was the daughter of German immigrants and grew up on a farm in St. Henry, Ohio in the early years of the 20th century. Grandma Mary was a devout Catholic her entire life. During last couple of years of her life, despite experiencing many days of confusion and disorientation, she continued to pray the rosary everyday and would take Communion as often as possible. One of the things I remember is that no matter whether she was attending Mass or receiving Communion from her bed, she always said, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, only say the word and I shall be healed.” Even through all those years before the Liturgy was changed, she continued to say these words. She was not protesting or ignoring the changes in the Mass. It was just that she was used to saying this and she meant every last word from the deepest part of her heart. So it is not surprising that today’s Gospel passage reminded me of her. My Grandmother was a woman of great faith and devotion. Of course she had her moments of being “frisky” and she had no trouble sticking up for herself, but when it came to prayers and Mass and her devotions, she was completely serious. When it came to her faith and her spiritual life she knew who she was in the sight of God and her faith was based securely in that knowledge.
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Let me begin this homily where the gospel reading begins: “Tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to listen to Jesus but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain….” Because we have three parables that immediately get our attention, we tend to often ignore the setting for these parables. I myself have often glanced over the context. As I read just this line again and again, my eyes began to fill up. God, who is all holy and all good walked the face of the earth in the person of Jesus. Against all our natural instinct about who would be in Jesus’ inner circle Luke tells us the tax collectors and sinners were drawn to Jesus.
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
One of the most important concepts in marketing is visibility. The same is true in the realm of commercial real estate. Location, location, location. The things that are valuable to us and the things that we desire are the things that are exposed to us; they are the things that we see. In our discipleship, it is no different. As disciples, we are attracted to the invisible love that has been made visible to us on the cross.
Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Every week is filled with several moments when I think to myself, "Man, if I were trying to be just a bit more like a disciple of Jesus, I think I wouldn't have done _____." This week, one of those moments was a morning when we were trying to get out the door, and I yelled at the kids, to try to hurry them. The response was immediate: my two and a half year old burst into tears because I was yelling; my five year old burst into tears because her sister was crying. So far from making it out the door faster, my yelling actually slowed us down and it wasn't a good atmosphere for the kids. And I just knew: I hadn't been a good disciple in that moment.
Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s readings we are given very clear instructions on how to live our lives. We are told to do some things that are, in all honesty, very difficult. Not only are we asked to practice compassion, kindness, gentleness and humility, we are also asked to forgive others, to love our enemies, lend to those who may never pay us back and to offer the other cheek when one cheek has been struck. These are challenging demands on all of us. The challenge comes not because they are impossible tasks, but rather because we are human. It is our brokenness and our humanity that keeps us from living this way at all times.
Wednesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Change is difficult. Just ask anyone who has been in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) for a while. In talking to a friend this week about AA, today’s readings came to mind. My friends’ 5th Anniversary of sobriety is in a few days. He recalled to me a time when his own decisions to use and abuse alcohol and drugs made his life extremely difficult. Tough times often led to more destructive behavior. The cycle was hard to break. What struck me the most about our conversation was how my friend now reacts serenely when tough things occur? His faith remains steadfast. He explained “God doesn’t wish bad upon us. Often it is our own choices that bring us tough times.” For my friend, being in recovery has shown him that God can use our suffering to make good things happen out of the bad.
Tuesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s reading from St. Paul to the Colossians is so full of wisdom and encouragement. One can just imagine that the communities all around the Mediterranean to which he is writing would be grateful to receive such words in their times of struggle and persecution. And what of us today? “See that no one captivate you,” Paul writes, “with an empty, seductive philosophy.” One way to interpret these words is to remind ourselves of all of the commitments that may draw our attention away from our baptismal call to bring Christ to the world. But here I propose we continue our parish’s weekend reflection on being the Body of Christ, for it can also be a reminder to not turn the Church into just another club we join or choose not to join. This is indeed a seductive philosophy.
Memorial of Saint Peter Claver, Priest
Last spring a friend asked me to join her and a group of ladies to participate in a mini-marathon. I decided to join them to enjoy their company and also have some fun. In the course of the event, 3 of us had stayed together for most of the race. As we got closer to the finish, one of my friends began to slow down, so she encouraged the 2 of us to go ahead and meet up at the finish line. Our one friend sprinted off to the finish. I was tempted to do the same, but then I recalled the reason I was doing this event was to spend time with my friend. So, I turned around and went back to meet up with her, and together we crossed the finish line. As I reflected on this experience, I recognized it has significance for both my personal and spiritual life. I realized that I am influenced greatly by the competitive and individualistic aspect of our society that encourages us to be first no matter the cost. I also realized that the part that made the entire experience so rewarding and fun was being with my friends and joining them as we encouraged each other on the way. As I read today’s readings, I think they illustrate the importance of supporting one another on our faith journey. Sometimes this may be counter-cultural and even require sacrifice. In this year as we celebrate being the Body of Christ, I am reminded we are called to follow Jesus as a community of disciples, so we can all get to the finish line together.
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Just for a moment, in your mind I want to leave this church. Think of the ordinary peasants and shepherds of first Century Palestine. They reeled under two burdens: the burden of political slavery and the burden of Pharisaical Judaism which demanded meticulous and almost slavish following of the Law. Suddenly, like a breath of fresh air, there was a new man everybody was talking about – Jesus. He has been saying and doing some stupendous and revolutionary things. He was teaching people to call God, “Abba”; Even on a Sabbath, he was miraculously healing people; he hung out with sinners; on one occasion when he was invited to the house of a Pharisee, he told his disciples to take the lowest positions because those who exalt themselves would be humbled and those who humbled themselves would be exalted. Because of his teachings King Herod was looking to kill him and even some religious leaders were beginning to become uncomfortable. But, perhaps because people could not ignore his authority or they thought he could be the messiah who would bring them liberation, or simply because they wanted a favor of him, crowds were following him. I want you to imagine that you are one among the crowd. Suddenly, he turns around and says, ““If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” And then after a couple of parables he says again, “In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot follow me.”
Luke did not record the reactions of the people and he does not tell us how the day ended for Jesus. But what would your reaction be? Would you still follow? would you go home to think about it? Would you renounce all your possessions?
Saturday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Growing up I encountered a phenomenon that I'm sure was not unique to my childhood. It was the paradox of 'mandatory fun time.' It could be assigned by a teacher thinking they were being nice. It could be commanded by your parents as they shoved you outside and told you to 'go have fun.' It could just be that feeling of watching the clock, on a Sunday before school, tick closer and closer to bed time as you convinced yourself that 'I must have as much fun as possible between now and bed.' The paradox of it is that 'mandatory fun time' was never any fun. The entire time your enjoyment is skewed just enough to ruin it because you had to do it.
Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
I recently read with my youngest son a wonderful children’s book, beautifully illustrated, about Mother Teresa’s life (Mother Teresa, by Demi, 2005). One of the things that stood out to me was that she did not set out to start her own order of sisters and brothers, or to earn the Nobel Peace Prize, or to be known and loved throughout the world, she simply listened to God’s voice, God’s call within her, and took little steps to answer that call. She even had what she referred to as “a call within a call”. While she had already answered the call to become a religious sister and went from teaching in Calcutta to eventually becoming the principal of the school, she became aware of the people suffering in the slums near the school and began to visit and help them in whatever ways she could. Then, while on a train to her summer retreat, she heard the call to leave the convent and “help the poorest of the poor while living among them.” Her first “school” among the people living in the slums was simply under a tree with five “street orphans” who she began to teach by writing with a stick in the dirt.
Wednesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
A good friend of mine is one of the kindest, gentlest and holy souls I know. It is fascinating how many people come to me and talk about how this man has healed their lives and given them hope. Often I remind the people that I hear their feelings of gratitude, and ask them to consider sharing these deep heartfelt feelings directly with this person. Many of them realize this and then endeavor to tell this man. In Paul’s letter to the Colossians’ many people, had been telling Paul about the faithfulness of the people in Colossae. As he writes the Colossian’s, he expresses gratitude for the ways their faithfulness to the Word is bearing great fruit. Are there ways of sharing our gratitude that might bear great fruit?