Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
On my way to the store in India on my last vacation, I met this crippled man sitting on his wheelchair begging. I have seen him on my previous visits and I have always been generous with him. This time too, I gave him money enough for him to smile. Secretly, there is a sense of contentment every time I do this. I guess it makes me feel good. This time however, even after my return this man has not left my mind. And the question that has been playing in my mind is, why could I not be more generous with him? What stops me from giving him a hundred rupee bill rather than a ten rupee bill? For that matter, why not a thousand rupee bill? After all, I always have a few thousand rupees in my wallet. More importantly, why have never asked him name or where he lives? Why have I not offered to visit his home or do something for him that might change his life forever? What is the harm in being just a little more generous?
Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s first reading from the book of Jeremiah, we are given a message from God delivered by Jeremiah to God’s people. The words are striking in their call to the Jewish people to make their worship congruent with their actions. In order to fully understand this message, we need to know a bit about the temple in Judaism.
Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
I have been praying a lot this week for the victims of the Aurora, Colorado shooting. It is close to my heart because I am from Colorado, and my parents and many friends still live there. And I am, of course, horrified by the ease with which someone is able to dream up and execute such devastation.
Memorial of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Feast of Saint James, apostle
Making connections is something that come easy to many people. Yet as Church attendance declines for many faiths it seems concerning that people are not making the connection between worship and their daily journey of faith. The readings today challenge us to fully understand that our very being is connected to Christ and the one by whomever he was sent. This connection is so intertwined with Jesus that his death and resurrection are at work in our lives.
Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
The gospel passage for today relates the story of how Jesus responds to the news that his mother and brothers are standing outside the place where he is speaking. Jesus appears to reject his natural family by saying that the people gathered inside and not his mother and brothers are his real family. He also seems to be rebuking his disciples for thinking that his mother and brothers are important to him. Discerning the meaning of this story is difficult. Is Jesus saying that we should neglect our families? Doesn’t Jesus think that families are important? If his family were in trouble, wouldn’t Jesus help them? Shouldn’t Jesus favor the needs of his family over those of strangers?
Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Sometimes I tire of hearing people (including myself) use the phrase “God’s will”. Really it is not that I find the concept itself tiring but the fact that it is made to seem so mysterious and hard to discern. Actually, I think it is simpler than we like to make it. The Church guides us in this with her teachings, traditions, the Commandments and within our individual faith communities. More than one wise person has suggested to me that God’s will is simply my doing the “next right thing”. Now that is something I can handle!
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
To understand today’s readings we must understand the context within which Jeremiah prophesied. Jeremiah was called to be a prophet in the year 628 BC when Josiah was the King of Judah. Josiah began a process of reform that would rid the nation of idolatry, injustice and false religiosity. Jeremiah wholeheartedly supported Josiah’s reform. After Josiah, however, under King Zedekiah, the false prophet Hananiah began to counsel the King to revolt against the Babylonians. It was also at this time that the old idolatry and infidelity returned. On instruction from God, Jeremiah opposed the King and the false prophet. As a result, Jeremiah was arrested, imprisoned, and publicly disgraced. Had Zedekiah listened to Jeremiah and stayed faithful to the covenant, perhaps, Judah would be spared. Tragically, the Babylonians pillaged Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, killed thousands of Israelites, took into exile all able bodied men, women, and children, and left behind to die, the aged and disabled.
Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
We are particularly reminded today of God’s loving dedication to the poor and the outcasts. In today’s first reading, the prophet Micah warns the people of Judah that God will allow them to be destroyed by their enemies because of their greed. The rich people of Judah have used their power to take land and houses away from the poor. Not only was this a form of manipulation of other Jews, but it manipulated the law which mandated certain practices—such as forgiveness of debts and land redistribution—precisely to mitigate such greed from creating an unjust situation. When conquered by their enemies, the Jews will no longer have the power which they have abused.
Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
I have a lot of nostalgia for an old Carmelite monastery where I used to go on retreat. It was located in my favorite place in the world, in Colorado, and the retreats I made there were always rejuvenating. I wish I could return, and go on retreat there again, especially in times when my spiritual life is in upheaval. I feel sure if I could just go there, things would be better.
Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Have you ever been so angry or frustrated that you wished you could scream out loud? The anger might be at yourself, an event or a perceived or real injustice. Sometimes, those moments of anger cause us to lash out towards others who are often innocent and undeserving of our attitudes. The struggle with anger can be decisions or choices we make in anger may be deserved or even just, however often they can be harsh. Harshness is not necessarily a bad thing if it makes a point without destroying the relationship.
Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
In the reading for today (Matthew 11:20-24) Jesus addresses the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. These are towns where Jesus has preached, performed miracles, and done healings. The basic message to them is that the people in these towns have heard him preach and have been impressed by his miracles, but many people there still have not believed in him. Jesus prophesies that they will ultimately be judged harshly for their lack of faith. Despite these severe words, it seems to me that Jesus does not want to see them condemned. Rather he wants them to accept his message, repent of their sins, and follow a new way of life. So it is with a sense of urgency that Jesus seems to call out to them. His words are not just a warning but also a spur to them finally to do what they are supposed to be doing.
Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
I have the wonderful blessing of having a husband who tells me often how much he loves me. But it is in the everyday things that he does for me that he truly shows his love. It seems like a small thing, but every morning before he leaves for work, he goes out to the driveway and brings in the paper and leaves it on the counter for me to read. He doesn’t have to do this, but he does it and in this small way he lets me know that he is thinking about me and wants to do something to show me his love. In our readings today, God reminds us that the way that we live our lives, even in the small everyday things we do- this is how we best show Him the greatest praise and love. God also reminds us that He does not want just the bits and pieces of our lives, but every part of us.
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(This homily was written years back).
I saw a movie called Whatever Works. It is a Woody Allen film and the central character isBoris Yelnikoff, an eccentric in his seventies who believes that life happens by chance. I mean, what are the chances that one would jump out of the window of a New York high rise and still survive? What are the chances that a pretty twenty-two year old runaway from Mississippi would land up at his door and finally end up marrying him? What are the chances that the mother of this girl would land up at the same apartment and make it big in New York even though it meant happily sleeping between two men? What are the chances that the girl’s father would land up at the same apartment in search of his daughter and wife and finally meet the man of his dreams to live happily ever after. The girl finally realizes that marrying a younger man would make her happier and what are the chances that a hopeless Boris would jump out of the window a second time, only to land on his future wife. The movie ends with all the characters happily sharing a drink. Boris’ lesson to the audience at the end of it all is simple. Life is a game of chance. Take any happiness you get along the way in whatever way it comes. “Whatever works.”
Memorial of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, virgin
In today’s first reading, we have the story of Isaiah’s call to be a prophet of God. Initially while standing before God’s glory Isaiah is terrified, for Jews held that to the see God would lead to one’s death. In the same vein, he is terrified because he, unlike the seraphim singing God’s praises, lives “among a people of unclean lips” (Is 6:4) and is therefore not worthy to proclaim such praise before God. What does God do? He has a seraph cleanse his lips, making him worthy. Notice, too, that Isaiah shifts from utter terror before God to courage, laying his service at God’s feet (Is 6:8).
Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
I know a lot of people these days who really don't like Christians; one study suggests that non-Christians associate Christians with being un-loving, intolerant, and uncivil. These views are particularly cemented this year by the issues raised in this election year - about health care and contraception, immigration, and other issues associated with religious freedom. So, how are we to respond, as lovers of Jesus Christ, who also seek to love our neighbors?
Memorial of Saint Benedict, abbot
Today we remember St. Benedict. Benedict is considered the “Patriarch of Western Monasticism.” His famous ‘Rule’ became the foundation for monastic life. The ‘Rule’ is a guide for everything and details what is required to live a life dedicated to God. This dedication demands a person give their whole being over to the Lord and to the care community life. The framework of Benedict’s ‘Rule’ has been used since that time to create the ‘Rules of Life’ for most western church religious orders
Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
The gospel reading for today describes a most impressive event – namely, the healing of the demoniac who cannot hear or speak. In response to this act of healing, the crowds react with amazement. Jesus is regarded with awe as a teacher of great power. Focusing on the sensationalism of this miraculous healing, however, may caused us to miss an important aspect of the gospel reading for today. If we focus on a picture of Jesus going around driving out demons and healing people of their diseases and illnesses, it is easy to miss the idea that Jesus did not become a human being in order to be some sort of wonder worker or traveling healer. Jesus is so much more than that, and his purpose is so much greater. The acts of physical healing that he performs, as documented in scripture, are signs of the spiritual and moral healing that is taking place in the hearts of people. They inform us that something important is going on, but they also point us towards what is yet to come.