Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today's Mass Readings
In last week’s gospel, Jesus had asked his disciples who they thought he was. After Peter’s revealing confession, in today’s gospel reading Jesus begins to talk about his impending suffering and death at the hands of people with vested interests. Shockingly though, the disciples are busy with a totally unrelated issue – “Who is the greatest?” In similar vein, today’s first reading narrates the instance of a few powerful and privileged people planning the destruction of the poor, innocent and underprivileged of Israelite society. So, here is my question. What is it about human beings that we have this inner urge to dominate others, to have more than others, to control others, to be better than others, and all this many times at the cost of others? What made the disciples so insensitive to the impending suffering of another human being? And what makes us fashion a world that thrives on inequality. And yes, who is the greatest?
Saturday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Mass Readings
Today’s First Reading (1 Timothy 6:13-16) opens with an assignment: We are charged, before the Father and the Son, to follow the commandments and to wait for the Second Coming of our Lord. We are reminded that God “gives life to all things,” that Christ “gave testimony” to his executioner, and that the fullness of God’s glory will someday be “made manifest.”
Friday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Mass Readings
I think a lot of people focus on the "love of money is the root of all evil" part of today's first scripture reading (1 Timothy 6:2c-12). To be sure, there are all kinds of ways that we can and should meditate on that in our own lives - where am I loving money in my own life? Maybe it is in my desire to have the newest latest technology; maybe it is in working too many hours in order to make more and more money, to the detriment of my relationships with family and friends, etc.
Thursday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Mass Readings
As we continue walking with the Lord in this 24th week of time, we encounter two excellent readings today. The first is from the first letter of St. Paul to Timothy, which we have been reading now for almost a week (with a few interruptions). 1 Timothy is a practical letter, and today’s excerpt contains some practical advice that is still relevant for us today. Paul instructs the readers to “set an example.” Actions are often more powerful than words, and sometimes the best persuasion of the goodness of Christianity is the example of Christian believers.
Memorial of Saint Cornelius, pope and martyr, and Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr
Our feast for today calls us to remember two men who lived in the same era, dealt with similar issues and died for their support of authentic Catholic beliefs. Cornelius, who was the pope, sided with Cyprian the African Bishop of Carthage on the issue of how to deal with lapsed Catholics. Both believed that upon completion of a proper penance, (which would have been rigorous), those who had fallen away from the church during a time of heavy persecution could be restored to the faith. Although the teaching was upheld by a synod of Western bishops, the emperor, at the time, sent Cornelius into exile. Cyprian was eventually martyred for standing with Cornelius.
Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
Today's Mass Readings
When I read articles in the media about people who have gained some measure of success, I find that I am surprised when they mention their faith. This surprise does not come from the fact that faith is important to them, instead, it is based on the fact that people tend to shy away from any public discussion about the role that their religion plays in their life. It was brought to my attention that a notable exception to this general reluctance to discuss one’s faith can be found in, of all places, in the Rolling Stone magazine.
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Today's Mass Readings
As Christians, we often take the symbol of the cross for granted. We wear it
around our necks, we have it hanging on our home walls and church walls,
and, in short, we see it so much that it becomes something familiar to us.
While this is not a bad thing, it can prevent us from realizing how shocking
the cross is or how controversial it might have been in years past. Today
we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. We celebrate it
as a symbol of victory.
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today's Mass Readings
Today's gospel raised some basic yet signinficant questions. Who is this Jesus? What makes Jesus the kind pan-hisatorical figure that he is? What made a small group of terrified cowards (his disciples), and a few women (who had minimal role in Jewish society), to be so emboldened to spread the news of his resurrection (there is no historical evidence of the resurrection) to the whole world? “Who then was Jesus?” That is the question Jesus himself asks his disciples in today’s gospel reading, “Who do people that say I am?” Jesus did not fare will at that first ever opinion poll. Some thought he was Jeremiah and others thought he was Elijah. But then he asks the most crucial question to his close followers, “But who do you say that I am?”
Saturday of the Twenty-third week in Ordinary Time
Today’s readings challenge us to reflect on the nature of our lives as disciples that by their very nature must pair devotion to God in the sacraments with Christian loving action. In today’s gospel, Jesus emphasizes what could easily be called one of the themes of the gospels: true faith in God gives rise to loving action. Jesus repeatedly chastises the Pharisees for being overly concerned with how they appear to the detriment of true piety. He challenges numerous people who want to follow Him to understand the implications of such following. He heals numerous people based their profound faith and some turn away from Him because of their lack of faith.
Friday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Mass Readings
Paul (First Timothy 1:1-2, 12-14) reminds me of one of my own teachers in faith. Alex often talked about the way he “used to be.” He used to fight with everyone tooth and nail, always wanting to be the winner in a fight, always belittling opponents, making people purposefully mad, going exactly for the spots he knew were the weakest. He had admirers, but many more people who were afraid of him. He himself admired a few people, but most didn’t quite make the cut. In his pre-apostle days, I imagine Paul was much like that: out to get any Christians he could lay hands on, angry at these Christians for messing up “his” faith, persecuting people as much as he possibly could.
Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Mass Readings
Today’s first reading and gospel passage point to the all-important theme of love. Ah, love. Just the word evokes tender feelings and thoughts of peace. Or does it?
Wednesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Mass Readings
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 abusive 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. While AA demands a radical change altogether, when one reads their “Big Book” one can understand that change is a process we make step by step. Today’s readings suggest a process as well, even though at first glance changing may seem cursory. Paul is writing to the community in Colossae about being a new person in Christ. His language is both encouraging and challenging, yet through his frank tone one can see that Paul understands that becoming one with Christ is a process. St. Paul’s suggestions (rules) for being alive with Christ include putting away anger, malice, slander and not allowing obscenities from ones mouth. Paul tells us, “Put to death, then the parts of you that are earthly.” (Col. 3:5a) Summarizing this whole section Paul gives a big picture glimpse of how to live. “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” (Col 3:3)
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Today's Mass Readings
As we try to improve by aligning ourselves with God’s plan, we are drawn to Mary and Joseph as ideal role models. Today’s Feast is an occasion to reflect on the reaction of Mary and Joseph to the conception of Jesus, which was the defining moment of their lives. At this critical moment, what did they do? In our Gospel readings, Saint Matthew provides us with a description of these events.
Today's Mass Readings
Today’s two readings seem to provide a contrast for us. In the first sentence from this letter of St. Paul to the Colossians, Paul tells the people that he rejoices in his sufferings for their sake (Col 1:24). It is clear that Paul sees something valuable in his own suffering, perhaps even meritorious and beneficial for those that he cares about.
Today's Mass Readings
“Be strong, fear not!” These are opening words of with which God spoke to us today in the readings. And the people of Israel, to whom these words were originally addressed, knew the meaning of fear. They had lived as slaves for four hundred years. Purely on the strength of his presence God had brought them out of slavery and fear into freedom and security. Yet five hundred years later, the same people abandoned God out of fear of their more powerful enemy nations. God did not abandon them, but they abandoned God by making pacts with foreign nations instead of trusting in the presence and in the power of the same God who had rescued them from the Egyptians. Through the prophet Isaiah, God tells them, “Fear not! Be strong!” I guess God was telling them, “You have nothing to fear but fear itself.” The story of their destruction at the hand of the Babylonians in 587 BC is the story of the people of Israel giving into fear.
Today's Mass Readings
In today’s reading from first Corinthians, Paul points out two connected ways that the Corinthian church is not upholding what it has been taught by Paul himself. 1) They have not understood that everything they have is a gift from God. 2) They act as if the Kingdom of God has come in its entirety already. These two aspects of Paul’s critique of the Corinthians are important points of reflection for us today.
Today's Mass Readings
Jesus suggests in today’s gospel (Luke 5:33-39) that people don’t want to drink new wine if they’ve drunk the old, because they’ll consider the old to be good. It is curious that he says this, for we know ourselves that aged wines are often better (or at least more prized) than new wines. Companies with longevity carry more respect, aged cheeses taste more distinctive, aged leather can (if treated correctly) become softer with age, and old wood demonstrates its durability.
Today's Mass Readings
Today’s reading from the Gospel of Luke is an especially powerful one. Simon Peter is a skilled fisherman. He knows that the best time for catching fish in the deep was at night. And yet, his boat had caught nothing. After such a hard night’s work, Simon must have felt defeated as Jesus approached. Jesus, who was not a skilled fisherman, but rather a carpenter, tells Simon to go back out to the deep water, now at daytime, when it is even less likely that they will catch any fish, and lower the nets. Simon obeys Jesus, despite his own knowledge of fishing. Simon steps out and follows Jesus. This is a great act of trust, regardless of what Simon was thinking or believing inside.
Today's Mass Readings
In the coming days, the first reading will be taken from the letter to the Colossians. Attributed to Paul and written around 61 AD, the Colossians seem to have accepted the faith rather quickly and even received Paul’s praise for their steadfastness. In spite of their strong faith, however, a heretical teaching seems to have crept into the community – that somehow faith in Christ’s death and resurrection was not enough for salvation. In this letter Paul emphasizes the true faith – that God is Father; that Jesus is the perfect image of the Father, and that God has raised him from the dead for our salvation. (This letter is only three chapters. If you get the chance, try to read it together).
Today's Mass Readings
In our reading from First Thessalonians, St. Paul tells us that the day of the Lord may arrive when we least expect it, and he provides us with direction on how to prepare for that day. St. Paul identifies those that are not prepared for this day as being “in darkness” (1 Thes 5:4) and participating in life as though they were asleep.