Thursday, April 1, 2021

 Holy Thursday – Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper

(Exodus 12:1-8.11-14; I Corinthians 15:23-26; John 13:1-15)

An American rabbi writes of a Passover his father, a Polish emigrant, had many years ago.  He says that his father had gone to Lithuania to study in a Hebrew school.  However, he was captured by the Soviets and sent to a workcamp in Siberia.  There he and his friends prepared for Passover while harvesting summer wheat.  They saved a few kernels each day and hid them until the following spring to make matzoh.  They fashioned a rolling pin from the gears of an old clock and a piece of wood.  The pin was used to perforate the matzoh dough so that it would bake quickly and thoroughly.  Then in the middle of a Spring night, the boys baked the matzoh in a hut with an oven.  On Passover night they came together to fulfill the biblical mandate that was reiterated in today’s first reading.  They thanked God, the Creator, for His great kindness.

The apostle Paul tells us in the second reading how Jesus transformed the Passover supper.  He took the unleavened bread, blessed it, and said that it was his body.  When he blessed the wine and called it his blood, he spoke of a new covenant between him and his disciples.  The new covenant would supplant the old, not entirely replacing it but adding substantially to it.

Tonight’s gospel reveals the difference.  At the anticipated Passover feast in John’s gospel Jesus washes the feet of his disciples.  The gesture is meant to be symbolic.  Jesus tells his disciples that they are to serve one another as he just served them. In the long discourse that the foot washing initiates, Jesus further explains himself.  His disciples are not only to thank God for His kindness but are to love one another as radically as he loves them.  That is, they must be ready to die for one another. 

Most of us have difficulty acknowledging much good in others.  Some, however, like that police officer killed in Boulder, Co., last week, have the courage to love radically like Jesus.  Tonight we want to pray for him and for the many loving people we have known in our lives.  Perhaps some of these died in the pandemic this past year.  We also should pray for one another and ourselves that we will emerge from this Easter weekend triumphant with the Lord.  We hope to have Jesus’ Spirit of love more deeply embedded with us.

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

 Wednesday of Holy Week

 (Isaiah 50:4-91; Matthew 26:14-25)

 Today is often called “Spy Wednesday” presumably because the gospel of today’s mass tells of Judas “look(ing) for an opportunity to hand (Jesus) over.”  It is an especially egregious act.  The gospel mentions that Judas is paid thirty pieces of silver for his betrayal.  This may sound like a lot of money, but actually it is a paltry sum.  It is like paying a hit man only $50 to murder someone.  Rather than think of Judas as greedy, He may be thought of as malicious.  John’s gospel obliquely conveys this idea. It remarks immediately after Judas leaves the supper chamber, “And it was night.”

 Although Peter’s denial is sometimes compared to Judas’ betrayal, the two are very different crimes.  They differ like a flu differs from a cancer.  Peter is under duress when he says that he does not know Jesus.  In contrast, Judas willingly goes to the chief priests seeking to hand Jesus over. 

 We should see our susceptibility to both kinds of sin.  Like Peter, we might deny Jesus, the truth, by lying when threatened by loss of power, prestige, or money.  It is also possible that we betray our commitments like Judas.  Spouses do this in the act of adultery and priests, in any kind of tryst. We can betray friends by revealing intimate secrets.  In any case, let us continually pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance to avoid all infidelity.

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Tuesday of Holy Week

(Isaiah 49:1-6; John 13:21-33.36-38)

An apocryphal gospel says that Jesus instructed Judas to betray him.  It sees Judas not only as Jesus’ obedient disciple but the only one who truly understood his teaching.  Early on the Church recognized this gospel as false.  It seems to have been composed in the late second century when similarly strange ideas were circulating around the Mediterranean area.

The false gospel does raise the question of whether Judas was ever a sincere disciple.  If not, then why did Jesus choose him?  John’s Gospel tells how Jesus knew of Judas’ evil nature (6:67-71).  Still, Judas might have shown some promise when Jesus selected him for his inner core of disciples.

We should be careful not to write off anyone as irredeemably good or bad.  All of us are capable of a deed as wicked as Judas’ betrayal.  Conversely, any of us may develop the courage to stand with Jesus at the cross like the beloved disciple.  Prayer to a good extent will determine what kind of acts we shall do and what kind of people we will become.  We want to ask God for a heart that marvels at His generosity to us and takes pity on those who suffer.

Monday, March 29, 2021

 Monday of Holy Week

(Isaiah 42:1-7; John 12:1-11)

Anti-Christian theorists claim that the apostles invented the passion story.  They say that after Jesus was crucified, the apostles invented a narrative of how it took place using minutia that they found in the Scriptures.  They even believe that St. Paul admits this when he writes in I Corinthians, “…Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures…”

The Paschal event – Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection – defies ordinary experience.  But that does not mean that it was made up.  It is unique because it was God who entered history to save humans from themselves.  It is much more likely that the apostles saw what happened to Jesus and reflected on it.  Then they proclaimed the historical event with emphasis on those details that corresponded to Scripture.  The coincidence was not scant but multiple and profound.  Many of the references in the Passion accounts refer to the Suffering Servant, whom we meet in the first reading today.  Christ, like the Servant, did establish righteousness without fanfare.  He has become, like the Servant, “a light to the nations.”

Some people try to find justification for their wrongdoing by denying the truth of authority.  We can find this taking place in those who deny the authenticity of the gospel.  Not wanting to repent of their misdeeds as Jesus taught, they try to discredit Jesus.  We are wise not to follow this tack.  In following his teaching, we become more fully human.  Going to the cross with him, we will find eternal happiness.

Sunday, March 28, 2021

 PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD’S PASSION

(Isaiah 50: 4-7; Philippians 2: 6-11; Mark 14:1-15:47)

Each of the evangelists has their own perspective on the passion of Jesus. Luke sees Jesus spreading his goodness everywhere. John has him reigning over the world from the cross. Mark emphasizes Jesus suffering not only physical but also mental torture. In Mark Jesus dies completely isolated from his people, from his disciples, apparently from his Father, God. Let us look a little at the rejections that Jesus experiences and ask what they teach us.

In Gethsemane Jesus asks his closest disciples to watch with him. But they fall asleep. Much worse, one of the twelve betrays Jesus, and they all flee from him. Jesus is so absorbed in anguish that he fails to respond both to Judas's kiss and to the misbegotten attempt to defend him with a sword. It is not difficult to imagine how Jesus feels when he marches away with his captors: offended, disappointed, depressed.

Jesus cannot expect justice from his Jewish judges. They do the trial at night as if they want to hide the truth. They bring false witnesses who slander him. The verdict ruling is unanimous: he has to die. They add insult to pity when they spit on him, slap him, and ridicule him for being a false prophet. But he is by no means a false prophet. He has prophesied that he would undergo such brutal treatment.

The Roman trial does not go any better for Jesus. Pilate treats Jesus as if he were an animal. He hands him over to executioners to please the Jews. The soldiers then abuse him with scourges and taunts.

Of course, the worst suffering comes with crucifixion. Three groups of people come to mock Jesus: the passers-by, the high priests, and the two other men who are being crucified. No disciple approaches to comfort him while he experiences extreme distress. Finally he can't take it anymore. He cries, "My God, why have you abandoned me?" and dies. Only then does God act. He rips the temple veil in two rendering the place useless. The Roman officer gives the final human judgment when he says of Jesus: "Truly this man was the Son of God."

It seems that God has provided us with this version of passion to help us when we feel abandoned and depressed. It can be after the death of a child or the betrayal of one’s spouse. We don't know how we are going to continue. Then we should think of Jesus in this Gospel of Mark. He endures everything until he breathes his last breath.  Then he discovers that his Father's God has been close by throughout his ordeal ready to redeem him. We can count on the same God because through Jesus Christ he is our Father too.

Friday, March 26, 2021

 Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent

(Jeremiah 20:10-13; John 10:31-42)

In the gospel of John, there is no trial of Jesus before the Jewish Sanhedrin.  As a placeholder in the four-part schema of the Passion, John has an interrogation by the High Priest Annas.  Actually, the fourth gospel describes Jesus being tried by the Jews throughout his ministry.  Today’s gospel provides an instance.

As in the Jewish trial in the other gospels, the Jews ask Jesus if he is the Messiah.  Jesus has called himself the “Son of God,” which the Jews hear as blasphemous.  They are ready to execute him by stoning – the penalty for blasphemy in their Law.  Because the “hour” for his supreme sacrifice has not yet come, Jesus escapes their attempt on his life.

As the teacher is tried so will his disciples be.  We can expect to be tried as followers of Jesus.  People will observe whether we practice what we profess.  Are we always chaste in our words and actions?  We should be as true believers in Jesus. 

Thursday, March 25, 2021

 Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

(Isaiah 7:10-14.8:10; Hebrews 10:4-10; Luke 1:26-38)

Last week one of the editors of the Wall Street Journal reviewed a book on the Bible.  He criticized the author’s suggestion that people make their own sense about what the Bible says.  The author wrote that in today’s gospel passage, the word for virgin should be translated as young woman because the original Hebrew would have it that way.  The reviewer questioned that interpretation as well as the author’s push for reading Scripture as one likes.  The reviewed found that the original Hebrew word, found in today’s first reading, does usually refer to a virgin.

Like the author of the book under review, many today would like to dismiss the apostolic belief that Jesus had a virgin mother.  The reality is unheard of except for the gospel, but so also is Jesus’ resurrection from death unheard of.  Both of these truths, however, pale in comparison with the core Christian belief that God became human.  If one accepts the incarnation, there should be no difficulty in holding the other two.  One should expect God to be born in a unique way and also not to be constrained by human death.

Today, of course, we celebrate the incarnation, the Son of God’s generation as a human being.  It is duly announced by the angel who interprets the event’s significance.  He will be called Yeshua or God saves.  He will also assume the kingdom of David, but this reign will extend not only for a lifetime and over Israel.  Rather he will rule for all eternity and throughout the universe.  There is good reason today to forget about Lenten penance as we celebrate the coming of the Son of God.

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Wednesday of Holy Week

 (Isaiah 50:4-91; Matthew 26:14-25)

 Today is often called “Spy Wednesday” presumably because the gospel of today’s mass tells of Judas “look(ing) for an opportunity to hand (Jesus) over.”  It is an especially egregious act.  The gospel mentions that Judas is paid thirty pieces of silver for his betrayal.  This may sound like a lot of money, but actually it is a paltry sum.  It is like paying a hit man only $50 to murder someone.  Rather than think of Judas as greedy, He may be thought of as malicious.  John’s gospel obliquely conveys this idea. It remarks immediately after Judas leaves the supper chamber, “And it was night.”

 Although Peter’s denial is sometimes compared to Judas’ betrayal, the two are very different crimes.  They differ like a flu differs from a cancer.  Peter is under duress when he says that he does not know Jesus.  In contrast, Judas willingly goes to the chief priests seeking to hand Jesus over. 

 We should see our susceptibility to both kinds of sin.  Like Peter, we might deny Jesus, the truth, by lying when threatened by loss of power, prestige, or money.  It is also possible that we betray our commitments like Judas.  Spouses do this in the act of adultery and priests, in any kind of tryst. We can betray friends by revealing intimate secrets.  In any case, let us continually pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance to avoid all infidelity.

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

 Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

(Daniel 3:14-20.91-92.95; John 8:31-42)

Pope Francis was warned that he was taking a risk in going to Iraq.  Believing that the Christians there needed support, he went anyway.  While in the city of Mosul, which was ravaged by ISIS five years ago, the pope spotted three children and an elderly man.  Although they were Muslim, the pope had his car stopped, went over to the children, and blessed them.  A Muslim historian commented that he could see the city as the most beautiful in the world “because I saw it through the eyes of the pope.”  Pope Francis’ love for the suffering encapsulates what Jesus means in today’s gospel.

Jesus is speaking with those Jews “who believed in him.”  They are likely people who are fascinated by his healings but unwilling to change their ways.  Jesus challenges them to be true disciples by “remain(ing) in his word.”  He means that they must acknowledge the Father’s love for them by caring for one another.  The people, however, retort that they are already children of God because they are of the family of Abraham.  Jesus then tells them that being born into a family does not qualify anyone as a child of God.  One must live as he has taught them.

It is not easy.  One Iraqi woman told the pope on his visit that she is trying to forgive the terrorists who murdered her son.  Forgiving one’s mortal enemies culminates the lessons that Jesus gives.  Most of us are still trying to recognize that others have virtues that often surpass our own.

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

 Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Lent

 (Numbers 21:4-9; John 8:21-30)

 Jesus tells the Pharisees that when they lift him up, they will realize who he is and that he has done what the Father wills.  Jumping to that scene, however, we have difficulty finding any such awareness among the Jews.  What is going on?

 John the evangelist only subtly shows Jesus’ divine sonship on the cross.  He notes that Pilate has a sign printed in three languages proclaiming Jesus “the king of the Jews.”  This tells us that, like-it-or-not, the Jews have to face the fact that an objective authority acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah, the anointed king of Israel.  Also, Jesus’ last words, “It is finished,” indicate his identity.  “The “It” here refers not only to his life but also to his mission from the Father of redeeming the world.  Although the Pharisees “realize” this evidence in as much as they objectively see it, most will not be swayed.  Indeed, only one of their numbers comes forward professing belief in Jesus.  Nicodemus, whom we remember from an earlier encounter with Jesus, steps on the scene at this time with enough burial spices for a king.

We should not be any more dismayed by the Pharisees rejecting Jesus than by our own contemporaries.  After all, Jesus conquered no empires like Alexander the Great.  Nor did he write works of wisdom like Aristotle.  Even his mighty deeds were not testified by any other than his followers.  Why then do we accept Him as God?  Certainly there is something to the fact that those followers died in making their testimony.  But we believe also because he has acted in our lives.  His words, which his disciples recorded, have given us a solid foundation.  More than that, when we have called upon him, he has met our needs – not just once but repeatedly.  We cannot help but hand over ourselves to him.

Monday, March 22, 2021

 Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

(Daniel 13:1-9.15-17.19-30.33-62; John 8:1-11)

Both readings today exalt discernment and right judgment.  Daniel sees through the lies of the old lechers wanting to condemn Susanna for adultery.  Jesus shows himself even more insightful as he foils his nemeses’ attempt to condemn him.  In the process he saves the adulteress’ life.  But he does not let her sin go unnoticed; he demands that she never commit adultery again.

Something needs to be said about the sin of adultery itself.  Of course, it is prohibited explicitly by the sixth commandment.  But is seems to have survived well the condemnation by both divine and natural law.  Today one’s adultery can be uncovered without the person losing status even if the person never repented.  Yet adultery remains an insidious crime.  It violates both the marriage contract and vow.  It causes severe mental anguish and often the breakup of family with resultant child trauma.  It undermines belief in God as much as the marriage covenant represents Christ’s relationship with the Church.

Like Jesus we do not want to condemn adulterers.  But like him as well we want them to understand the gravity of their sin so that they do commit it again.  We also should pray to God for the conviction and courage to be faithful to the vows that we have made.

Sunday, March 21, 2021

 The Fifth Sunday of Lent

(Jeremiah 31: 31-34, Hebrews 5: 7-9; John 12: 20-33)

It has been so long since our last time on a plane that we have almost forgotten the experience. We remember how we boarded the plane thirty or forty minutes before takeoff. We settled in while the others passengers found their seats. Then there was an announcement: they needed to take a count. If there were empty seats, they admitted a few more passengers and closed the door. Now the plane could take off to the skies. Today's gospel narrative begins with a similar experience.

When he learns of the coming of the Greeks, Jesus responds that the hour of his glorification has come. He will say later that when he is raised up, he will attract everyone to him. Evidently the Greeks represent the vanguard of the crowds that come to Jesus. It is time for him to save the world. We see everyone coming to Jesus in the catholicity of the Church. There are Catholics in all parts of the world, from Argentina to Siberia.

In the Church we Catholics are called to participate in the new covenant that God has forged by the death and resurrection of his Son. The prophet Jeremiah speaks of this covenant in the first reading. The Jews forgot the Law written on stone tablets to form the heart of the covenant of Moses. The new covenant is made between God and the new Israel, both Jews and non-Jews who make up the Church. The law of this new covenant will not be engraved in stone but in the hearts of the faithful. In this way it cannot be forgotten. It is the work of the Holy Spirit forming the followers of Jesus according to his teaching.

But the new covenant is not achieved by spiritual teachings and inspiration alone. It will cost Jesus his life. He offers the parable of the seed dying on the ground to describe his sacrifice. As the seed has to be broken up to produce fruit, so Jesus has to give up his life. It will not be easy at all but a harsh, painful, frightful thing.

Always truthful, Jesus is not ashamed to admit the tumult taking place within him. But he declares that he is not going to ask the Father to remove this ordeal from him. He knows that God gave him this mission out of love for the world. Therefore, he is going to fulfill it. It is true that in the Gospel of John we do not see the pain and difficulty that Jesus experiences in his passion as we see in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. But we have the second reading as a testimony to his suffering. The Letter to the Hebrews says that Jesus learned obedience by suffering so that he could “become the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”

A proverb tells us that what happens to the teacher, also happens to his disciples. Since Jesus incurred the disdain of the wicked, we have to expect the same treatment. They will reject us when we insist, for example, that sexual intimacy outside of marriage is always immoral. They are not going to hang us on a cross, but they will probably make fun of us. When injustices like this happen to us, we want to remember the voice of the Father in this gospel: "'I have glorified (his name) and I will glorify it again.'" He will glorify our names as well because we have spoken the truth.

It is said that the Gospel of Saint John is symbolized with an eagle because the text soars high. More than in any other gospel, Jesus in this gospel presents himself as a man from heaven. We have to prepare to climb the heights with him on the next two Sundays. We are to see him lifted high on the cross next Sunday. Then, we will see him lifted higher still in his resurrection on Easter.

Friday, March 19, 2021

 Solemnity of Saint Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 (II Samuel 7:4-5a.12-14a.16; Romans 4:13.16-18.22; Matthew 1:16.18-21.24a)

 Pope Francis has proclaimed this year as the Jubilee Year of St. Joseph.  Although relatively little is written about him in the gospels, he is being treated with the same reverence as St. Paul!  People may wonder why, given the fact that not only is little said about St. Joseph, but he never utters a word in all Scripture.  Yet he facilitated the incarnation and our salvation by giving Jesus and Mary a home.  It is instructive to imagine what Joseph brought to that home.

 First, he was open to life.  Joseph not only accepted Jesus as a foster son; he also sheltered and nourished the Son of God.  He allowed himself to contemplate the glory of God by watching Jesus grow in his midst.  Joseph also must have prayed constantly.  The statement that the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream implies that he was always thinking about God.  Dreams are often extensions of conscious life where hopes and fears are played out.  Joseph, called a righteous man in the gospel, probably prayed that he might serve the Lord.  Finally, Joseph no doubt instilled the human values of workmanship in his home.  He taught Jesus mindfulness in preparing the job at hand, diligence in pursuing its excellence, and patience in finishing a product.  Jesus was a more capable preacher and leader because of Joseph’s tutelage.

 In this Jubilee Year of St. Joseph, we can pray for his intercession with our needs.  He knew the human situation, its limits, and its difficulties.  Turning to him, we can count on his support to move us beyond our little world of self into the unbounded love of God.  Doing so, we will complete works that are helpful to others and meritorious for us.

 

 

Thursday, March 18, 2021

 Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent

(Exodus 32:7-14; John 5:31-47)

To appreciate today’s readings, we have to consider the argument between the Christian minority and Jewish majority in late first century. The Gospel of John was written in the midst of this argument.  The Jews were reforming after the Roman invasion and destruction of the Temple.  They looked upon followers of Christ as schismatics, not worthy to be treated as brothers.  Christians, to the contrary, saw themselves as the authentic Israel because they followed Jesus, God’s authentic prophet.

The first reading shows Israelites deviating from God’s ways in the desert, soon after the adoption of the covenant.  They worship a golden calf rather than the spiritual God who rescued them from slavery.  In the gospel Jesus challenges the Jews for continuing the errant beliefs of their ancestors.  He cites their rejection of him as the “Son of God” as evidence of their ignorance of Scripture.  He tells them that not only his healings but also the Scriptures testify to him.  They show that he is the prophet of whom Moses once spoke.  (That testimony is not in today’s reading but can be found in the Book of Deuteronomy.)

We don’t want to get involved in the first century argument.  Rather we should find the Lord challenging us if we have faithfully followed Jesus.  Most of all, Jesus showed us how to love truly.  It is done not by making sentimental attempts to please others.  Rather, loving is a matter of enabling others to experience the presence of the Lord Jesus.

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

 Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

(Isaiah 49:8-15; John 5:17-30)

As St. Patrick is the patron of Ireland, the words of the characteristic Irish ballad, “Danny Boy,” may be recalled today.  They tell of a parent calling for his or her son who has left his homeland.  The lad may have gone off to war or perhaps to the United States.  His return is not expected soon; indeed, the parent expects to be dead when Danny comes back.  When he does return, the parent asks that he visit his/her grave to say an “Ave” or “Hail Mary.”  Danny is to pray for his parent’s eternal life. Jesus provides reason for the prayer in today’s gospel.

In John’s account of the passion, Jesus is not tried by the Jewish Sanhedrin.  Nevertheless, he faces Jewish interrogations throughout his ministry as in this passage.  In fact, in the other gospels the Jews ask Jesus what is at issue in today’s gospel: whether Jesus is God’s Son.  His affirmative answer includes a declaration that the Father has given him power to judge the dead.  He will determine whether each dead person is worthy or not of eternal life. 

We pray that our dead loved ones will be just mercifully by the Son of God.  They were not perfect, but they did do “good deeds,” the criterion for a positive judgment.  As we pray the “Ave” or “Hail Mary” for our dead, we also recommend ourselves for prayer.  We ask the Virgin to pray for us “now and at the hour of our death.”

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

 Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Lent

 (Ezekiel 47:1-9.12; John 5:1-16)

 Inspecting paintings of the crucifixion, we are probably going to see Jesus’ right side pierced.  Even though John’s Gospel, the only one to mention the piercing, does not indicate which side was pierced, artists almost universally paint the wound on the right side.  Their reason is not a preference for the right over the left but is found in today’s first reading.

The water flowing after his blood from Jesus’ side fulfills Ezekiel’s vision of water flowing from the right side of the Temple.  As this water is pictured crescendoing into a flood that produces food and medicine, so water from the side of Jesus represents healing grace.  The gospel shows Jesus’ grace strengthening the limbs of the paralytic so that he might walk.

We are about to enter a special period of grace.  Jesus will restore our capacity to forgive and love that often withers as we deal with life’s problems.  The grace does not flow automatically as water from a mountain spring.  Rather, it is released by our loving attention to Jesus’ passion.

Monday, March 15, 2021

 Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent

(Isaiah 65:17-21; John 4:43-54)

With the equinox less than a week away, the northern hemisphere is about to witness the beginning of Spring.  The Church welcomes this change of seasons with the hopeful readings of the second half of Lent.  Both the Old Testament passage and the gospel today demonstrate the changed air. 

The Isaiah reading comes from the third part of the prophet’s book.  God states his intention of recreating the universe so that His people will experience no more sorrow.  He promises that there will be no more children dying.  Older people as well will not pass until all their dreams are fulfilled.  In the gospel Jesus fulfills the promise.  He give the royal official’s son a new lease on life by healing his deathly illness.  The miracle cure, quite naturally, produces greater faith in him.

Our salvation is at hand with Easter less than three weeks away.  Now is the time to redouble our Lenten efforts so that we may experience a touch of Jesus’ glory.

Sunday, March 14, 2021

 THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

(II Chronicles 16: 14-16.19-23; Ephesians 2: 4-10; John 3: 14-21)

Let's recall for a minute the “great recession” of 2008. The overvaluation of homes in previous years resulted in a market crash. Many homeowners abandoned their mortgages causing several banks to fail. Because there was no money to promote business, many workers lost their jobs. There were other causes as well, but the result was difficult times for many people around the world. Perhaps it was not as big a crisis as we just experienced with Covid. But in this case the blame can be placed on definitive people: the financial and government leaders who did not oversee money speculation well.

A year after the "great recession," Pope Benedict wrote an encyclical advising leaders of their responsibilities. He emphasized what he called the "principle of gratuitousness." He said that anyone who has a high position in government, business, or another sector, must remember his or her origins. The executive did not reach the top rank without the help of other people. There is no completely “self-made man” or woman. All have had relatives, mentors, friends, and perhaps public support that have contributed to their success. Therefore, in gratitude for what they have received, they should take care of the good of others. This same "principle of gratuitousness" serves as the key to understanding the readings of Mass today.

The second reading of the Letter to the Ephesians says that salvation came to them through the "kindness” of God. It emphasizes that the Ephesians had done nothing to put God in debt to them. Much less could they have achieved salvation by their own works since salvation consists in eternal life. They only had to open themselves to grace by believing in Jesus Christ. We are beneficiaries of the same grace with the same benefit. We also have to believe in Jesus Christ to receive eternal life.

The gospel tells us what we have to do to believe in Christ. It is not a matter of being born into a Christian family as if salvation were one’s heritage. Nor is it a matter of saying "I believe" as if faith were a word game. As the gospel indicates, the believer draws close to Jesus, the light of the world. From him the believer will learn how to live so that the world will see his or her good deeds. For the most part, those who follow Jesus are the same ones who raise their families in love and work hard for the good of everyone.

A lawyer was found in the church the other day praying the Stations of the Cross alone. He and his wife raise four children, taking them to Mass every Sunday and on major feast days. The man works with a law firm that is especially helpful to the city's black minority. Perhaps many here in the church resemble this man. In the words of Jesus, you live the truth by coming to the light.

We still haven't said anything about the first reading. It is part of the rich history of Israel. Because the people rejected God's law, they were punished with exile in Babylon. However, God forgave him and sent Cyrus to free him. Certainly these people were in debt to God for their freedom. In gratitude they should have lived the truth by coming to the light.

Friday, March 12, 2021

 Friday of the Third Week on Lent

(Hosea 14:2-10; Mark 12:28-34)

The first element of Jesus’ response to the scribe in today’s gospel is unremarkable.  Every Jew of his time would recite the same words daily: “’You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,…’”  It is the first and foremost commandment, not only for Jews but for the whole world.  The second element of Jesus’ answer, however, is worthy of note.  Jesus is making an add-on to the first commandment.  Besides loving God, one must love one’s neighbor. 

A well-known Peanuts cartoon shows Linus yelling to the wind, “I love mankind; it’s people I can’t stand.”  This posture would not fulfill Jesus’ concept of love of neighbor.  For Jesus, “neighbor” includes all people – friends, associates, unknown humans, even enemies.  They will be loved in different ways.  Some are helped directly.  Others are considered in a positive light.  Everyone can at least be included in prayer.

As primary as the first commandment is, we still sometimes forget to express our love for God.  In fact, we may allow our love for God to be consumed in love of neighbor.  If this happens, we are likely to lose our love for both God and neighbor.  We love God because He has graced us time after time.  We love our neighbors because God has graced them too, just like us.

Thursday, March 11, 2021

 Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

 (Jeremiah 7:23-28; Luke 11:14-23)

 In today’s first reading Jeremiah accuses the people of Jerusalem of turning their backs on God.  They have not been faithful to the Covenant that they have made with their Lord.  According to Jeremiah, they no longer even care about the promises that they made.  The situation has not improved by Jesus’ time.  In the gospel he sees the same hardness of heart that impedes the coming of God.  The people refuse to accept him as God’s prophet so that they do not have to conform to his teaching.

The same offense may be found in our society although, perhaps, magnified.  Faithfulness to one’s baptismal promises is often considered a betrayal of self.  More important than the baptismal covenant are the values that one recognizes for her or himself.  People will abandon their culture, their family upbringing, even previous choices to do what they think materially advantageous at the moment. 

Faithfulness is an all-encompassing virtue.  It acknowledges one’s readiness to live in the ways that we have professed.  But we are not only faithful to principles; we are also faithful to the people who have imparted those principles.  For us Christians this means faithfulness to the Lord Jesus.  We promise to do as he commands because he died to secure our deep and lasting happiness. 

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

 Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

(Deuteronomy 4:1,5-9; Matthew 5:17-19)

In an important new book on Exodus, humanist Leon Kass lists three essentials for a nation.  A nation must have a founding narrative to give the people an ideal to emulate.  It must have laws to guide the people day by day.  And it must have ritual in which the people can realize at least in a preliminary way their hopes.  Today’s readings focus on the second of these building blocks.

Moses reminds the people of what a truly great gift their law is.  It comes from God who is as close to them as they are to each other.  It proves to be just by keeping together these different families and tribes.  Jesus reasserts the value of the law.  He will not abolish an iota of it although he makes some significant emendations.  They are not only to love their neighbors but their enemies as well.  They are not only prohibited from adultery, but from looking at women with lust.

Christians form a people and a nation but not one that competes with the nation-states of today.  It is as if we can had dual nationalities – one where we live and work and the other to which we aspire when we die.  In fact, the second – our eternal nation – enables us to be better citizens of the first.  Its laws form our moral code.  They form us more completely than the laws of the state because they demand inner compliance.  They put us in touch with our God who makes us honest, noble, and patriotic.

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

(Daniel 3:25.34-43; Matthew 18:21-35)

In his message for the World Day of Peace in 2002, Pope St. John Paul II reflected on the 9-11 terrorist attacks.  He repeated the proverb that without justice, there is no peace.  He also made the insight that without forgiveness there is no justice.  People have to give up their claims for past injuries if they ever expect to have right relationships with others.  He was not advocating that nations or individuals ignore past grievances.  But he did mean that feeling God’s love, the person or state can express love for the offender. This love may be called mercy.

Both readings today show the need for mercy.  The young man praying in the furnace asks for God’s mercy on his people who calls disobedient.  God will save the youth from the furnace and bring his people back to the land of the ancestors.  The parable of Jesus is stunning in its contrast.  The original debtor is said to owe “a huge amount.”  One should think in terms of ten digits of dollars.  The second debtor owes “a much smaller amount,” perhaps a few hundred dollars.  Yet the first debtor cannot forgive him.  There will never be justice in that first debtor’s life, much less peace.

We can forgive others when we remember how much love God has for us.  We need not assess our sins to see how much we have been forgiven.  Out of love God gives us life, friends, work, and rest.  For these reasons we should be ready to forgive. 

Monday, March 8, 2021

 Monday of the Third Week of Lent

 (II Kings 5:1-15; Luke 4:24-30)

 The matriarch of an aristocratic British family utters a telling quip when she hears that her son has converted to Catholicism.  “You mean,” she says, “that he will go to church with the help.”  At the time most people went to church on Sunday.  In England the aristocracy went to the Anglican church and their Irish servants to the Catholic church.  If one is careful not to allow this story lead to triumphalism, it gives an insight into today’s first reading.

The cure of Naaman, the army general, shows how poor servants often have a much livelier faith than their rich overlords.  An Israeli girl servant tells her mistress to solicit help from God’s prophet in Israel.  In contrast, the king of Israel is lost when asked to relieve the Aramean general’s skin disease.  Later the general’s servants express implicit faith in God when they tell him not to fuss but obey the prophet’s simple directive. 

Today’s gospel, however, shows that even simple people can be wrong about God.  The inhabitants of Nazareth reject Jesus’ prophesizing on the grounds that they know him to be like them.  Many today likewise see Jesus simply as a gifted human while rejecting the claim that he is the Son of God.  Rich or poor, having a doctorate or a high school education, we are wise to accept Jesus as our Lord.  Following his directives, our sins are cleansed.  Trusting in his promises, we follow the way to eternal life.

Sunday, March 7, 2021

 Third Sunday of Lent

(Exodus 20:1-17; I Corinthians 1:22-25; John 2:13-25)

What is the Law to a Jew?  One Jewish scholar calls it “a yoke that becomes a tree of life.”  It is a demanding teacher from whom we could never draw an “A.”  Nevertheless, this teacher shows us not only how to think but how to live.  Jesus, being a devout Jew, loved the Law and lived it every moment of his life.

In today’s gospel Jesus acts on the Law’s first tenet.  He finds the temple’s vendors and money changers making gods out of their businesses.  Being Son of God with special rights in God’s house, he throws the infidels out.  The act bursts open the Jewish social structure.  “By what authority does he act as the Temple police?” the people would wonder. The priests see it as sheer insolence. “Who is he to determine right and wrong in the temple?” they would rage.  Since they cannot tolerate his audacity, they will plot to have him executed.

How should we think of Jesus’ zeal?  Uncompromising with the temple merchants, he would find our grasping for power, pleasure, fame, or fortune similarly intolerable.  He asks us to put such pursuits away and give him our attention.  He promises us that we will find God, our Father also, in doing his will.  That is, we are to live jot and tittle the Ten Commandments at the heart of the Law.  Also, we are to love others as much as we love ourselves.

Friday

 

Friday of the Second Week of Lent

 

(Genesis 37:3-4.12-13a.17b-28a; Matthew 21:33-43.45-46)

 

Mark Twain secured fame as a humorist.  Few in his time or any could match his insight and wit.  However, he was no humanist. He did not believe that humans are basically decent people.  Quite the contrary, he found them as conniving for their own comfort of mind.  If all humans acted like Joseph’s brothers in the first reading or the tenants of today’s gospel parable, Twain’s view would be judged as correct.

The brothers have no patience with Joseph, their father’s favorite son.  They universally dislike him although not all favor killing him.  In any case, they mean him harm when they sell him to the Ishmaelites.  The tenants of Jesus’ parable are even more reprehensible.  They kill the son of the landowner, who stands for the Son of God.  In strict justice, they deserve execution.

Despite frequent examples of hard-heartedness and full treachery, we know that humans are not completely corrupt.  In fact, humans can become merciful and loving.  For this reason we seek renewal in the season of Lent.  We endeavor to be like Christ.  He not only taught us to help others but also who died to save us from oblivion at death.

Thursday, March 4, 2021

 Thursday of the First Second Week of Lent

(Jeremiah 17;5-10; Luke 16: 19-31)

In 2009 Pope Benedict wrote his only social encyclical.  World markets were reeling from the great economic downturn of the year before.  Benedict chided governments and large financial institutions for their lack of oversight during the speculations of the years prior to the recession.  He wrote that the economy must implement the “principle of gratuitousness” in order to be just.  Gratuitousness recognizes that there are no self-made men or women.  Everyone has received resources to grow and achieve.  Reception of benefits from others implies return of those benefits so that other people in time may prosper as well.  The rich man in Jesus’ parable lacks at least a full sense of gratuitousness.

The rich man tragically ignores the beggar at his door.  His concern about his brothers at the end of the parable cannot make up for this fault.  He should have realized that he had received assistance from other people, not to mention essential gifts from God, to accumulate his wealth.  Jesus is warning the Pharisees, who themselves are said to be “lovers of money,” not to be so blind.  They should practice gratuitousness by having compassion on the poor in their midst.

During Lent we should be actively looking for people to help.  It is a time of mercy.  God is merciful to us when we ask that our sins be forgiven.  We should be merciful to others in turn.  We forgive their offenses against us and show compassion on the needy.

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

 Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent

(Jeremiah 18:18-20; Matthew10:17-28)

What should alarm us almost as much as the violence terrorists perpetrate is their profession of faith in God.  They claim to honor God by killing children!  They can hardly be forgiven because of ignorance of God.  Most anyone who thinks at all should realize that God would not want mutilated innocent creatures of His hand.  Unfortunately, violent people have lived in every age and society.  An example is found in the first reading today and a situation of a similar kind in the gospel.

Jeremiah’s critics are plotting to kill him.  They do not seem to fear a judgment from God, but only one from their religious leaders.  In the gospel James and John evidently convince their mother to petition their promotion to high places in the coming kingdom.  The fact that Jesus has just predicted his betrayal and death does not impress them at all.  They hear of a promised resurrection as a golden rocket sending them to fame and fortune.

The mission of the Church is severely compromised by opportunists who use Jesus rather than obey him.  Many young people no longer bother with religion because of pedophile priests and racist churchgoers.  We will have difficulty making up for these sins.  But we begin to do so by responding to Jesus’ call for humble servants.

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

 Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent

(Isaiah 1:10.16-20; Matthew 23:1-12)

Yesterday’s gospel emphasized mercy.  Today’s stresses humility.  And tomorrow’s will highlight service.  It seems that during this second week of Lent the Church means to prepare its people for ministry. 

Moralist Fr. Richard Gula has written that humility is hard to understand, much less to cultivate.  Why be humble?  Are not those who promote themselves rewarded?  Gula believes that the humble will foster cooperation among a group to successfully complete a common task.  In baseball, for example, recruiters no longer pay exclusive attention either to homerun hitters or to those with the highest batting averages.  What they increasingly want are players who produce runs for their team.  They may do it with a hit, a walk, being hit by a pitched ball, or even by striking out on a wild pitch.

We don’t have to be introverted or sad to be humble.  We just have to recognize that the world, the community, or the team does not revolve around us.  We also have to recognize the contributions of everyone to the common good.  In the end humility will move us to admit our faults as well as our virtues and to ask God’s mercy.  Then humility will become a source of our salvation.