Friday, April 18, 2025

 

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

(Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16.5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42)

At the beginning of John’s gospel, John the Baptist refers to Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  The description sounded strange then.  It was a prophecy that is fulfilled in the Lord’s Passion.

Jesus died on the cross as the perfect sacrifice offered to the Father for the world’s sins.  It is no accident then that his death sentence comes at noon on Preparation Day of the Passover.  At that moment the lambs are being slaughtered in the Temple precincts for the forgiveness of the people’s sins.  Nor is it coincidental that he is offered a sponge soaked in wine on “a sprig of hyssop.” Hyssop could hardly support a soaked sponge.  But it was the reed used to splash the blood of the Passover lamb on the Hebrew doorposts that made them immune to the pestilence killing the first-born.  John the Evangelist is saying that Jesus’ Passion likewise saves the world from punishment for their sins.

Why then are we so reluctant to admit our sins?  Relatively few people come to confession more than two or three times a year.  Often they come more needing to share with someone about how they have been offended than how they responded to the offenses badly.  Many also overlook the command to keep holy the Lord’s Day.  Even sexual sins – pornography, masturbation, fornication, to say nothing of contraceptives – are sometimes ignored.  We forget that Jesus died on the cross precisely as a sin offering.  Our sins are not forgiven if we do not acknowledge and ask pardon for them.  It is the forgiveness of our sins that makes this Friday “Good.”

Thursday, April 17, 2025

 

Holy Thursday – Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper

(Exodus 12:1-8.11-14; I Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-11)

Washing another person’s feet is a very humble task.  In Jesus’ time it was not even required of Jewish slaves!  Jesus does it to impress upon his disciples the necessity of humbly serving one another.  A former high-ranking government official was admired for serving like Jesus.  When he became president of a high-tech company, Rear Admiral Bobby Inman announced that he would take his turn brewing coffee like the others in the office.

The first two readings this evening concern the origin of the Eucharist.  Exodus gives the roots of the sacrament in Israel’s Passover Supper.  First Corinthians describes the Eucharist’s establishment at Jesus’ final meal with his disciples.  John’s gospel supplies the meaning, the purpose, and the extension of that supper in the Church. 

The Eucharist signifies Jesus’ death on the cross to achieve the forgiveness of human sin.  Christians replicate it not only by celebrating it daily or, at least, weekly.  They also memorialize it by their own humble acts of service.

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

 Wednesday of Holy Week

(Isaiah 50:4-9a; Matthew 26:14-25)

The first reading today is one of the four “Servant Songs” of the Book of Isaiah.  It is unique in that the Servant here speaks for himself.  Just as Christ, the Servant comforts the weary and accepts the disdain of the world, including physical abuse.  Instead of evasion, he entreats his enemies to dialogue with him about their criticisms. Christ would have done the same with Judas.

Judas’ heart has grown bitter toward the Lord.  It has come to hate the one who loves everyone.  Rather than speak with Jesus about his problem, Judas seeks resolution by going to Jesus’ enemies.  He betrays his Lord by delivering him to his executioners!

Hopefully, we will never betray Jesus by giving up faith in him.  Nevertheless, we can act like Judas by not taking our difficulties with living justly and caringly to him in prayer.  He, the Suffering Servant, will comfort us.  He has given us the sacraments that we may experience physically his consolation.  As he is always faithful to us, let us be faithful to him.

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Tuesday of Holy Week

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

The apocryphal “Gospel of Judas” 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 rubbish.  It seems to have been composed in the late second century when similarly strange ideas were circulating around the Mediterranean area.

The false gospel, however, 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 all along recognized 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, April 14, 2025

Monday of Holy Week

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

“…the house was filled with the fragrance of oil.”  What the evangelist seems to say here is that the world will be soon filled with awe. Jesus, a young man who has never done anything to regret, takes upon himself the sins of the world. He will die shortly on the cross in a sacrifice so great that it justifies a world of sinners.

By his act of subjection to the Father, Jesus fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah in today’s first reading.  His goodness is like a light that opens the eyes of the world.  The giving up of self for the benefit of others brings people out of the confinement of themselves. They see the unsurpassable beauty of selfless love.

As we have benefited from Christ’s love, we should tell others about it.  This is best done by imitation.  It is not easy to give of self for the sake of others, but it has lasting benefit.  It facilitates their salvation as it moves us along the path of eternal life.

Sunday, April 13, 2025

 Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

(Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 22:14-23:56)

The Passion of Jesus in the Gospel according to Luke stands out for several reasons. Among others, it has what one biblical scholar calls “the most beautiful sentence in the Passion Narratives.” It has practical lessons as well. We can extract from the narrative a way of dying that is peaceful and perfect. Here we will try to name the elements of a happy death in Saint Luke’s version of Christ’s Passion.

As he goes to his death, Jesus never stops thinking of others. The women weeping by the side of the road desire to show solidarity with Jesus. But knowing that their children will experience injustices similar to his, Jesus comforts them. “Do not weep for me,” he says, “weep for yourselves and for your children.” Even more magnanimous, Jesus promises the criminal who admits his sin a place in eternal life.

We too should desire to die helping others. If we have possessions, we could leave some to charity. It will also be eminently helpful to share our affection with our loved ones. Once a dying mother called to her deathbed each of her nine children one by one. She told each of her love and hopes for him or her. Of course, we don't have to wait until we have a fatal diagnosis to tell our loved ones of our affection.

In dying on the cross, Jesus not only rewards those who respond favorably to him but also blesses his executioners. Without a doubt, his words, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," command our attention. They are both the most beautiful and most quoted of the Savior's "seven last words."

We must be just as noble when we are about to die. Forgiveness is what defines God's love. A poet wrote, "To err is human; to forgive divine." Jesus insists that we will not be forgiven for our sins if we do not forgive our offenders. If they do not ask for our forgiveness, we should at least pray for them. We could ask the Lord to move them to repentance. At the time of our death, we should also confess our sins to a priest if possible.

Finally, we want to die placing our trust in God. Jesus does this with the metaphor: "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit!" He is certain that the care the Father gave him through the angel on the Mount of Olives, as at every step of his mission, will not dry up at his death. Quite the contrary, it will raise him to glory.

In our secular age, doubts can crowd our minds like clouds in the sky on a spring day.  Atheists and materialists are everywhere, challenging those who believe and pray. However, especially when death approaches, we want to dispel our doubts with an act of faith. God exists, and he loves us. Let us be clear and firm about this. Then, we can die in peace.

Friday, April 11, 2025

 

Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent

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

In the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus cannot cure the sick unless they believe in him.  The gospel of John sees his cures and other marvelous deeds differently.  They are signs to induce belief in him as God’s agent.  In today’s passage from John the Jews reject him despite the many signs he has worked.

As with Jeremiah in the first reading, the Jews have turned their minds and hearts against Jesus.  He would gladly have the Father dwell in them as He does in himself.  But, blinded by evil, they want to kill him.

Jesus will make the same offer to his disciples at the Last Supper and now to us.  If we follow his ways, we will experience the Father’s bliss.  It is the culmination of the spiritual life.  It begins here with the experience of God’s joy, peace, and love.  And it reaches completion beyond death in the glory of the resurrection. 

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent

(Genesis 17:3-9; John 8:51-59)

The bitter debate in today’s gospel between Jesus and “the Jews” likely reflects early New Testament times.  The Jews were reforming after the destruction of the Temple.  They saw Christians of Jewish heritage as apostates.  Like those in the passage attempting to stone Jesus, later Jews wanted to remove Christians from their synagogues.

Today many educational and commercial leaders have dismissed Christian beliefs as false claims.  Like “the Jews” of the gospel they do not believe that Jesus was divine or, for that matter, that a personal God exists.  They don’t accept his resurrection and ridicule the Eucharist as “hocus pocus.”  Particularly at this time of year Christians need to renew their commitment to Christ.

At the Mass on Easter we do just that.  Renewing our Baptismal vows, we, like Jesus responding to “the Jews,” declare our belief in a merciful God who became like us so that we may be like Him.  Like the founders of the American republic to the government they created, we pledge “our lives, our fortunes, and our honor” to our faith in Jesus Christ.

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

 Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

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

"There is not any reasoning which can convince me, contrary to my senses, that three is one, and one three," wrote Abigail Adams rejecting the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.  She was not a theologian but the upright, intelligent wife of the second president of the United States.  The same difficulty vexes anyone who relies on common sense.   It is why the Jews reject Jesus in the Gospel of John.

The Jews know where Jesus is leading them when he says in today’s gospel, “I tell what I have seen in the Father’s presence…”  Earlier in the gospel it was stated that they tried to kill Jesus because he “called God his own father, making himself equal to God.”  Being monotheists, as today’s first reading amply testifies, they will not tolerate any suggestion of two Gods.  Neither should Christians.

It is hardly imaginable, much less intuitive, how the Son and the Father are one God.  Virtually skipping logic, we call it “mystery” but hold to the concept firmly as the guarantor of our redemption.  Indeed, we posit a third figure of the one God, the Holy Spirit who completes the work of our salvation.  It is because Jesus is God that his death and resurrection have universal application.  It is because he is God with the Father that our deaths as well will blossom into resurrection.

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

 

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

(Numbers 21:4-9; John 8:21-30)

The Israelites were not lost in the desert.  They did not need forty years to reach their goal.  They required such a lengthy time to be transformed into God’s people.   Today’s first reading presents a critical lesson in their transformation. 

God’s merciful hand has fed the Israelites.  Still, eating the same fare everyday is trying.  When they grumble, God sends poisonous snakes to teach them humility and patience.  Beyond the hard lesson, God shows mercy again.  He cures those bitten by the serpents when they look upon an image of what caused them misery.

In the gospel Jesus predicts a similar salutary effect when he is lifted on the cross.  Those who look on him should realize how he is there to replace them.  We are the ones who have sinned and deserve death.  However, Jesus, innocent of all crime, has taken our place in the death chamber.  Above all, he deserves our thanks, praise, and imitation.

Monday, April 7, 2025

 

Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

(Daniel 13:1-9.15-17.19-30.33-62; John 8:12-20)

Jesus calls himself “the light of the world.”  He means that he brings clarity to a confused society.  Like Daniel in today’s first reading, Jesus enables the people to discern truth from falsehood.  On the surface Susanna, a beautiful woman who dismisses her servants, seems like an adulteress.  Likewise, the elderly men appear honorable.  Fortunately, Daniel discerns who is guilty and who is innocent.

In today’s gospel Jesus is in the position of Susanna.  At this point in the gospel his opponents have motives to want him dead.  He is winning the hearts of the people with his cures, his teaching, and his claim to be God’s Son.  When Jesus is raised both on the cross and from the dead, he will cast full light on the situation.  He will be vindicated of crime and, indeed, recognized as Savior of the world.  On the other hand, his accusers will be recognized as manipulators.

We will see the drama of Jesus’ trial and triumph unfold during Holy Week.  It is more than interesting.  It is our salvation if we recommit ourselves to him.  Let us prepare to do just that.

Sunday, April 6, 2025

FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

(Isaiah 43:16-21; Philippians 3:7-14; John 8:1-11)

We are nearing the end of Lent. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The light shines with the hope that we may be renewed people. Our fat is not as limp as before. Our speech has been purified. We perform works of mercy with less resistance. But it is not yet time to cease the struggle. We must run the entire course as marathoners must complete 42 kilometers.

To take advantage of today's readings, let us reflect on a now famous saying. It is not from the Bible, Shakespeare or the sages of antiquity. It is attributed to the English Catholic playwright Oscar Wilde, although it is not exactly found in his writings. Nevertheless, it is full of wisdom as if it came from the lips of Mother Teresa. The saying goes, “Every saint has a past; every sinner has a future.” That is, saints were not born saints. They became so by overcoming temptations like those which confront us. Sinners, too, once they recognize their offenses, can reform and become saints.

Saint Paul was not always an apostle of Jesus Christ. In fact, he knew himself as Christ’s number one enemy. He persecuted Christ by imprisoning Christians. Then, he met the risen Lord in an unexpected encounter. As today's second reading says, “Christ has won me over.” It's not that he changed Paul’s life in the sense that he lost his zeal. But he directed his zeal in the opposite direction. Instead of persecuting Christ, Christ became the sole focus of his life. Instead of punishing Christians, he created them through his preaching. Instead of hating Christ, he wanted a “sharing of his sufferings.”

The woman who confronts Jesus in the Gospel committed a grave sin. Although adultery is not the worst of sins, its effects can be disastrous. It can destroy marriages and will undermine the upbringing of children. Furthermore, it leads other couples to suspicion and distrust. But this woman is not the only sinner in the Temple area that day. Jesus' challenge to the Pharisees reveals that they too have sinned.

Jesus offers the woman an opportunity to repent. As he will say in the next chapter of the Gospel according to John, he came not to "judge" (that is, to condemn), but to save. The woman, now forgiven by Jesus, has an open future. Now she can choose the path of holiness.

The first reading from Second Isaiah proclaims the spirit of Easter. God is “doing something new." He is, as it were, creating "a path in the mighty waters " of the sea of evil that often characterizes the world. Instead of giving in to impure, greedy, or aggressive desires, we live differently. Our hope is not in “happy thoughts” like partying and telling jokes. Rather, it is the fulfilling of the deepest longings of our hearts. We are looking forward to a life that knows no disappointment, much less death. We are talking about the reunion with our loved ones who have departed from the earth. Above all, we have in mind knowledge of Christ, our teacher, redeemer, and truest friend.

Yes, eternal life sometimes seems impossible. But the apostles have attested with their lives that this goal is achievable. Only with Christ, who has justified us and provides us with the Holy Spirit, is it possible. Only with the power of his resurrection can we be changed into God’s true sons and daughters.

Friday, April 4, 2025

 Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent

(Wisdom 2:1a.12-22; John 71-2.10.25-30)

In today’s gospel the people of Jerusalem are divided on Jesus’ identity.  Some believe him to be the Messiah sent from God.  Others find that proposition impossible.  They say that since they know where Jesus comes from, he cannot be from God.  Then Jesus declares himself.

He says that the people only think they know him.  They may say that he comes from Nazareth.  But he has origins beyond that town or the world, for that matter.  He came from God with a mission to carry out.  Until that mission is accomplished, he cannot be detained.

Many today similarly question Jesus’ identity.  They see him as a human person without a divine nature.  They often admire his wisdom but cannot accept his resurrection from the dead.  This makes a convenient argument for those who do not want to comply with his teaching.  However, those who believe he comes from God know that his ways will bring them happiness.

Thursday, April 3, 2025

 

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent

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

In the Book of Deuteronomy (18,15) Moses promises the people a prophet like himself.  He says that the Lord will put His words into the prophet’s mouth.  Furthermore, the Lord will hold responsible anyone who does not heed the prophet’s teaching.

In today’s gospel Jesus claims to be the prophet Moses spoke of.  The Jews harassing him, of course, do not accept him so.  But, as if it were a court case, Jesus piles on evidence.  John testified to Jesus calling him the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Jesus’ cures give witness to his being sent by God.  More vivid testimony yet will be his death on the cross and his resurrection.  Finally, the Father has given testimony in the many prophecies that described his coming and his mission.

We must ask ourselves if we accept Jesus.  We say we do.  But do we love our enemies as he taught? Do we tell about him as our Savior and our friend to others?  If we have not added our testimony to the list Jesus gives, let us try to do so.

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

 

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

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

The law prohibiting work on the sabbath is derived from the Third Commandment.  Rabbis, however, were aware that God needs to work on the sabbath to prevent the world from falling apart.  Jesus uses this awareness to defend his curing the paralytic on a sabbath.  He tells the Jews that as God’s Son, he too can work on the sabbath.  He only does what he sees the Father doing – giving life.  Of course, the Jews hear Jesus as blaspheming.  How can a man – they think – make himself out to be God?

In Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin in Matthew, Mark, and Luke he is condemned for equating himself with God.  John does not have a Jewish trial, but he repeatedly has scenes like this one.  On some of these occasions the Jews try to kill him. In this way John verifies what happens at the Jewish trial.

As Jesus invites the Jews to believe in him, so he wants us to believe. We ask ourselves, is he the Son of God, equal to the Father?  Or is he an imposter or, perhaps, a lunatic?  Many people have difficulty accepting Jesus as God.  Some of these consider the ethic that he preached too restrictive.  Hopefully, we will accept Jesus because the ethic is life-giving not detracting. It brings not only fulfilment on earth but also happiness in heaven.

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

 

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

(Ezekiel 47:1-9.12; John 5:1-16)

The walls of the grotto at Lourdes feature crutches, canes, and wheelchairs.  These abandoned aids of the infirmed testify to the spring water’s healing effects.  Or is it the faith of the sick brought to the water that heals them?  The same question may be asked of both readings today.

In the first the prophet Ezekiel displays the water from Jerusalem’s reconstructed Temple.  Its high quality nourishes life wherever it flows.  The invalid in today’s gospel waits for the Temple’s water to be cured.  All he needs to do is access the pool, a task more easily said than done.  Jesus comes along to heal the man so that he might believe in him. 

Asking which comes first, faith or healing, is the famous “chicken or egg” question.  God has blessed us continually.  Still, we must trust in Him when the blessing we now seek is not forthcoming.  We must believe that Jesus is always here to give us life.

Monday, March 31, 2025

Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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

All human life has dignity.  Ergo, euthanasia is wrong.  But letting live only begins to respect life.  Life must be assisted so that it may develop and prosper.  This is the whole point of Easter as the readings during this second half of Lent will testify.

In today’s first reading the prophet promises a new earth.  It will be a place of joy.  There will be no premature death.  Indeed, at a hundred years old, a person will be considered young.  The gospel shows Jesus enabling the dying son of the royal official to live.  His miraculous cure is called a “sign.”  It signifies that Jesus has come to give eternal life to those who believe in him.

We should note a very different tenor in the mass readings of the second half of Lent.  They no longer call for repentance and penance.  Rather, they emphasize the fullness of life God bestows through His Son.  Easter will soon be here.  We will leave behind our sins and worries.  It is almost time for us to rejoice. 

Sunday, March 30, 2025

 

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

(Joshua 5:9, 10-12; II Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32)

Today we reach the middle of Lent.  Hopefully, we are having success in the struggle to deny ourselves for the good of others. We probably don't find it as hard as we imagined. Now, in this second part of the season, the focus shifts. The Church no longer dwells on our sins of the past. Rather, she looks forward to the saving events of Holy Week.

The first reading from the Book of Joshua portrays the last Passover before entering the Promised Land. The Passover Supper to this day has reminded the Israelites of two marvelous happenings. First, it speaks of their escape from Egypt by the arm of the Lord. Second, it emphasizes the strange but nutritious manna they received from His hand.  Both events summon participants of the meal to give thanks to God. This is what we do in the Eucharist, which Jesus established while celebrating the Passover. Every Sunday (really, every day), and with more fervor than ever on Holy Thursday, we repeat this memorial of divine love.

A phrase from the second reading surprises us like a flash of lightning in the night. “God made him sin” (with “him” referring to Christ). It sounds almost blasphemous. But it has to do with Christ's Sacrifice on the cross on Good Friday. He “became sin” by redeeming the sins of the world with his sacrificial death. In this act of supreme love, the purpose of his becoming human is revealed. He certainly deserves our thanks.

The Gospel has perhaps the best-known of all Jesus’ parables. Yet it seems not fully appreciated. Many focus almost exclusively on the repentance of the younger brother. To them his story overshadows that of the older brother. But Jesus tells the parable to the Pharisees to illustrate the hardness of their hearts. He is comparing them to the older brother. Just as the man quarrels with his father for never having given him a party, the Pharisees complain about Jesus’ eating with sinners.

Some of us who attend Mass every Sunday probably sometimes feel like the older brother. I do. We resent it when others are recognized by name, and we are overlooked. We think “That's not fair" and want to register a complaint. However, it may be that our concept of justice, like that of the older brother, is lacking. We think of justice as something static. If one person receives a three-inch piece of cake, everyone must receive the same three inches. We don't want to admit special needs. As the father says, "It was fitting that we should celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come back to life..."

Now we see the true protagonist of the story. The father shows great love for both sons. For the younger son, the father looked for his figure on the horizon every day. For the elder, he interrupts the welcoming of his guests at the feast to persuade him to enter. His love recognizes a time for worry and a time for rejoicing. He represents God giving everyone what they need so that they may be united with Him. We will hear more of His wonderful deeds on behalf of men and women at the Easter Vigil.

Whether we are like the older brother harboring resentment or the brother squandering his life, the heavenly Father invites us to his banquet. Here we repent with other sinners. Here we thank Him for our redeemer. Here we feed on Jesus Christ himself so that we may do what it takes to have eternal life.  Yes, it will require effort on our part. But empowered by Jesus and supported by one another, we will reach our goal.

Friday, March 28, 2025

 

Friday of the Third Week of Lent

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

In today’s first reading God speaks to a proud people that has been severely humbled.  Israel, the Northern Kingdom, was prosperous and arrogant.  It departed from holiness to follow the ways of the world.  Then it met catastrophe when the powerful Assyrian kingdom swallowed it like a bear eating fish in preparation for winter. 

God shows no disdain for Israel.  Rather he extends a hand of mercy.  As the people of Israel look for a helping hand in their need, God offers His.  He says that He will reestablish Israel’s prosperity if its people recommit themselves to His ways of holiness.

Some of us have succumbed to the ways of the world as had Israel.  We have given up on prayer and regular attendance of Mass.  We seek above all material prosperity and recognition of others.  Hopefully, we too may repent of our abandonment of the Lord’s ways.  Hopefully, our God -- the only God -- will welcome us back.

Thursday, March 27, 2025

 

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

(Jeremiah 7:23-28; Luke 11:14-23)

It is not that Jesus rejects the value of signs that he refuses the people’s request for one in today’s gospel.  Rather, it’s that a sign at this point would be redundant.  He has just enabled a mute man to speak.  This act of mercy should have been accepted as a sign that he is an agent of God.  Still the people ask for more.

Signs refer to something else.  But they do not prove that their referent exists.  One must assume that it does on faith.  A smashed car is a sign that there has been an accident.  But it is possible that someone took a sludge hammer to the vehicle.  Still, it is a good bet that the wreck got that way in an accident, so we believe it.

We see signs of God’s love for us often enough.  We need a parking space, say a prayer, and are not surprised that on the next block there is an empty space.  We see people sleeping on the streets and feel blessed by the Lord.  Rather than continue seeking signs, we must commit ourselves to God in faith.  The decision will bring us happiness.

Wednesday, March 26, 202

 

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

(Deuteronomy 4:1.5-9; Matthew 5:17-19)

After almost two hundred fifty years the United States is no longer a young country.   What has allowed its government to function so long?  Many would argue with its second president that the country is a “nation of laws, not of men.” The United States government has always followed its constitutional processes even if they seemed unwise or inadequate.  The Book of Deuteronomy likewise values the law as today’s first reading proclaims.  Jesus in the gospel says that he is not about to do away with it.

To this day Jews hold the Mosaic law in the utmost esteem.  For centuries some of their wisest people have studiously applied it to new contexts.  Especially in Matthew’s gospel Jesus is seen as a wise man interpreting the law for his disciples.  He makes several emendations but never presents a new constitution.

We sometimes dismiss Jewish law as outdated.  That was not Jesus’ intent.  If we examine the law closely, we will find it observed by the Church in different ways.  Its liturgical laws have been assumed into our liturgy.  Its moral laws form the basis of Christian morality along with the teachings of the Lord Jesus.  Only the sacrificial laws have been completely replaced by Jesus’ perfect sacrifice on the cross.

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

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

St. Paul critiques the seeking of signs in I Corinthians.  He calls the practice typically Jewish.  In today’s first reading and in the gospel two Jews are presented with signs.  One ignores his; the other follows up on hers.

King Ahaz refuses to ask God for a sign as Isaiah advises.  He claims that he does not wish to tempt God.  But that is a religious pretense.  He does not want to admit the possibility of Isaiah’s warning that an alliance with Syria will bring about disaster.  The Virgin Mary graciously accepts her sign.  She does not hesitate to confirm the sign that she will give birth to God’s Son.  Directly from the place of the annunciation, she visits Elizabeth now pregnant in old age.  

Beyond attesting that Mary would conceive by the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth’s pregnancy signifies that “nothing will be impossible for God.” He can make people as simple as we bearers of the gospel.  Like Mary we can be servants of the Lord ready to act according to His word.

Monday, March 24, 2025

 

Monday of the Third Week of Lent

(II Kings 5:1-15ab; Luke 4:24-30)

Prophetic truth is almost by definition unpopular.  When Upton Sinclair played the role of prophet denouncing miserable working conditions in Chicago stockyards, he was shunned.  Only when he revealed food contamination did the public listen to his outcry.  Today’s readings report other instances of dismissal of prophetic judgment.

In the first reading General Naaman dismisses the prophet Elisha’s advice.  Expecting a sophisticated treatment for his leprosy, he considers the prophet mad for recommending baths in the River Jordan.  Likewise, Jesus’ townspeople are ready to stone him for criticizing their desire to see him work miracles.

Lent is time for reconsideration.  We should be thinking about what prophets keep telling us.  President Trump’s endorsement of in vitro fertilization has stirred up interest in this technological intrusion into human procreation.  Prophets rightly point out that IVF is leading the public into a crisis of identity as well as a mechanistic mindset.

Sunday, March 23, 2025

 

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

(Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15; 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12; Luke 13:1-9)

As always during Lent, the readings today spark our interest. The first is the famous story of Moses' initial encounter with the Lord God. Curiously, God speaks to his chosen liberator from a bush that burns without being consumed. The Gospel sounds like the daily news. It reports two catastrophes as if they happened yesterday. What is not clear is how these readings interrelate, as is always the case at Sunday Mass.

To resolve this question, we must extend our perspective to next Sunday's Gospel. This contains the touching parable of the "prodigal son."  The story highlights the compassionate father who graciously receives back the son who abandoned him. The father certainly represents God. Some may think that this compassion is so improbable that the God it supposedly describes is but a figment of imagination. That's what Freud thought. However, we know that God truly exists when He identifies Himself to Moses as "I am."  He is not a myth like the gods of the Egyptians or the Greeks. Nor is His mercy fictitious as His intention to rescue His people indicates.

This is interesting, but what does it have to do with today's gospel? In the gospel, Jesus uses catastrophes to call the world to repentance. He speaks of the northern Galileans in the report of Pilate mixing the blood of his victims with that of animals. Then he mentions the inhabitants of Jerusalem in southern Israel crushed by the collapse of a tower. North and south: in other words, the whole world. Jesus is insisting that everyone change their ways to conform to God's. If they don't, he warns, they will be lost.

The reason for repentance is not to appease an irate God. Rather, it is the opposite. As Jesus makes clear in the parable of the Prodigal Son, we should return to God because He is kind and merciful. He wants to help us achieve true happiness. God’s motive here is like the mother who forbade her daughter from running around with a group of wild friends. The mother doesn't care if her daughter resents her judgment. She just wants her to have a happy life. Thus, God wants us to repent for our own good.

Sometimes we have difficulty recognizing our sins. As if we were near-sighted, we can't see other sins than the most obvious ones, like missing Mass or viewing pornography. Somehow, we must go beyond obligations and prohibitions in our examination of conscience. We might ask ourselves if we are generous both in the judgments of our peers and in our donations to the needy. We might question whether our prayers are merely repeating words or if they communicate to God our actual fears and hopes.

Lent is to prepare us to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection with renewed minds and hearts. This renewal seems incomplete without a good confession of sins. In it, we strive to achieve what Pope Saint John Paul II called "purification of memory." This experience of truth and repentance, along with the reparation of any debts owed and the absolution of the confessor, calms our anxiety. We can go forward at peace with God and with neighbor. In a world burdened by sin, we can live anew as brothers and sisters of Christ carrying out the will of the Father.

Friday, March 21, 2025

 

Friday of the Second Week of Lent

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

Envy is said to be “sorrow over another’s good.”   Since it lacks charity, it is a sin.  It is said to be a capital sin because it readily gives rise to others.  The derivative sins may be graver than envy. In today’s first reading, envy causes Joseph’s brothers to sell him into slavery.  In the gospel parable of the vineyard, it moves the tenants to murder.

Most people experience envy at some time.  We may resent the fact that others score better on tests or that they make more money for less work.  Envy can be contravened by effort to be content with what we have.  Jesus tells us not to worry about what we lack, but to ask the Father for what we need.  Another wise man, the Dalai Lama or chief priest of Buddhism, has other good advice.  He says, “We need to learn how to want what we have, not to have what we want in order to get steady and stable happiness.”

 

Thursday, March 20, 2025

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

(Jeremiah 17:5-10; Luke 16:9-31)

A dozen or so years ago sociologist Charles Murray published a book that received national attention. Coming Apart marshaled massive evidence demonstrating that the United States was becoming increasingly stratified economically and socially.  Although the liberal rich are criticized as having an elitist disregard for religion and for wanton living, Murray showed the opposite.  His evidence revealed that the rich were much more likely to go to church and have intact families than the poor.  So do the rich in the United States act like the rich man in the gospel parable today, or do they follow Christ?

Of course, the answer is, “that depends.” In the parable the rich man's sin is not that he is wealthy but that he overlooks poor Lazarus lying at his door.  He probably is well-known in the community, but interestingly in the hereafter he goes unnamed.  Meanwhile, Lazarus dies in misery but is remembered by name in eternal bliss. 

Some rich, no doubt, faithfully follow the Lord.  However, there is a striking parallel between the rich in America and the rich man who ignores Lazarus.  With gated communities, first-class accommodations, and high-cost private schools, the rich are not likely to see the poor struggling close by. They must make special effort on behalf of the needy to be remembered in eternal life.

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

 

Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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

One innovation of Pope Francis has been to include St. Joseph in the very often used Second and Third Eucharistic Prayers.  For awhile waning in the popular eye, Joseph’s role in the economy of salvation has been reemphasized.  After all, he not only gave Jesus royal lineage; he most likely taught his divine son godly justice.

In today’s gospel Joseph manifests how justice is a virtue that requires more than a literal enactment of law but also love and prudence.  The Law allows Joseph to publicly expose Mary as having sexual relations outside marriage.  Of course, that is not true, but her pregnancy indicates it.  However, Joseph, being truly just, cares about Mary and adeptly decides to divorce her in secret.  In the end he does not have to do it, but his plan reveals a man of good character.  Raising Jesus as his own son, he likely passes on to him godly virtues.

Although contemporary artists often picture Joseph touching Mary, in classical art there is almost always a separation between the two.  Joseph was a chaste man who would not let proximity lapse into sexual intimacy.  It is one more virtue that we can learn from this wise and holy man.

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent

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

 In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus wages a war on hypocrisy.  He emphasized it in the Sermon on the Mount where he warned his disciples not to fast, pray, or give alms for show.  In today’s passage he critiques the Pharisees for not practicing what they preach, a sign of hypocrisy. 

Then Jesus tells his disciples that they are brothers and sisters to one another.  As such, no is to assume greater respect or honor than anyone else.  He becomes specific when he says that they are not to call one another, “Rabbi,” “teacher,” “master,” or “father.”  These titles are used among the Pharisees to covet honor. 

We in the Church have not taken Jesus literally here.  Teachers inside the Church abound.  Priests are almost universally called “Father.”  Because these transgressions have a long tradition and often give comfort to those who seek spiritual wisdom, they may be readily forgiven.  But clericalism – the pretension that priests are better and more deserving of honor than lay persons – remains a tragic sin.  It is tragic because Orders is a sacrament of service, not of domination.  It is a sin because it subverts the unity Jesus intends among his disciples.

 

Monday, March 17, 2025

Monday of the Second Week of Lent

(Daniel 9:4b-10; Luke 6:36-38)

Preparing for the Jubilee Year 2000 Pope Saint John Paul II called upon the Church to make a “purification of memory.” This term sounds strange.  Memories may not be accurate and in need of correction.  But how is this a “purification”?  It turns out that the saintly pope had in mind first a communal acknowledgement of past sins of the Church.  He wanted Catholics to own the sins of racism, intolerance of credal difference, marginalization of women, and other such social abuses that have compromised the Church’s holiness.  Second, as part of the process of purification St. John Paul wanted the faithful to remember how they and their ancestors were sinned against.  Here, however, instead of seeking an apology, they were to offer forgiveness.  In these ways the Church was to renew itself to carry out the work of the gospel more effectively.

Daniel’s lament of Israel’s sins against God in today’s first reading demonstrates a “purification of memory.”  The prophet, hoping for forgiveness, acknowledges the many sins that brought about the anguish of the Babylonian exile.  With God’s mercy the nation could be reborn, as it were, to make a fresh start at modeling the Lord’s ways.

Each Lent we are called upon to enact a “purification of memory.” We should call to mind our sins, especially the most grievous ones, and pray that God will give us the strength never to commit them again.  We also want to remember the times in which we have been sinned against and to pray for our persecutors.  Doing so, at Easter we will emerge from our Lenten retreat to serve better God and humans.

Sunday, March 16, 2025

SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT

(Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 9:28b-36)

As on every Second Sunday of Lent, the gospel today focuses on Jesus being mysteriously transfigured. The story astounds the reader. The narrative from the beginning recounts Jesus’ formation as a prophet with some strange experiences, but nothing unimaginable. Then, we come to this passage. Jesus is on the mountain with three disciples. They get a glimpse of him in glory. What does it all mean?

Rather than try to explain the story’s development and apply its meaning to our lives, we are going to employ another strategy today. We will examine three components of the story that seem particularly revealing. Then we will ask ourselves what they indicate for our Lenten journey.

First, Jesus is transformed while he is praying. In his dialogue with the Father, he is seen as united with Him in such a way that he assumes the Father’s glory. As the Creed says, Jesus is “light from light, true God from true God.” The event shows the purpose of prayer as uniting us with God the Father. It is a moment of truth because God knows our heart. We cannot deceive Him with pretenses. This is a grace.  We don’t have to put on a mask when asking the Father for what is necessary to live happily.

Only this narrative according to Saint Luke reveals the theme of the conversation between Jesus, Moses and Elijah. They speak of the “exodus” that Jesus is going to suffer in Jerusalem. The Greek says literally “exodus” although some translations have “departure” or “death.” The evangelist’s purpose is to say that the violent death that awaits Jesus in the holy city will bring about liberation like the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt liberated them from slavery.  As horrible as the crucifixion will be for Jesus, it will also be transformative. By his death on the cross Jesus will redeem the world from its sins. As the sinless Son of God, he alone can offer a sacrifice that will justify all humans. The first reading says that by faith the Lord credited Abram with righteousness. St. Paul developed this concept by declaring that through faith in Jesus Christ, crucified and resurrected, we have been justified.

Finally, it is worth reflecting on the cloud that envelops the disciples and the voice that emanates from it. As something that obscures one’s sight, the cloud invokes fear. But as something refreshing and peculiar, the cloud attracts attention. Thus, the cloud becomes a symbol of the Divine, at once fearful and fascinating. People today take out their phones to take photos of anything unusual. Similarly, Peter wants to make three huts to freeze in time the appearance of Jesus in glory. But the voice of the cloud urges him and his companions to seize the moment, not try to replicate it. They (and we too) should listen to Jesus. He is not only God’s “Son” but also his “chosen” one.  The term comes from Second Isaiah where it is used to describe the Suffering Servant. This mysterious figure bore the sins of many. Because he has no referents in the Isaiah narrative Mark, Matthew, and Luke assumed that he uniquely anticipates Jesus Christ.

The Transfiguration of the Lord should not move us to quick action. Rather, its strangeness indicates that we are to pause and contemplate. We might ask ourselves: What is our destiny as followers of Jesus if his was the cross and resurrection from the dead? Could it be anything other than to suffer and receive glory like him? In the second reading St. Paul promises the Philippians that Jesus will transform their bodies into glorious bodies like his. It is our purpose for Lent to be transfigured like Christ by our acts of sacrifice.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Friday of the First Week of Lent

(Ezekiel 18:21-28; Matthew 5:20-26)

Children in parochial schools often had problems with today’s first reading.  They reasoned that it is wrong to condemn someone who has lived his whole life doing good and then makes a small error.  Perhaps they did not understand what is at the basis of the good and bad behavior.

God calls all people to a relationship with himself.  With each good deed and with each prayer the relationship deepens if the prayer or deed is done to please God and not just to look good.  After years of such activity, the person should have little difficulty in achieving goodness since God is working with her or him. At this point a corrupt action or prayer is more than a misdeed.  It is an affront to a longtime friend.

Graciously God offers the offender opportunity to makes amends.  But if that is refused out of pride or disdain, God cannot be called unjust for condemning the person.  It is not always easy to commit a sin.  The more we develop a relationship with God by doing what is right, the less likely we are to offend Him.

Thursday, March 13, 2025

Thursday of the First Week of Lent

(Esther C:12.14-16.23-25; Matthew 7:7-12)

Esther was literally a beauty queen.  King Ahasuerus (Xerxes in Greek history) called for a contest to find the most beautiful woman to replace his wife who refused to heed his command.  Like young women today, it seems that Esther cared more about a sweet life than a righteous one.  In today’s reading she admits that as a child she heard of the power of prayer as if she hasn’t prayed recently.

Yet Esther gives herself completely to prayer when it becomes her only hope.  She prostrated herself an entire day beseeching God’s mercy for her people as well as for herself.  It is the same heartfelt prayer that Jesus recommends to his disciples in the today’s gospel.

We likewise should pray hard and often that we may be delivered from evil to do good.  God loves us and will provide our needs.  He wants us to pray so that our hearts might be expanded to have mercy on others.

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Wednesday of the First Week in Lent

(Jonah 3:1-10; Luke 11:29-32)

There is an intriguing development in the Passion narrative of St. Luke’s Gospel.  The crowd following Jesus from the Roman praetorium to Calvary changes its attitude.  In front of Pilate it was insistent that Jesus should be crucified.  However, the crowd leaves the scene of crucifixion beating their breasts in remorse.  The crowd’s repentance is like that of the Ninevites in today’s first reading.

In Ninevah the prophet’s moral preaching turned the hearts of the people.  On Calvary it was the nobility Jesus showed in dying praying for the forgiveness of his executioners and promising Paradise to the “good thief.”  In today’s gospel passage Jesus calls for such a response from all who hear him proclaimed.

Certainly, we want to make individual acts of penance during Lent.  We should also encourage others to recognize their sins and to make amends.  Lent is a time of communal penance when everyone is to renounce and make up for social as well as personal sins.

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

(Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 6:7-15)

Today’s famous passage from Second Isaiah assures that God’s word is efficacious.  It always achieves its purpose.  As God is altogether good, His word only brings about benefits.

In the gospel, Jesus tells his disciples to pray for forgiveness of their sins.  Being God with power to effect what he wills, Jesus is assuring them that their guilt will be abolished.  However, he makes one proviso.  Sins will be forgiven on request as long as the sinners involved willingly forgive their offenders.

We long to be forgiven for mistakes we have made and for full-blown sins that we have committed.  There is no need to fret.  All that is necessary is to ask for pardon and to show willingness to forgive others.  We still may not receive the desired forgiveness from other humans.  But God’s forgiveness, which counts the most, is guaranteed.

Monday, March 10, 2025

Monday of the First Week in Lent

(Leviticus 19:1-2.11-18; Matthew 25:31-46)

The Scripture readings today strike a balance between negative and positive actions.  Leviticus emphasizes the former with a list of “You shall not(s).”  The gospel, on the other hand, accentuates the positive.  It predicts Jesus reminding the nations at the end of time that they are being judged on what they did for the little people of the world.  If they fed the hungry, clothed the naked, and visited the imprisoned, they will be judged worthy of salvation.

We might ask which is more important, to avoid doing what is wrong or to do what is right?  In medicine, at least, an answer to this question seems to emerge.  The Hippocratic Oath, which physicians have taken for centuries, clearly sides with the need to avoid evil.  After promising to offer dietetic measures to heal the sick, budding physicians swear not to do a series of evils: hasten death, induce abortion, and molest patients or householders whom they visit. 

It is fair to conclude that avoiding harm is essential but insufficient.  If love is the supreme virtue, it entails that we act positively toward others.  If we cannot do anything directly to support them, then we should at least pray that their needs be met.  During Lent we redouble efforts to examine our lives daily with two questions in mind.  We ask ourselves, “What evil have I done today?” and “What good have I failed to do?”

Sunday, March 9, 2025

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT, March 9, 2025

(Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13)

We began Lent last Wednesday with the reception of ashes, fasting, and abstaining from meat. But it seems to me that this week we begin it in earnest. Lent is more than a one-day performance to put us into the spirit of humility but an extended time to achieve it. The season proposes that we become more willing to love God with our whole heart.

The readings of each Mass during Lent usually focus on one aspect of the paschal mystery. Today they emphasize trust in God. Let's deal with the first reading quickly and give more attention to the gospel.  There we will observe not only Jesus' success over the distorted desires of the human heart but also his solidarity with humanity. Finally, we will see how the reading from the Letter to the Romans signals the accessibility of salvation to the entire world.

The first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy gives the striking phrase: “My father was a wandering Aramean…” It refers to Jacob, son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, who left his homeland to seek refuge in Egypt. Without land to protect them from both hunger and enemies, Jacob’s descendants lived in precarious conditions for centuries. However, God blessed them so that they grew into a great nation. In time, God freed them from Pharaoh’s tyranny and established them in the land of Canaan.

As great as freedom and land are, God eventually gave Israel nation a far greater gift. He sent his only begotten Son to fulfill the nation’s destiny to be a “light to the nations,” the source of salvation for the world. In the gospel, Jesus arrives in the desert “filled with the Holy Spirit,” which he received through his baptism in the Jordan River. It was a gratuitous act of solidarity with humans since having never sinned, Jesus did not need baptism.

Again, like other human beings Jesus suffers temptations engineered by the devil. In preparation for his ministry, Jesus faces the great desires of the human heart. First, he must overcome sensual longings represented by the temptation to break his forty-day fast. Second, he must subdue the ambition for power and glory in the devil's offer of lordship over the kingdoms of the world. Finally, Jesus must master the human will to manipulate God for its own benefit. At each turn he dismisses temptation with a phrase from Scripture. Jesus proves himself consistent with his teaching throughout the gospel that humans are on earth to serve the Lord God, not to be served.

Jesus' solidarity with humans here at the beginning of the gospel will continue to its end. On the cross he will show its depth when he suffers death as the sacrifice of the sinless for sinners. Only such self-giving can redeem humans from their offenses of doing their own will rather than God's.  Having left behind all earthly ambition, Jesús can truly say, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.”

In the second reading, St. Paul assures us that being included among those redeemed by Jesus Christ is not reserved for a few. We have only to submit ourselves to Christ with an act of faith. We ask, “What about those who have never had the opportunity to know Christ?” Vatican II teaches that all who seek God’s will with a sincere heart will not be abandoned. God will not allow non-Christians who do His will to be lost. But they, like us, must humble themselves before Him.

Friday, March 7, 2025

Friday after Ash Wednesday

(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 9:14-15)

Needless to say, today’s readings involve fasting.  The first calls into question the fasting of Israel in the sixth century before Christ.  The gospel questions the purpose of fasting with the supreme call to joy present.

Fasting is an outward sign of an interior disposition of humility.  It indicates one’s willingness to do God’s will and not one’s own.  Trito-Isaiah chastises the nation of Israel for putting on a show as if they intended to keep God’s commandments.  In reality, however, they mean “business as usual” with just lip service to justice as God commands.

We say Lent is a forty-day fast.  In most years, however, there are only thirty-eight or thirty-nine days of fasting.  The difference is accounted to a suspension of fasting on March 19, the Solemnity of St. Joseph, and March 25, the Solemnity of the Annunciation.  Both days call for celebration, not signs of humility.  Besides Sundays, on the other days of Lent we should not only fast but make up for the times in which we have not rendered full justice to God or neighbor.

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

(Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Luke 9:22-25)

In a “Faustian bargain” one sells his or her eternal soul to the devil in exchange for temporal goods.  The term originates from a legendary man who bargained with the devil for unlimited knowledge and possessions.  Unfortunately, many people forfeit their souls at a much lesser price.  The readings today exhort us to avoid all such arrangements.

 Moses is speaking to the people just before they enter the Promised Land.  He says that God will give them “life,” i.e., prosperity for them and their descendants.  They only have to keep to His ways.  In the gospel Jesus offers an even greater life.  His followers can secure an eternal reward by focusing on him rather than their own desires.  They are to live without complaints doing good for others. 

 The purpose of Lent is to reinforce the habits of self-denying love in order to have fullness of life.  Like any exercise worth our while, it takes effort.  But we share the experience with one another in the Church and with Christ.  The burden becomes, paradoxically, a joy in such good company.

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Ash Wednesday

(Joel 2:12-18; II Corinthians 5:20-6:2; Matthew 6:1-6.16-18)

People should not come forward to receive ashes today to show the world they are Catholics.  Not only would this reason indicate an unholy pride, but also an increasing number of Protestant communities serve ashes.  Christians wear ashes on their foreheads today not to show they are different than other humans but to show that they are the same.  Like every human being alive today a Christian is a sinner.  He or she has loved God’s creation more than God Himself.  Ashes also indicate that, as in the case of the first human beings, sinners are bound to return to the earth where they decompose into dirt.

Except for one thing, the fact that Jesus Christ also was human.  For sure, he was the one exception to the rule that all humans sin.  (Mary will not be considered here as she was conceived and maintained herself without sin by virtue of being the mother of Jesus.)  Yet Jesus did not shirk from identifying with sinful humans.  He was baptized in solidarity with sinners as the second reading today points out: he who did not know sin was made sin.  Indeed, he took all human sins upon himself so that he might redeem humans by his horrifically unjust Passion and Death.

Ashes should not remain only a sign of our sinfulness.  Rather, they should say something of our intention to rise from our sinfulness as the phoenix of Greek mythology rises from the ashes of its predecessors.  We do this not by our own efforts, but by faith in Jesus Christ.  Our works of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are but ways of joining Christ, who became like us.  He will lift us up to glory.

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

(Sirach 35:1-12; Mark 10:28-31)

The phrase “giving up” in today’s gospel reminds one that tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.  Christians will be giving up some of the pleasures of life for the sake of Jesus and the for the gospel.  Is this still good practice?

For years some preachers have recommended not to give up anything for Lent but to enter the spirit of the season with a commitment to “do something positive.”   It seems that they have the issue half-right.  Christians should strive to help others during Lent.  But self-denial complements charity in Jesus’ call to promote him and the gospel.

“Giving up” something for the sake of the other is a heartful expression of love.  We might say that we love another, but giving up a meal while acknowledging the other more forcefully shows that love.  Jesus is not with us in person so that we might do something unambiguously for him.  Nevertheless, we recognize his spiritual presence by denying ourselves a pleasure for his sake.  And if others should hear of it, will they not ask themselves what in the gospel makes us do so?

Monday, March 3, 2025

Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

(Sirach 17:20-24; Mark 10:17-27)

A recovering drug addict wrote from prison about how it feels to have fallen from grace.  He said that sin causes deep and constant remorse in the addict.  The sinner knows that he has failed not only God but also his family and himself.  Confession indicates the sinner’s desire to be understood not so much as bad but as weak.  He longs to be part of everyday society whose members are much les dependent.

Today’s first reading addresses the situation of the sinner.  It begins by saying that “God provides a way back” from sin.  The way “encourages those who are losing hope” by offering them the truth that human beings are not alone in the struggle against evil.  More than having one another, God is at hand to assist them.  God supplies the essential difference to live with the sin purged and in peace with all.

Catholics have the Sacrament of Reconciliation to bring about the desired transformation. It provides sinners opportunities to recognize their offenses.  The priest-minister of the sacrament allows them to petition support from both God and community.  It also affords the sinner a sense of participation in his redemption as it requires sinners to make amends.  Finally, it pronounces the words of freedom, “I absolve you from your sins…”

Sunday, March 2, 2025

EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

(Sirach 27:5-8; I Corinthians 15:54-58; Luke 6:39-45)

The Gospel today helps us prepare for the great annual retreat that the Church offers. During Lent we set out for a deeper spiritual life. Our goal is to be freer, happier, more inclined to act like Jesus, our companion on the journey. As is almost always the case with travel, the Lenten journey proceeds best when it is well planned.

The Gospel passage suggests the purpose of the Lenten journey when it says: “The disciple is not superior to his teacher; but when fully trained, he will be like his teacher.” Jesus is inviting us to learn from him. We did say “retreat,” but Lent is not about separating ourselves from daily activities. Rather, we are to live more aware of the presence of Jesus in our lives.

The gospel points out two areas of life that almost always require improvement. First, it urges us to examine the defects that prevent us from fulfilling our responsibilities. These are the “beams” in Jesus’ parable that distort our vision so that we do not treat our neighbors with justice, our children with wisdom, and everyone with appropriate love.

Some of these defects are individual. Greed, the desire to accumulate things, for example, affects not everyone. Another defect that affects many but not all is lust, the desire for illicit pleasures of the flesh. There are other individual beams, but two can be found in the eyes of almost everyone – pride and sloth.

It is difficult to talk about pride because it has a positive sense. However, when we consider pride as an exaggerated esteem for self or as a fixation on oneself first and foremost, pride becomes a vice. This type of pride deserves our attention during Lent.

The second beam that infects most people’s eyes is laziness in the spiritual life. Very few people strive to become saints. It's not cool. However, if we believe in an afterlife and hope to enjoy it, we must make a continual effort to please God.

Virtues act as washes to remove the beams from our eyes. That's why promoting virtue is our second focus during Lent. In the gospel Jesus refers to good fruit coming from good trees. Virtues make us into productive trees. More than repeated actions, virtue is mastery over our actions so that they have creative and profitable results. There are many virtues, but we will mention just a few particularly useful for removing the beams in our eyes.

Fortitude enables us to overcome laziness in the face of a challenge. Students need fortitude during exam week, and so do saints in the ongoing struggle to pray and do the right thing. Temperance moderates desires for material things, whether sex, alcohol, or home furnishings. It indicates when we have sufficiency and when we are just indulging our cravings. Finally, the virtue of justice directs us to give to each his or her due. It thwarts pride by recognizing our families, our friends and teachers, our society, and God himself as participants in any success we have achieved.

Lent begins this Wednesday with the distribution of ashes. Now is the time for us disciples of Jesus, to identify the beams impeding our view of him and to plan how to remove them. May God bless us in the effort.

Friday, February 28, 2025

Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Sirach 6:5-17; Mark 10:1-12)

In a lovely ballad John Denver sang of his uncle named Matthew.  He said that Matthew grew up on a farm in Kansas where he learned to love others and believe in God.  When a tornado destroyed his farm and killed his family, Matthew was not devastated.  Rather he found a new life with Denver and his family.  As he says, “(Matthew) came to ease my Daddy’s burden and he came to be my friend.”

Today’s reading from the Book of Sirach recommends a friend like Matthew.  It says that a man who fears God is “a life-saving remedy,” who can be relied upon in catastrophe.  One can trust such a person not only for a helping hand, but also for a reminder of how one is to act in order to please the Lord.

In John’s gospel Jesus calls his disciples “friends.” He has taught them to be like himself.  As he has loved them, they must love one another.  Through Baptism and attention to the Gospel, we have been brought into Jesus’ circle of friends.  Now is our turn to help one another and remind those whom we meet of the Lord’s ways.

Thursday, February 27, 2025

Thursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Sirach 5:1-8; Mark 9:41-50)

A saying about God’s mercy and justice is both helpful and hopeful to recall: God’s justice never sinks lower than his mercy is able to retrieve.  People who commit grave crimes as well as regular sinners need to remember that God never abandons them.

Both readings today emphasize God’s justice.  In the first wise Ben Sira advises his readers not to presume God’s mercy.  Rather they are to live always carrying out God’s will.  In the gospel Jesus warns his disciples about giving scandal to the young.  He exaggerates when he says that body members should be destroyed if their use is involved in sin.  However, he definitely wants his disciples to avoid sinning.

God’s mercy foils severe judgment when sinners recognize their crimes, beseech God’s forgiveness, and resolve not to offend again.  Far from opposing His justice, mercy complements it since God’s commands are not given to condemn but to save.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Sirach 4:11-19; Mark 9:38-40)

Wisdom seeks what is truly good in life.  Like a counterfeit detector, she sets off an alarm with the initially pleasing but ultimately disillusioning.  Like a wine taste’s nose, she can sniff supreme quality in something new.  In patriarchal societies wisdom is compared to a woman with whom a person must share full and lasting intimacy to realize its promise.

In today’s reading from the Book of Sirach wisdom is described as a demanding companion who will discipline her pursuant.  But for whatever investment of time or energy she exacts, she brings the inestimable rewards of peace and happiness.  This lesson is akin to the Scriptural dictate, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”  Making the effort to abide by God’s eternal laws brings His infinite favor.

We live in a world with a myriad of information at our fingertips, but wisdom remains elusive.  By taking care not to become absorbed in the ease of attaining the former but ever pondering its meaning, we can achieve the latter.

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Sirach 2:1-11; Mark 9:30-37)

Yesterday we started reading at Mass from an Old Testament book that has been called by different names.  Our translation entitles it Sirach after the original author, Jesus ben Sira, a Jewish rabbi of the early second century before Christ.  For a long time it was known as “Ecclesiasticus” because it was used in the Church (in Latin ecclesia) for moral instruction.  Although Sirach was originally composed in Hebrew, for centuries only the Greek translation was known.  For this reason it is listed among the deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament.  These books were accepted into the Old Testament canon after a second review.  This distinction, however, should not be taken as a relegation to second-class authority.

Sirach is part of the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament along with books like Ecclesiastes and Job. In today’s passage ben Sira gives his disciple, whom he calls “my son,” general advice on how to live.  The message is as wise as it is simple.  The disciple is to always trust in the Lord.  Especially in bad times he is not to fret.  Rather he is to first remember the Lord’s mercy toward their ancestors.   Then he should pray for deliverance.

Is it not true that when we are undergoing punishment, misunderstanding, or trial, we think of possible negative outcomes?  Then we calculate how to deal with the crisis.  Perhaps we want to rebel, counterattack our oppressors, or run away.  No, Sirach tells us, it’s best to remember the Lord’s goodness in the past and to ask for similar assistance.

Monday, February 24, 2025

Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Sirach 1:1-10; Mark 9:14-29)

Today’s gospel has a parallel at the beginning of Mark’s Gospel.  After he was baptized and heard God proclaiming him His Son, Jesus confronted the devil in the desert.  Here, he comes down from the mountain, where God again declared him His Son, to battle again with the devil.  This time the devil has possessed a boy.

On both occasions Jesus triumphs.  The devil, no match for God’s grace, yields to Jesus’ command.  He tells his disciples that the reasons he succeeds can be found in the prayer he makes.  He has prayed for the boy’s deliverance. 

When we pray constantly, we will experience many marvelous deeds.  They will surprise us at times, not being the expected answers to our requests.  Social scientists might tell us that prayer makes little, if any, difference among the people they survey.  Yet we know from believers that prayer’s effects may be uncanny but nevertheless are real.

Sunday, February 23, 2025

SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

(I Samuel 26:2.7-9.12-13.22-23; I Corinthians 15:45-49; Luke 6:27-38)

Today's gospel touches on a very pressing political issue in recent years. Read carefully, it can lead us to a greater compassion for immigrants and a policy to lessen a world-wide crisis.

Jesus is in the middle of his “Sermon on the Plain” in the Gospel according to Saint Luke. It is the counterpart to the more famous “Sermon on the Mount” in the Gospel of Saint Matthew. In truth, neither comprises a complete sermon. Rather, both are compilations of various sayings of Jesus organized around different themes. In Saint Matthew Jesus chooses the mountain to deliver his high teachings on morality. Saint Luke reserves the mountains for prayer and has Jesus giving moral lessons on a plain.

We heard the first part of the “Sermon on the Plain” last Sunday. Jesus announced four beatitudes consoling the oppressed and four “woes” warning the oppressors. Now Jesus focuses on divine love; that is, love that seeks nothing in return. It gives of itself simply to help the other. The surprising thing is that Jesus requires his disciples to practice this kind of love toward their enemies as well as their friends.

Enemies are not only those who would harm us but also those who threaten our interests. People in rich countries often see immigrants as enemies who want to take advantage of the resources of their adopted land without contributing proportionally. In Italy for many years the Roma, often called “zincari” (the Italian word for “gypsies”), have attracted the opprobrium of the people. Roma women can be seen begging in public places with their children. Meanwhile, their men have the reputation of being pickpockets and thieves. Generally, Italians resent the Roma and want them deported. The ethics that Jesus proposes in the gospel urges another stance. He calls on the disciples to support the Roma. This may be in direct aid or in contributions to charities that care for the poor.

Right now the entire world is focused on what the president of the United States will do with the millions of undocumented immigrants in America. Will he begin mass deportations, or will he limit his extraditions to those undocumented who have committed crimes? In this gospel Jesus is addressing individuals, not governments. However, it can be said that deporting millions of people would reflect a stance of disdain and abuse, not gospel love.

The second part of the reading has to do with the treatment of one's neighbor - that is, an acquaintance who might ask us for a loan. According to Jesus, we should respond in favor of this type of person, not react against him. It is really the same kind of response that we should give to our enemies. Instead of worrying about our own interests, we should act with the true interests of other people in mind. In short, as children of God, we are to treat everyone as the One who blesses everyone.

Certainly the Gospel of St. Luke has exquisite stories and portraits of Jesus. We hear of the Prodigal Son and of Jesus forgiving the “Good Thief” in this gospel alone. But the beauty of the images that the gospel leaves us does not diminish the vehemence of Jesus’ demands in this gospel. In fact, it increases their force because only with divine love -- a strong love that seeks nothing in return -- are we going to become people with everlasting beauty. Only with divine love, are we going to become sons and daughters of God.