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.

Friday, February 21, 2025

 Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

(James 2:14-24.26; Mark 8:34-9:1)

There is a story about the person who considered his cross too heavy to bear.  When he complained to the Lord, he was shown an array of crosses.  The Lord said that the man could take up any cross of the array that he wished.  However, he had to carry a cross if he was to follow him to eternal life.  The man chose one of the crosses that looked like a good fit.  Shortly afterwards, however, the man came back to the Lord saying that he preferred his original cross.   The cross that he thought was lighter turned out more troublesome than anticipated!

In today’s gospel Peter has just proclaimed Jesus Messiah or savior of the people.  Jesus in turn declared that his Messiah-ship will be manifested by his death on the cross and resurrection.  Now he is saying that to be his disciple one must carry his or her personal cross after him.

Our cross is the dimensions of our life that we find difficult to bear.  It may be an illness or a particularly annoying relative.  Carrying the cross after Jesus is not just living with personal difficulty but allowing it to transform our life.  It becomes the source and object of both prayer and effort.  Dealing with our cross in this way we will come to see God as our Savior.

Thursday, February 20, 2025

Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 9:1-13; Mark 8:27-33)

Today’s reading from Genesis details God’s first covenant with humans although all creation is mentioned as covenant partners.  There will be others: the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, and the New Covenant of Jesus.  All covenants deepen the relationship between God and human beings.

The Noahic Covenant echoes God’s high regard for human beings in Genesis 1.  Humans are made in His image so that if any beast or other human takes a human’s life, the killer will have to reckon with God.  In the same vein, humans can kill any animal for food if the animal’s blood is drained before consumption. 

Despite human betrayal of the divine image, we should see ourselves as privileged.  However, responsibilities are attached to the honors.  We must care about the earth which is the Lord’s.  We must guard against pollution and the elimination of the varied species.  In the end, keeping all God’s covenants will afford us not just a likeness of God but a participation in His divine nature.

Wednesday, February 19m 2025

Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 8:6-13.20-22; Mark 8:22-26)

Today’s gospel shows Jesus curing by stages.  After he puts spittle on the blind man’s eyes and laid hands on him, the man sees, but not well.  People look to him like trees that walk.  But after a second laying on of hands, the man sees others distinctly – young and old, tall and short, men and women.

The gradual process by which the blind man comes to see clearly resembles the way Pope Francis is asking the world to recognize undocumented immigrants. At first, they will be seen as problems, that is, separated from their humanity and draining the host country’s resources.  But coming to know them, the nationals will realize that most immigrants want to work and live in peace.

Immigration is a difficult issue. It won’t end soon or be resolved easily.  Countries like the United States need to amend their laws to accommodate more outsiders.  To be sure, such changes will still leave some immigrants in difficult situations.  But they would increase host country nationals’ awareness of the poor and, perhaps, increase the hope of prospective immigrants. 

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Ordinary Time

(Genesis 6:5-8.7:1-5.10; Mark 8:14-21)

The Eucharist, served to us daily and especially on Sundays, is our life’s blood.  That is, it nurtures eternal life in us.  Yet it is often overlooked.  Many do not heed the obligation to attend Sunday mass.  Today’s gospel may be understood as Jesus warning his disciples about such neglect.

He tells them, “…guard against the leaven of the Pharisees.” That is, they are not to be puffed up and blinded by pride so that they fail to recognize that Jesus is their Savior.  They have just witnessed him twice feed thousands of people with a few loaves of bread.  Certainly he, the one loaf, is enough food to sustain them forever.

We have this one loaf, Jesus, in the Eucharist.  We too must be careful not to become puffed up by the leaven of fame, fortune, or the glory of the world today.  Rather, we are to see our hope in the one whose body we eat and whose blood we drink in the Eucharist.

Monday, February 17, 2025

Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 4:1-15.25; Mark 8:11-13)

“A man had two sons.”  In this way Jesus in the Gospel of Luke begins his famous parable.  The opening line fits today’s first reading as well.  The author of Genesis is setting the stage for a much-travelled theme of sibling rivalry in world literature as well as the Bible. 

In the Lukan parable, the father of the two sons clearly takes the place of God in the Genesis account.  He loves both sons equally.  In today’s reading God promises to protect the elder son after he has been justly condemned for murder.  It is a gesture as merciful as it is unexpected. 

We must remember God’s unending love as we encounter our own sinfulness.  He is ready to forgive and, indeed, restore us to the sweetness of life when we repent of our wickedness.

Sunday, February 16, 2025

SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

(Jeremiah 17:5-8; 1 Corinthians 15:12.16-20; Luke 6:17.20-26

Instead of reflecting on the gospel today, let's examine the second reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians. Not only is First Corinthians worthy of attention, but today it deals with the most central issue of Christianity -- the resurrection of the dead.

At the beginning of the letter St. Paul writes that he had received in Ephesus emissaries from the Christian community in Corinth. He says that they reported that the community was being divided by various issues of both faith and morals. Because he founded this community, he considers himself its father and will do anything he can so that it does not dissolve into pieces. He writes the letter to encourage unity and to correct the community’s errors.

Today's reading comes from the end of the letter. Paul has already dealt with the other topics of concern. There remains the issue of the resurrection. Some members of the community have said that there is no resurrection from the dead. This news has deeply disturbed Paul. It means not just a misunderstanding of the faith, but its trivialization. As he says, “For if the dead are not raised, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain…”

If faith disappears, all the advantages that faith provides disappear as well. There would be no Holy Spirit and no hope of eternal life. Christians would have no help in living righteously. They would become like other people, slaves to their passions, heedless of others, destined for corruption. As Paul says, “If the dead are not raised, 'let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.'”

But Paul knows that the reality is a different matter. As he has outlined earlier in the letter, the resurrection from the dead lies at the heart of the teaching transmitted by the apostles. Not only this, but the resurrected Christ has also appeared to him as well as to hundreds of other men and women. These appearances imply his main argument for the resurrection from the dead. That is, the resurrection of Christ -- the first fruits raised from the dead -- ensures that all faithful Christians, who make up his body, will also be resurrected. As he writes: “…just as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”

Paul does not write in the letter that the deniers of the resurrection of Christians do not believe in the resurrection of Christ. Evidently these deniers say that Christ’s resurrection has provided them with a spirit of freedom so that they can do whatever they like. It is as if someone today, boasting that he is “saved,” feels free to exploit others. However, Paul is careful to say in his letter that people are only in the process of being saved. If they do not live the faith, including its morals, they will not attain salvation.

Today there is no shortage of people who have abandoned faith in the resurrection. They give scientific explanations to justify their position. But it is the same mistake of finding an excuse to satisfy one’s passions as was made in St. Paul's time. Without moderation of one’s passions, that the hope of eternal life necessitates, they are inclined to all kinds of sin. Let us not be led astray by the sophistry. We know that the natural order does not allow for resurrection from the dead. However, we are not appealing to the natural order when we speak of the resurrection but to the supernatural. As God became human, as the crucified Christ redeemed the world, as the Holy Spirit has guided the Church for two thousand years, so will the resurrection happen at the end of time to those who love God. Our bodies will be resurrected to live eternally with our almighty Lord.

February 14, 2025

Memorial of Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop

(Gen 3:1-8; Mark 7:31-37)

Today’s gospel takes place in the Decapolis.  This region is populated by Gentiles so that the “deaf man who had a speech impediment” may be presumed to be one.  Furthermore, just being deaf and having a speech impediment, the man represents all Gentiles who do not hear the word of God, much less to proclaim it to others.

Since the Decapolis is not on the direct route to the Sea of Galilee, Jesus evidently has intended to go there to expand his ministry to Gentiles.  Taking the man away from the crowd, Jesus, it may be said, is preparing him for Baptism.  Then with two gestures that have become part of the Baptismal rituals (although optional today), Jesus cures him of his maladies.  This Gentile will now praise the God of Israel and His Messiah. Jesus will be seen by Jews as well as the Messiah sine his healings fulfill its prophecy in Isaiah.

We need to see Jesus as our Messiah as well.  When we find ourselves in need – perhaps someone has wronged us or we have done something foolish – instead of cursing, we can turn to the Messiah for help.  Yes, this means following his ways as well but they only lead us to salvation.

Thursday, February 13, 2025

 Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

 Genesis 2:18-25; Mark 7:24-30)        

 The Christmas 2004 tsunami took 200,000 lives. One wants to ask, How could God permit such a thing to happen?”  Such a question is not irreverent but only logical.  If God is in control and if God is good, then, it seems, He shouldn’t let such disasters take place.  One theologian takes the logic a step farther.  Knowing that God is the ultimate cause of everything, he asks, “Why does He do such things?”  In other words, this theologian is indicating that God caused the deaths of so many in a single event.”  It’s a shocking but honest conclusion. 

 Some of us might be equally shocked by Jesus’ remark to the Syrophoenician woman in the God.  It seems so unlike Jesus – so un-Christian – for him to refer to non-Jews as dogs.  Why would he say such a thing?  Perhaps he’s just very tired?  Or perhaps in the first century Jesus’ remark was not the insult it appears to be in our race-conscious society? 

It’s hard to say what Jesus has in mind, but perhaps it is better that we don’t try to defend the remark.  Rather let us focus our attention on the woman’s faith-filled response and Jesus’ benevolent will.  She is not stymied by the insult, if it was that.  Rather, in faith, she fires back.  “Lord,” she says recognizing Jesus as the Son of God, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”  So she humbly persists to request the favor.  Jesus, for his part, graciously consents.  He knows that as God’s emissary, he cannot deny help to those who believe in him.

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 2:4b-9.15-17; Mark 7:14-23)

What if humans did not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil?  Would we be better off?  Would we even have been born since human generation seems to be an outcome of eating the forbidden fruit?  Eden sounds harmonious, even blissful, but can humans be happy there?  Today’s first reading begs this line of questioning.

The human encounter with evil was inevitable.  The forbidden fruit was in plain sight, and there was an enticer waiting to encourage humans to take and eat it.  Still humans could have resisted and lived in oblivious obedience forever.  Instead, humans have become not necessarily more thoughtful, but calculating, always weighing pros against cons when deciding to do something.

Yet how much should we regret the first humans’ decision to eat the fruit?  It led not only to the development of our intellect but also to the Son’s Easter triumph in which we proclaim, “O Happy Fault!” 

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

(Optional) Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes

(Genesis 1:20-2:4a; Mark 7:1-13.  Alternate readings for Our Lady of Lourdes: Isaiah 66:10-14c; John 2:1-11)

The gospels are clear: Jesus cured people of illnesses.  However, he probably did not heal all the sick people who searched for him as some accounts indicate.  Nor did he spend all his time healing but preached and taught as well.  It seems important to say this lest people think that curing physical disease is what the Kingdom of God is all about.

Although most pilgrims go to Lourdes looking for physical healing, only a small are granted this desire.   Yet nearly everyone, it seems, returns home satisfied.  They experience in the confluence of people from around the world in this village of southern France a unity of faith and goodwill that uplifts the soul.  One mother explained after taking her son with cancer there, that he was healed in the sense that he could now accept death with peace.

 There is nothing wrong with praying for healing.  Such prayer demonstrates a faith in God’s domination of the power of evil.  At the same time, we should realize that God heals in different ways.  To some He will grant the grace of reconciliation with foes so that they may live in greater, life-giving love.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Monday, February 9, 2025

 

Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin

(Genesis 1:1-19; Mark 6:53-56)

As everyone knows, the word “Genesis” is taken from the Greek word meaning “beginnings.”  Genesis tells of the beginnings of everything: the universe, the earth, life, and most especially human beings. 

Today’s passage from Genesis tells of God making something of the heavens and the earth that He has already created.  As His instrument, God uses only His word.  It is as if all things hear and summarily obey the vibrations of air from His voice. God’s word accomplishes His will so that everything is ultimately subject to Him.

Jesus taught us that God’s almighty word is ready to shape our lives if we permit it.  It is spoken in the Scriptures and especially by Jesus himself.  Being images of God, we have the capacity to accept or reject God’s word.  Rejecting it, like the people of Jesus’ hometown in today’s gospel, we deny ourselves the fulness of life. Living that word brings us the eternal joy and peace of Jesus risen from the dead.

 

Sunday, February 9, 2025

FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

(Isaiah 6:1-3.3-8; I Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11)

Today's readings are well known and full of meaning. They have to do with religious experience. This phenomenon overwhelms a person with the awareness of being in the presence of God. It confirms and deepens his faith so that he wants to share it with others.

A man once told the story of his experience of God. He said that his wife had just received a medical report that she had cancer. The man felt sadness and worry when he went to his parish to close the door as was his custom. Inside the building he stopped to pray for a few minutes. Then he felt an arm across his shoulders and heard the words: “Don't worry; everything will be all right.” He was at peace, and in fact his wife received treatment that overcame her cancer.

Religious experiences are not as rare as many think. Those who make a Cursillo de Cristiandad, an Emmaus Walk, or another type of retreat involving testimonies of faith and moving music often sense the presence of God. Participation in a sacrament can also become a religious experience. One convert told the story of his confession before being received into the Catholic Church. He said it was accompanied by many tears and the lifting of a great burden.

With these reflections on religious experience in mind let us look at the readings. The first is known as “the call of Isaiah.” It tells of the experience of the prophet in the Temple of Solomon some seven hundred years before Christ. He was praying when he had a vision of God Almighty on His throne surrounded by smoke and smell of incense. The seraphim attending Him began to cry out: “Holy is the Lord, God of hosts.” Isaiah trembled with fear because he realized that he was a sinner with unclean lips in the presence of God. He had probably told lies or eaten forbidden foods. Then he felt his lips being cleansed by a burning coal brought to him by a seraph. And when the Lord sought a messenger to reveal his will to the people, the prophet volunteered. He proclaimed, “Here am I, Lord, send me.”

Is the second reading a description of a religious experience? Probably not. Although St. Paul is telling of encounters with the Lord, the experiences are objective, not subjective like Isaiah’s vision or the man feeling the arm of the Lord. Religious experiences are by nature felt by the individual or small group with no way to verify them with witnesses or scientific instruments.

Peter in the gospel obviously has a huge catch. His experience can be classified as religious because he infers that the catch was caused by God. His faith in Jesus as a saint grows throughout the story. It began when he invited him into his boat to preach. It grew so that Peter called him “Master” when Jesus commanded him to put the boat out into the deep. And it was confirmed in the fishery when he threw himself at Jesus’ feet, calling him “Lord,” which means “God” or, at least, “Son of God.” From this moment until his martyrdom, Peter dedicated himself one hundred percent to Jesus.

It seems that God allows religious experiences to strengthen our faith commitment. Many of us would serve the Lord without experiencing his presence in an awe-inspiring way. However, with religious experience we are more determined to tell others about his love. The experience gives us the conviction that our life is to be lived doing more than satisfying personal desires. It verifies that we are sons and daughters of God destined for eternal happiness.

Friday, February 7, 2025

Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Hebrews 13:1-8; Mark 6:14-29)

Today’s gospel passage raises the question behind all gospels: Who is Jesus?  According to the passage, because of his marvelous works, some say he is Elijah.  The prophet Elijah was taken up to heaven without dying and was expected to return.  Others say that Jesus is a new, extraordinary prophet.  Most curious is the response given to the question: Jesus is John the Baptist risen from the dead.

As Mark tells the story, Herod reluctantly had John beheaded.  It may be surmised that Herod’s guilt elicits fear that the ever-just John has risen from the dead to make retribution. He internally links Jesus’ “mighty powers” with his own fear of reprisal. Mark’s gospel doesn’t say it, but Luke’s relates that someone told Jesus that Herod was out to kill him.

Herod is correct in thinking that Jesus might pursue him.  But Jesus would do so not for revenge but because he was born to call sinners to repentance.  Not out of spite but from love Jesus would bother himself with Herod as he does with us.

 

Thursday, February 6, 2025

Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and companions, martyrs

(I Kings 2:1-4.10-12; Mark 6:7-13)

An old Shaker hymn reminds us that it is a gift to be simple and free.  Today’s gospel points to the efficacy of such a lifestyle.

Jesus sends his apostles to preach the good news.  They are not to carry anything “just in case…”  Rather they are to cast themselves on God’s Providence.  Nothing is said either about teaching the truths of the faith or morality.  The apostles are simply to proclaim God’s love by word and deed.  Regarding deeds, they will anoint the people to strengthen their faith which facilitates healing.  The people will learn what a right relationship with the Lord is.  That is, they will recognize how God provides for those who care about others.

St. Paul Miki and companions were apostles to the people of Japan.  They announced God’s love by word and deed.  They did not turn away at the threat of suffering for giving testimony to their faith.  Rather, they knew that such faith would bring both their people and them to complete intimacy with God in eternal life.

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Memorial of Saint Agatha, virgin and martyr

(Hebrews 12:4-7.11-15; Mark6:1-6)

John Milton defines his purpose in his epic “Paradise Lost” as “justify(ing) the ways of God to men.”  The author of the Letter to the Hebrews has the same intention in today’s first reading.  He writes that the slowness of Christ’s coming and the affronteries experienced by Hebrew Christians are meant to discipline them.  The suffering gives the people both time and need to seek salvation from God.

Rather than complain or withdraw, the author encourages his readers to think positively about the trials they face.  As isometric exercise providing resistance to counterweight makes an athlete strong, so patience and endurance will make the Christian holier and more pleasing to God.

Saints, as always, can be looked to as models.  Today’s patron, St. Agatha, suffered greatly to retain her virginal devotion to the Lord.  After undergoing harassment and torture, she died in a prison in 251 A.D.  Since then, he has been widely acclaimed as one of the greatest martyrs of the Church.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Hebrews 12:1-4; Mark 5:21-43)

During the nineteen sixties an Episcopalian priest wrote a book of prayers entitled Are You Running with me Jesus?  He had a vibrant ministry which required the Lord’s help.  So he asked for assurance that Christ was at his side.  Today’s reading from the Letter to the Hebrews also pictures the Christian running through life as if in a race.

The Letter focuses first on eternal life, the prize for winning.  But like in the great city marathons – New York or Berlin – all who finish the race receive the prize.  The letter also mentions Jesus going before the pack.  He leads all in the right direction and sets the pace of the race.  Without him runners would not be able to show their best.  Indeed, some would lose the way.

We too might pray, ´Are you running with me …?  We believe that he leads us, but at times we need reassurance.  Knowing that he runs with us, we achieve part of our reward from the very start.

Monday, February 3, 2025

(Optional) Memorial of Saint Blaise, Bishop and Martyr

(Hebrews 11:32-40; Mark 5:1-20)

Today’s gospel shows both Jesus’ immense compassion and power.  The demoniac is deeply troubled.  Although he has great strength, he is confined to tombs where human remains fester in decay.  Undaunted by the man’s strength and unperturbed by the ghastliness of the tombs, Jesus demands that the evil spirits, the source of the man’s distress, depart from him at once.  The spirits cannot but comply.

In ancient times religious writers linked disease with demonic possession.  Mental illness was especially symptomatic of demons at work.  Today, of course, there are not only medical explanations of disease but also effective medical treatment.  Even the most religious people visit a doctor, not an exorcist, to cure a sick relative.  But the success of medicine should not cause people to stop praying for the sick.  God heals humans in more than physical ways.

Today we remember St. Blaise, a bishop and martyr at the time of the Church Fathers.  He has become a symbol of our faith in God’s power over all types of ailments.  In Blaise’s name, we bless our throats asking God to save us from all kinds of diseases.