Friday, February 5, 2021

 Memorial of Saint Agatha, virgin and martyr

(Hebrews 13:1-8; Mark 6:14-19)

Today, the feast of St. Agatha, the Church remembers more a way of life than a person.  Historical records about St. Agatha vary.  The oldest say that she lived in Catania, Sicily.  Newer ones put her in Palermo.  She may have been martyred during the Decian persecution around the year 250, but this too is uncertain.  It is said of her, as of other saints like Agnes, that she was sent to a brothel to rob her of virginity, but she resisted successfully.  The way of life that she with other virgin-martyrs represents is devotion to the Lord.  When most teens would be flirting with boys and naming future children, Agatha reflected on Christ’s love for her.

Today’s first reading includes this message of the Lord’s love.  The Letter to the Hebrews makes clear that Jesus will help Christians gain the heavenly crown he won for them.  He is the “helper” who enables the saint to resist evil.  Its last line is especially memorable.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”  What he did in the past for saints like Agatha, he will do for people today.

It may be as hard as ever for teens to think of Christ’s love for them. They are bombarded by counter-evangelical images and ideas.  Nevertheless, they deserve to know the love of Christ.  We help them by sensitively listening to their hopes and fears, encouraging them to value a relationship with the Lord, and by living modest and holy lives.  

Friday, February 8, 2019

Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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

Sometimes a prayer is uttered for prison reform.  The person who makes it has a finger on a festering sore in the United States.  There are over two million people imprisoned here.  This country also has the largest per capita number of prisoners in the world.  Most of the imprisoned are not convicted of the crimes for which they were originally jailed.  Rather plea bargaining is typically done whereby the district attorney offers the apprehended person a reduced sentence if the person pleads guilty.  This happens whether or not the person has done anything wrong.  The exhortation in Hebrews today to be mindful of the imprisoned sounds especially cogent here.

The other exhortations of the reading can be taken as a remedy for the appalling number of prisoners.  Whether or not people have perpetrated the crimes for which they are imprisoned, there are a large number of crimes committed.  At the root of these crimes are often found “love of money,” the abandonment of marriage vows, and forgetting the moral lessons taught in youth.  Addressing these sources should draw society closer together.  Everyone then should develop a sense of responsibility for the good of all.

As Hebrews repeatedly reminds us, we must keep our eyes on Jesus.  We want to love him, to imitate him, and to teach him.  Whether people believe in him or not, he will draw our society together in care for one another.  He certainly will bring fulfilment beyond money, sex, and illusory teachings.

Friday, February 3, 2017

Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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

Charlie and Pauline Sullivan have been working for reform in prisons for forty years.  They founded an organization with the acronym CURE to unite people with the same concern.  The involvement of many hands and the tireless work of Pauline and Charlie have moved legislators to implement some of their ideas.  Charlie and Pauline exemplify what the Letter to the Hebrews today exhorts: “Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment…”

As in other New Testament epistles, the Letter to the Hebrews ends with an exhortation.  After describing Jesus as exemplary in every way, the letter urges readers to act like him.  As Jesus entertained guests in his home, so too must Christians welcome strangers.  As he relieved the burden of the oppressed, so too much Christians share their load.  As he was faithful and free, so too must Christians uphold the sanctity of marriage and not get obsessed with making money.

Today many Catholics, especially here in the United States, come to church to have their throats blessed.  They seek not only to protect themselves from disease but also to connect themselves with the traditions of their ancestors.  We might understand the custom in an additional way in light of today’s exhortation.  We have our throats blessed so that we might encourage others to lead lives worthy of Jesus Christ. 

Friday, February 6, 2015

Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and companions, martyrs

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

How have the Japanese Catholics reacted when they hear the last words of today’s first reading?  Have they cringed where it says, “Consider the outcome of (your leaders who spoke the word of God to you) and imitate their faith”?  Certainly some at least have in their minds the fate of Saint Paul Miki and companions, Japan’s first martyrs.  But perhaps the outcome they have remembered first is not their forbearers’ gory death but their entrance into glory!

Paul Miki was baptized as a child not long after Francis Xavier preached in Japan.  He joined the Society of Jesus and preached to his people about the Lord.  When the persecution of Christians started (according to one report out of reaction to a threat made by Europeans), Paul Miki and twenty-five others were arrested, tortured, and crucified.  But the persecution did not end Catholic Christianity in Japan.  Although the nation closed itself to foreign influence for more than two centuries, over two hundred thousand Catholics were found in Japan when the country reopened during the nineteenth century.

We are wise not to aspire to martyrdom for we do not know whether we will be strong enough to undergo the ordeal.  But we pray for courage to live our faith every day in imitation of Jesus.  We also pray that we will never withdraw our commitment to him even if it means giving up our lives. 

Friday, February 8, 2013

Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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

Charlie and Pauline Sullivan have been working for reform in prisons for over thirty years. They have founded an organization with the acronym CURE to unite people -- mostly loved ones of the imprisoned -- with the same concern. The involvement of many hands and the tireless work of Pauline and Charlie along with their generous spirit have moved legislators to implement some of their ideas. Charlie and Pauline exemplify what the Letter to the Hebrews today exhorts: “Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment…”

As in other New Testament epistles, the Letter to the Hebrews ends with a paraclesis or exhortation that the readers act in consonance with the faith that has been proclaimed. As Jesus entertained guests in his home, so too must Christians welcome strangers. As he relieved the burden of the oppressed, so too much Christians share their load. As he was faithful and free, so too must Christians uphold the sanctity of marriage and not get obsessed with making money.

As we look forward to Lent, we might think of this holy time as an opportunity to deepen our efforts in the ways suggested by the Letter to the Hebrews. Jesus has won for us the grace to act like him. Now we have to avail ourselves of occasions to do so.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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

The exceptionally beautiful exhortation from the Letter to the Hebrews today typically comes at the end of a New Testament epistle. After expressing the basis of his faith in Jesus, the author describes several actions consonant with such belief. The exhortation is thus called paraclesis from the Greek language meaning a strengthening of mind as well as heart to what has been taught.

The first part of the paraclesis in Hebrews considers practices to be followed. Christians are to offer hospitality freely because one never knows who the guest is. The last verse of the passage today recalls that Jesus is always the same, always ready to be our guest. A table prayer attributed to Benedictine monks joins the two ideas in verse:

O thou…
Who hast multiplied loaves and fishes
And converted water into wine;
Do thou come to our table
As guest and giver to dine.

It cannot be wrong to have private dinner parties. Couples, families, and associates need occasions to share exclusively over a meal. But such instances should not blind us to the evangelical call to share our sustenance with others. Especially the poor, as the last judgment parable in St. Matthew’s Gospel indicates, have a claim on our ample resources. In breaking bread with them, Jesus tells us, we entertain him at table.

Homilette for Friday, February 6, 2009

Memorial of Saints Paul Miki, martyr, and his companions, martyrs

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

Despite a relatively small number of adherents, Japanese Catholicism has a glorious history. St. Francis Xavier was one of the pioneer missionaries to the land in the middle of the sixteenth century. For a while the shoguns tolerated the thriving religion, but a minor incident triggered a major persecution at the end of the century. When Spanish missionaries trying to save a shipwrecked compatriot sea captain made what was no more than an idle threat about a Spanish invasion, the reigning shogun clamped down. He had Paul Miki, a talented native Jesuit preacher, along with twenty-five mostly Japanese other Catholics, martyred on a cross. Christianity went underground for more than two centuries. When Japan opened its doors to the world again in the nineteenth century, over two hundred thousand Catholics were practicing their faith clandestinely.

Japanese Catholics heeded the reading that we hear in the first reading today. They remembered their leaders who spoke the word of God and imitated their faith. Although only about one half of one percent of Japan is Catholic, there have been several prominent Japanese Catholics. Shusaku Endo, who died in 1996, was one of the finest contemporary novelists exploring spiritual themes. Taro Aso, the current Prime Minister of Japan, is also a Catholic.