Monday, January 27, 2014

Monday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

(II Samuel 5:1-7.10; Mark 3:22-20)

Can God make a rock so big that He cannot lift it?  No, that would be a contradiction for the all-powerful God.  And could there be a sin so bad that God could not forgive it?  No, that too would contradict the God, the Father of mercies.  Then what is this talk about the unpardonable sin in the gospel today?

Jesus comes to earth as God’s very forgiveness.  That is, to believe in him by becoming his disciple is to receive forgiveness.  To reject him, as the scribes from Jerusalem do by accusing him of collusion with the devil, is to deny God’s forgiveness.  It is like the old story of the man who drowned in a flood after refusing to get in a safety boat saying God would rescue him. 

Then can only Christians be saved?  Yes, but not only professed Christians.  The Holy Spirit acts in ways that seem strange to us.  Working from within, the Spirit moves many to Christ’s compassion and truth without their even knowing it.  If such people were on hand when Jesus walked the earth, they would never have rejected him.  We need to ask ourselves if we would have?

Homilette for January 28, 2008

Monday, The Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor of the Church

(Mark 3:22-20)

Art scholars attribute the genius of Raphael Sanzio to his ability to adapt the technical brilliance of two other celebrated artists of the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. He took a pose style of Leonardo for his famous painting of St. Catherine of Alexandria. In Michelangelo’s works Raphael found the kneeling posture which he uses in a painting of Jesus’ deposition from the cross. But no one should consider Raphael a copy-cat. Rather, he forged a unique painting style on his own. Still he was not too proud to draw upon the insights of other masters.

Similarly, St. Thomas Aquinas was anything but proud. He also adapts the wisdom of two supreme masters. As a philosophical resource he relies repeatedly on the learning of Aristotle, “the Philosopher.” And as a theological compass St. Thomas uses the writings of St. Augustine. However, contrary to popular opinion, St. Thomas even more pervasively defers to a third source. Everywhere he cites Scripture. How could he do otherwise? St. Thomas’ title at the University of Paris was Magister in Sacra Pagina, Master of the Sacred Page.

Thomas’ commentaries on various books of the Bible contain a good deal of his theology and spirituality. His masterwork, the Summa Theologiae, likewise provides insights into many, many Scriptural verses as it builds a synthesis of all Catholic doctrine. For example, the Summa elucidates the intriguing concept of “an everlasting (or unpardonable) sin” that we hear of in today’s gospel. After typically making necessary distinctions, St. Thomas declares that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is considered unpardonable because by its nature it removes the elements that lead to repentance – fear of punishment and hope of heaven. But, St. Thomas graciously adds, the sin does not leave its perpetrator completely helpless. God in his mercy and love might still open the way to repentance and forgiveness by extraordinary means.