Thursday, July 8, 2021

 Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 44:18-21.23b-29.45:1-5; Matthew 10:7-15)

FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, was founded in the late 1990s to bolster the faith of Catholic university students.  Its “missionaries” personally raise money for their own upkeep by asking friends and relatives for donations.  Today the organization has missionaries on 170, mostly secular campuses.  They call Catholic students together for Scripture study and discipleship training.  In some ways FOCUS follows Jesus’ design in today’s gospel.

However, Jesus does not want his missionaries to teach at this point.  They are to proclaim the God’s kingdom by actions even more than words.  They heal the sick as best they can and drive out demons of vice and doubt.  Their way of life also proclaims God’s goodness.  They take no money for provisions but depend on the Providence of God working through the generosity of people.  They are not to worry if people ignore their proclamation.  Knowing that they tried, they can wipe the dust from their feet of the places that showed no interest.

The Church is calling not only campus missionaries but all Catholics to proclaim the goodness of God.  We do this by living our lives as a testimony to Jesus Christ.  Like him we want to embrace the poor and the suffering.  But for many of us first we have to treat well our children and grandchildren. Like Jesus also we want to continually express our gratitude to the Father.  And like him we want to bear any hardship as a sacrifice for the salvation of others.  We do not have to know much theology, but we must proclaim the goodness of God. 

Thursday, July 9,2020

Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Hosea 11:1-4.8e-9; Matthew 10:7-15)

I have six pence, jolly, jolly six pence/ I have six pence to last me all my life.

I have two pence to spend and two pence to lend,

And two pence to send home to my wife, poor wife.

Many of us sang such rhymes in our youth perhaps making the best of the days when our earning power was minimal.  Perhaps the apostles sang something like it as they were sent by Jesus to proclaim the Good News.

Jesus tells them that they are not to “take gold or silver or copper” with them.  The last, a copper coin, is what we call today a penny.  Jesus wants the apostles are to preach the goodness of God by their poverty as well as by their words.  Completely dependent on Divine Providence, without even a penny to their name, they will show how the Lord cares for those who trust in Him.  He not only gives them upkeep but a more valuable inner joy.

Often enough today we forget this instruction from Jesus.  Preachers will set substantial fees for their services.  Lay people also may always look for compensation for any service rendered.  It is not that asking a definite amount for one’s efforts is wrong.  The problem is that we do not see ourselves as God’s children with responsibility for one another.  

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Memorial of Saint Benedict, abbot

(Genesis 44:18-21.23b-29.45:1-5; Matthew 10:7-15)

Today St. Benedict is being held up as a model for men and women disillusioned with Western society.  He is seen as an innovator whose legacy slowly, methodically, and completely transformed the decadent remains of Roman civilization.  Benedict’s followers established monasteries as centers of retreat, labor, and conservation of classical works.  In doing so, they were able to live the Christianity they professed while justifying its claim as the culmination of history.

The contemporary movement resurrecting the model of St. Benedict is called the “Benedict Option.”  It began with observations by the moralist Alasdair MacIntyre.  The well-regarded philosopher wrote that Western Civilization has lost its way in a morass of individualism and relativism.  He conjectured that there is no use trying to correct the situation.  Rather, he said, people of good will must begin again with the ideals of St. Benedict in mind.

Benedict himself may have seen what he did as a response to Jesus’ instructions in today’s gospel.  Jesus had a project in mind when he sent his apostles to preaching the gospel.  They were to announce the “Kingdom of heaven,” i.e., God’s remaking the world in His love.

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Hosea 11:1-4.8e-9; Matthew 10:7-15)

Demons are usually associated with the devil.  However, the word has a more generalized meaning.  They may be more properly thought of as evil spirits.  These spirits are the vices that commonly ruin people’s lives.  Pope St. Gregory the Great famously named seven – greed, envy, lust, sloth, anger, pride, and gluttony.  They are now classified as the seven capital sins because they give rise to other sins.  In today’s gospel Jesus gives his apostles orders to drive these demons out of those whom they encounter on their mission.

The Church uses the Sacrament of Reconciliation to fulfill Jesus’ mandate today.  Through the sacrament the penitent’s sins are forgiven and her resolve not to sin again is strengthened.  In these ways Reconciliation witnesses to the Kingdom of heaven which the apostles are to proclaim.

The Second Vatican Council declared that every Christian is called to holiness.  The novelty of this statement was that many lay people had thought that this state of perfection was the pursuit of religious and clergy, not themselves.  But just because holiness is meant to be universal does not mean that it is easy to attain.  We have to develop the virtues in order to live righteously.  In the quest we should make frequent use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation to lift us up when we falter.

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 44:18-21.23b-29.45:1-5; Matthew 10:7-15)

The women just completed an adult religious education program.  She expressed her confidence about what she had learned by saying, “The next time Jehovah Witnesses came to my door, they should be prepared to sit down and talk for an hour.”

Door-to door canvassing is so associated with Jehovah Witnesses that it is scarcely considered a Catholic thing to do.  Yet Jesus in today’s gospel seems to tell his apostles to do just that. “As you enter a house,” he says, “wish it peace.”  But contemporary intuition, in this case at least, is not wrong.  Jesus is prescribing a manner for the missionary to find a place of lodging, not a way to evangelize.  Although there may be value in speaking of God’s love in visits to households, the new evangelization as proclaimed by recent popes is more about intimating that love by example.

In our postmodern culture everybody is said to be free to believe what she or he finds meaningful.  This implies toleration of different belief systems.  In this way our society avoids conflict without absolutizing any doctrine about which there is no general agreement.  However, by itself toleration hardly says anything about divine revelation in Jesus Christ.  It would be contradictory to force belief in Christ, but, as the popes suggest, we should not content ourselves merely with allowing each individual to believe whatever he or she likes.  Rather, we are to impress upon others the superiority of Catholic Christianity by the quality and tenor of our lives.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Hosea 11:1-4.8e-9; Matthew 10:7-15)

“I have six pence, jolly, jolly six pence

I have six pence to last me all my life.

I have two pence to spend and two pence to lend,

And two pence to send home to my wife, poor wife.”

Many sang such rhymes in their youth perhaps making the best of the days when their earning power was minimal.  Perhaps the apostles sang something like it as they were sent by Jesus to proclaim the Good News.

Jesus tells them that they are not to “take gold or silver or copper” with them.  The last, a copper coin, is what is called today a penny.  Jesus wants the apostles are to preach the goodness of God by their poverty as well as by their words.  Completely dependent on Divine Providence, without even a penny to their name, they will show how the Lord cares for those who trust in Him.

Often enough today we forget this instruction from Jesus.  Preachers will set their fees to meet their budgets which include hefty health insurance premiums and retirement accounts.  We must forgive them for doing so as our society expects that we look after these needs.  But we should never abandon the thrust of what Jesus is saying here.  When we bestow a blessing of peace on those we meet, we can be assured that the gracious act will come back to us tenfold.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Memorial of Saint Benedict, abbot

(Genesis 44:18-21.23b-29.45:1-5; Matthew 10:7-15)

St. Benedict started monasteries in different parts of Italy and is considered as the Father of Western Monasticism.  But his influence has gone far beyond religious life fostering the roots of European civilization.  The rule that he wrote for his monks incorporates virtues like hospitality which gives the guest an honored place in the host’s household.  His monks were to treat strangers as “another Christ.”  In today’s gospel Jesus also comments on hospitality.

Jesus tells his apostles that they can expect lodging when they go to preach.  “The laborer,” he says, “is worth his keep.”  But those laborers have to bless the households that receive them with peace.  This is not a trifling gesture but a word of dynamic force because it is uttered by divinely commissioned apostles.  Hospitality then invokes a blessing upon the one who receives it and the one who gives it.

“My house is your house,” Latin-American people are fond of saying.  The phrase indicates that they have assimilated the key Christian value.  When we respond, “Peace be with you,” we also manifest the Christian way of life. 

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Memorial of Saint Benedict, abbot

(Hosea 10:1-3.7-8.12; Matthew 10:7-15)

St. Benedict left such a wonderful legacy that he was named patron of Europe. Our present pope chose Benedict as his particular patron because Benedict’s followers were largely responsible for the civilization of the continent. Still today Benedictine monks and their various offshoots contribute significantly to Church affairs and secular knowledge. Although Benedict was rather original in his expression, he but echoed the radical concern for people of Jesus Christ.

In today’s gospel Jesus sends his inner circle of disciples to preach the Kingdom of God. They are to go among “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” These are people who have lost the sense of God’s care for them. The disciples are to proclaim the “Kingdom of heaven is at hand,” which is to say that God is not a distant landlord but a benevolent ruler who looks after their needs.

Today many people are disillusioned with religion because of the violence perpetrated in its name. They prefer to give allegiance to the wonders of technology. It is difficult to find this latter affiliation leading to a more human civilization. The world needs new Benedicts to show how true peace is a product of charity. It looks for a creative genius who will form communities of self-sacrifice that will inspire a truly uplifting civilization.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 44:18-21.23b-29.45:1-5; Matthew 10:7-15)

The women just completed an adult religious education program. She expressed her confidence about what she had learned by saying, “The next time Jehovah Witnesses came to my door, they should be prepared to sit down and talk for an hour.”

Door-to door canvassing is so associated with Jehovah Witnesses and evangelical sects that it is scarcely considered a Catholic apostolate. Yet Jesus in today’s gospel seems to tell his apostles to do just that. “As you enter a house,” he says, “wish it peace.” But contemporary intuition, in this case at least, is not wrong. Jesus is prescribing a manner for the missionary to find a place of lodging, not a way to evangelize. Although there may be some value in visiting households to spread the “good news,” the “new evangelization” as proclaimed by recent popes more involves intimating the love of God by word and example.

We should recognize the appeal in contemporary ideals of everybody choosing to believe what she or he finds meaningful for himself or herself. Extended a bit, this line of thinking demands universal adherence to laws to protect individuals, but its aim is to safeguard liberty as far as possible. Such principles seem to avoid conflict while not making absolute any doctrine about which general agreement does not exist. However, they also ignore divine revelation which comes especially in Jesus Christ. It would be contradictory to force belief in Christ, but, as the popes suggest, we should not content ourselves merely with allowing each individual to believe whatever he or she likes. Rather, we are to impress upon others the superiority of Catholic Christianity by the quality and tenor of our lives.