Tuesday, August 16, 2022

 Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

(Ezekiel 28:1-10; Matthew 19:23-30)

There is a debate within the Church about the quantity of people who will be saved.  Since Vatican II, many Catholics – ordinary people in the pew as well as theologians – think that most everyone is headed for salvation.  They sometimes say that we have to believe in a hell, but we don’t have to believe that anyone resides there.  More conservative types question this reasoning.  They take the gospel more literally.  In today’s passage Jesus is typically less sanguine about mass salvation.

His disciples are amazed when Jesus says that the rich will have trouble being saved.  They probably are not thinking the rich are better than others or that their wealth is a sign of salvation.   They are likely surprised with Jesus’ pessimism about the rich because the rich have money to pay for sacrifices.  Jesus thinks to the contrary.  He probably finds the rich presumption for thinking that they can buy their way into eternal life.  But he knows a sure way to receive the reward.  Those who make sacrifices for his sake will have eternal life.

As much as we love our family and friends, we should not presume that they will be saved.  Rather we should pray that they come to imitate Jesus’ humility and love.  Only by doing so can one hope to experience eternal life.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

 Memorial of Saint Bernard, abbot and doctor of the Church

(Judges 6:11-24a; Matthew 19:23-30)

Religious life, much like secular life, is prone to excess.  Monastic orders have taken the vow of poverty very seriously since antiquity.  Yet, over time, members have grown accustomed to different comforts.  Benedictines, whose motto is “to pray and to work,” began to abandon at least manual work in the early Middle Ages.  A reform movement sprung up at the monastery of Citeaux in France.  Its most famous representative is St. Bernard whose feast is celebrated today.

Bernard believed deeply in living poverty as a means to follow Christ.  He understood implicitly Jesus’ comment in today’s gospel about the improbability of the rich entering the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom, he would say, belongs to those who trust in God and not in their material resources.  He undoubtedly would lament today’s facility for checking one’s wealth as well as its meager concern for an evangelical lifestyle.

Wealth is not bad in itself, of course.  But we should use it for the good of all, not selfishly spent on ourselves.  Cruises, expensive sports events, costly entertainment all seem superfluous.  But perhaps even these luxuries might be justified when occasional and purchased after we give due attention to the needy.

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Memorial of Saint Pius X, pope

(Ezekiel 28:1-10; Matthew 19:23-30)

In The Great Gatsby the consummate self-made man tries to woo back a former lover by showing off his expansive wardrobe.  The woman, however, who is also wealthy, is not impressed.  Neither the man nor the woman realizes the true purpose of wealth.  It does not buy happiness but supports growth of self and others.  Parents might invest in the education of their children or perhaps use their nice home for a social with church workers. 

The gospel today as well as the reading from Ezekiel conveys the folly of hankering after wealth.  Jesus’ disciples are astounded when he suggests that the wealthy have no place in the Kingdom.  They see the wealthy as blessed by God on earth and destined to inherit choice places in heaven.  No, Jesus advises them, the rich perhaps more than the poor need God’s mercy to be saved.

To follow Jesus we must come to terms with wealth.  As he says, no person can serve both God and money. We should show not waver in our allegiance to the Lord.  One man did this living by the maxim: for a successful life a person is to spend twenty years learning, twenty years earning, and twenty years serving.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Judges 2:11-19; Matthew 19:23-30)

“Bear” Bryant, the football coach, won the reputation of being a harsh and successful taskmaster.  His players were notoriously slim, not because they didn’t eat but because he trained them so hard.  Coach Bryant’s teams won six national titles in his twenty-five years as the head coach at the University of Alabama.  In today’s gospel Jesus presents himself similarly as the one who leads his disciples to their goal.

The passage challenges its readers.  It seems to indicate that the sure way to eternal life is to renounce wealth and follow Jesus.  It may be asked then, “Are only vowed religious guaranteed a place in heaven?”  An affirmative answer here is faulty on two levels.  First, it misses Jesus’ point that eternal life is not so much a matter of being destitute but of following him.  True, the young man in question is ostensibly called to poverty, but more generally the sine qua non of eternal life is adherence to Jesus, not forfeiting possessions.  Also, taking a vow of poverty or even living in radical poverty does not necessarily mean having a virtuous life.  Again, eternal life is a matter of taking one’s cues from Jesus.

But we should not be overly consoled by the understanding that renunciation of wealth is not absolutely necessary for eternal life.  The rich very often find their greatest satisfaction in what they can do for themselves and not in what God does for them.  Such a stance is incongruent with following Jesus.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Memorial of Saint Bernard, abbot and doctor of the Church

(Judges 6:11-24a; Matthew 19:23-30)

St. Bernard, the monastic reformer and hero of the Middle Ages, wrote a famous letter of admonition to his cousin Robert.  The young man had lived with Bernard in the reformed monastery of Clairvau but in the latter’s absence was lured to the comfortable monastery at Cluny.  Bernard felt that he was putting his eternal life in jeopardy.  “If furs smooth and warm, if cloth fine and costly,… make a saint,” he penned, “why do I delay to follow thee?  Such things are comfort for the feeble, not weapons for the valiant.”  One can hear in these words an echo of Jesus in today’s gospel.

Jesus assures his disciples that those who sacrifice comforts and family “for the sake of my name” will gain eternal life.  He knows that such service can be costly if not in physical depravation than perhaps in emotional loss as living Christian values may mean alienation from those counted on for support.  Yet, Jesus says, it is worth much more than any effort given.

We sometimes think of the good life as receiving adulation from others.  But real satisfaction comes from taking joy in doing God’s will.  He does not want to see us unhappy.  Rather He calls us to communion with Him in the delightful company of saints like Bernard and others closer to us in time and space.

Monday, August, 19, 2013

Monday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

(Judges 2:11-19; Matthew 19:23-30)

“Bear” Bryant won the reputation of harsh and successful taskmaster.  His players were notoriously slim, not because they didn’t eat but because he trained them so hard.  Coach Bryant’s teams very impressively won six national titles in his twenty-five years as the head coach at the University of Alabama.  In today’s gospel Jesus presents himself similarly as the one who leads his disciples to perfection.

The passage challenges its readers.  It seems to indicate that the way to eternal life is to renounce one’s wealth in order to follow Jesus.  “Are then,” it may be asked, “only those who take the vow of poverty guaranteed a place in heaven?”  An affirmative answer here is faulty on two levels.  First, it misses Jesus’ point that perfection is a matter not so much of being destitute but of following him.  True, the young man in question is ostensibly called to poverty, but more generally the sine qua non of eternal life is adherence to Jesus, not forfeiting possessions.  Second and as a corollary, taking a vow of poverty or even living in radical poverty does not necessarily mean having a virtuous life.  Again, eternal life is a matter of taking one’s cues from Jesus.

Still, we should not be overly consoled by the understanding that renunciation of wealth is not absolutely necessary for eternal life.  The rich very often find their greatest satisfaction in what they can do for themselves and not in what God does for them through Christ.  Such a stance is incongruent with following Jesus.