Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Exodus 16:1-5.9-15; Matthew 13:1-9)

Some seeds are so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye.  No seed is very large.  Yet seeds can grow many times the stature of humans.  In today’s gospel passage Jesus intends to show how the word of God is like a seed.  It seems insignificant when it is first spoken.  But it can grow to do much good.

The history of Christianity is full of examples.  The Church itself began as a small community of disciples.  Within five centuries it became the most prominent institution in the western world.  St. Teresa of Kolkata started the Missionaries of Charity seventy years ago with a small group of woman.  Today the congregation has sisters tending the poor in most of the major cities of the world.

First and foremost, Christ is the Word of God.  Derivatively Holy Scripture telling about Christ is the word.  In a further relative sense we Christians are God’s word.  We become expressions of His love when we care for one another.  Thinking less of ourselves and doing more for others we will produce abundant fruit.

Thursday, February 28, 2019

Thursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Sirach 5:1-8; Mark 9:41-50)

The Missionaries of Charity were founded by St. (Mother) Teresa of Kolkata to work with the marginalized. Peeking into one of their chapels, one notices a crucifix with the words, “I thirst” pasted at its side.  The peeper will ask, “Why is that phrase there?”  Of course, Jesus emits those words from the cross in the Gospel of John.  But why do the Missionaries of Charity focus on them and not on more famous “last words” like “’Father, forgive them?”

The answer to these questions may be found in today’s gospel.  Jesus is identifying with those who are in great need.  They are Mark’s gospel’s equivalent to what he says at the end of Matthew’s: “Whatever you do to the least of these, you do unto me.’”  The Missionaries of Charity rightly see themselves as attending to the suffering Christ as they serve the marginalized.  As St. Teresa said, they are “Christ in disguise.”

We see the marginalized on street corners begging for money.  But these represent a small minority of their number.  They inhabit hovels and rented rooms in most big cities.  They live in vastly disproportionate numbers in Africa and South America.  Like Jesus on the cross, they cry out for assistance.  As we would have wanted to give Jesus a drink of water, we should move to help them.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Memorial of Saint Rose of Lima, virgin

(II Thessalonians 2:1-3a.14-17; Matthew 23:23-26)

A priest ministering to the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa’s congregation, rightly feels humbled.  The sisters sit at his feet attentive to every word that he utters. The priest knows that they, more faithfully than he, carry out the work of Jesus in their meticulous service to the poorest of the poor.  In her daily life St. Rose of Lima demonstrated as great self-effacement and dedication as the Missionaries of Charity.  Her care for the poor was overshadowed only by other acts of piety as she demonstrated love for God to the edification of an entire city.

Today’s first reading offers a blessing to the community of Christians at Thessalonica.  It expresses the desire that the people remain committed to the teachings of Christ.  Evidently, they were rankled by new ideas at odds with what St. Paul taught.  No, the letter implies, they are to keep the faith, assist, the poor, and support one another.

The practice of the saints should move us from self-concern to devotion to others.  Certainly there is no shortage of self-love in our times deafening us to the teachings of Christ.  Thankfully, we have saints today as much as in times past to show us that God commands us to purify our love for others. 

Homilette for Monday, April 6, 2009

Monday of Holy Week

(Isaiah 42:1-7; John 12:1-7)

Humans may attack one another more mercilessly than wolves stalking sheep. They also may care for others with the tenderness of a bird mouth-feeding her chick. Horror stories of boy soldiers in Africa testify to the first assertion. Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity provide evidence of selfless love for the most miserable of people. In the gospel today we see both the worst and the best of humanity. Jesus is the touchstone which reveals a person’s soul.

Although Mary has reason to be grateful to Jesus, she expresses her love for him extravagantly. Because Jesus has brought her brother back to life, Mary pours expensive perfume over his feet. She intuitively recognizes that Jesus is more than a miracle worker but the Son of God whose self-deliverance to death is about to take away the sin of the world. As the aroma of Mary’s gracious deed fills the house, the forces of evil spread their darkness. Judas grumbles apparently because the perfume spent on Jesus could have been sold to line his own pocket. Also, the chief priests plan to kill Jesus as he threatens their authority over the people.

Typically, John’s Gospel is calling us to choose for or against Jesus. This episode implies that there is no possibility of half-heartedness. We are to serve him with a prodigal love that knows no boundaries or we are to opt for money or for power or perhaps for our own comfort and pleasure. We know the costs and benefits of both options. Which one will we follow?

Homilette for Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Tuesday, XXVII Week of Ordinary Time
(Luke 10:38-42)

Giving a talk to Missionaries of Charity, the congregation Mother Teresa founded, will likely humble any priest aware of what is going on. The sisters place a chair in the center of the room for the priest and then sit on the floor around him. No doubt they have the posture of Mary listening to Jesus in the gospel today in mind.

In the passage Jesus acts prophetically in a number of ways. First, he visits a woman’s home and then he allows a woman to sit at his feet. Rabbis do not take such liberties in biblical days for obvious reasons. But Jesus evidently does not feel tempted to sin by thought much less by action. He does, however, mean to demonstrate that women must hear the gospel as well as men.

Most of all, Jesus acts like a prophet here by the implication of his words. He tells Martha that only “one thing” is important. For him that thing is always to heed the word of God. He is hinting to Martha and the rest of us that he speaks that word. We need to put aside our many cares to listen to him.