Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

(Numbers 21:4-9; John 8:21-30)

Many Catholic children, even those in parochial schools, do not attend mass on Sunday.  If you would ask them why, they say that they sometimes have a soccer game or go out of town.  Their parents, of course, are not attending either.  They may find themselves one day like the Jews in today’s gospel unable to understand Jesus.  They may think that he suffered a needless death that was tantamount to suicide.

We are probably mistaken if we think of the dialogue in the gospel as an actual conversation. More likely it is the evangelist’s rebuttal of the Jewish denial of Jesus as the Messiah.  He uses ideas and phrases from Jesus but directs himself to Jewish critics of Christianity a generation or two later.  These Jews, the evangelist is saying, cannot appreciate what Jesus said and much less did.  They think in worldly ways that Jesus was an imposter who claimed to be God.  They cannot accept that he spoke and acted as God’s real representative. They also think that they did away with Jesus on the cross.  But the evangelist knows that the crucifixion was the supreme sacrament of divine love.  Because he did His will, the Father has raised Jesus from death to glory.

Jesus’ sacrifice is memorialized in the mass, especially on Sunday.  It is not just a lesson in recall but a re-enactment of the sacrifice for our advantage.  Somehow we must draw both children and their parents to this sacrament.  Only in this way will they transcend worldly ways to participate in Christ’s glory.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

(Malachi 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-32)

Although many Catholics take very seriously the obligation to attend Sunday Mass, others are quite nonchalant about it. Some of the latter would not hesitate to receive Communion after negligently missing Sunday Mass perhaps because they are unaware of its mandatory status. Luke’s gospel provides everyone food for consideration on the matter.

Today’s passage features Jesus entering the Temple for the first time. Of course, he isn’t attending Mass there, but he is giving worship. The gospel shows him in the Temple again when he is twelve and finally at the end of his sojourn when he enters Jerusalem to confront the evil powers. In all cases Jesus is at home there; indeed, he calls it “my Father’s house” (2:49).

As Jesus goes regularly to the Temple, we attend Mass in church on Sunday. Doing so once a week on the Lord’s Day as the Church commands makes a healthy rhythm. As Simeon claims in the passage, Jesus is the light. He illumines the way to real happiness in a world full of deceptive distractions. Unless we regularly receive the orientation we need from him, we are likely to lose our way.

Homilette for Wednesday, October 31, 2007

You will find all postings for weekdays between October 29-31 below.

Wednesday, XXX Week of Ordinary Time

(Luke 13: 22-30)

Pupils in Catholic schools used to ask many questions of religion teachers to satisfy curiosity and to waste a little time. A typical question was, “Sister, if you are killed walking to church for confession, will you go to heaven or hell?” The sisters knew how to play along and may have responded, “What do you think?” In the gospel today we meet Jesus responding as adroitly as the sisters to a tough question.

“Lord, will only a few people be saved?” someone in the crowd asks Jesus. Perhaps the Pharisees trained the questioner to think that most people are lazy, no-good hell-bounds. People today, aware of God’s mercy, might ask a question to the opposite effect, “Doesn’t God save everyone?” Even if we try to keep the faith, all of us have loved ones who ignore some of the commandments. “God surely cannot just condemn them to hell, can He?” we wonder.

Jesus sidesteps the issue. Whom the Father will save or damn is up to Him to decide. Yet Jesus seizes the opportunity to impart wisdom. “Strive to enter through the narrow gate,” he advises. He means that we must discipline ourselves to do what is right and to avoid what is wrong. There is no place among his followers for slouchers who say, “A peek at pornography or a little lie won’t hurt anyone.” Nor are we truly Christian if we consistently ignore those in need.

Some of us may still think that going to Mass on Sundays alone will win our salvation. Not so, Jesus makes clear when he says, “And you will say, `We ate and drank in your company...’ Then he will say to you, `...Depart from me, all your evil doers!’” No, Jesus expects the Mass to serve as a launching pad where we receive fuel and guidance for the pursuit of good.