Friday, June 30, 2023

 

Friday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 17:1-9.15-22; Matthew 8:1-4)

Today’s reading from Genesis focused on the covenant between God and Abraham and features the physical sign of circumcision.  Abraham and all men of the covenant are to be circumcised as a sign of their fidelity to the Lord.  The sign reminds one to believe and to follow the ways of God indicated in God’s law.

Since the sign was not apparent to others, in time its meaning was emphasized over its physical nature.  Moses will tell the Israelites to circumcise the foreskin of their hearts.  They are not to be proud and selfish but humble and compassionate.  St. Paul also dismisses the necessity of physical circumcision for salvation in favor of a circumcised heart.

We Catholics often demonstrate our faith with rosaries, making the sign of the cross, and other physical signs.  They remind us as well as others of our promise to follow Christ.  We must keep in mind that should they become hollow of meaning, they doubly condemn us.  Should we cease to follow Christ, they convict us of hypocrisy as well as loss of faith.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

(Optional) Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima

(Act 15:1-6; John 15:1-8)

The Hebrew custom of circumcision identifies Jewish men.  Of course, it is not intended to be a sign readily visible.  It seems more a verifiable trait that all Jewish men share.  The Jewish Christians who preach circumcision in today’s first reading think it essential for Christians as well.  After all, if Christ came to establish a new Israel—they probably reason -- there must be continuity with the old.

But Paul and others see a richer sign of continuity in active love.  Jesus has brought the Mosaic doctrine of caring for others to perfection.  When he speaks of pruning the vine in today’s gospel, he means expelling those who do not love as they ought.  Without them the loving works of faithful Christians will not be obscured.  The world can then easily see the Church bearing much fruit.

Today many Catholics celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Fatima.  In her apparitions to three peasant children she encouraged the praying of the rosary.  For sure, prayer on behalf of others is a work of love.  Let us join such pious acts with deeds of kindness and generosity.  In this way the world will again see the Church bearing much fruit.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Mary, the Holy Mother of God, solemnity

(Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21)

Scientists have reported significant medical benefits of infant circumcision. The procedure is said to reduce the risk of a large range of pathologies from the HIV virus to cervical cancer in sexual partners. These findings corroborate what was considered at the root of the practice in ancient Israel: the male foreskin is a center of impurity. The gospel today shows Jesus undergoing circumcision, but its emphasis is quite different than preventing disease.

Mary and Joseph have Jesus circumcised because they are pious Jews intent on obeying the prescriptions of Jewish law. The gospel of Luke portrays Mary as particularly intent on fulfilling the word of God. The angel Gabriel told her that the name of the child was to be named “Jesus” – a mandate that is duly carried out here. Mary also keeps all the happenings of Jesus birth in her heart because she knows that they are ordered by God’s command.

In Mary we have a grand intercessor and model. Everyone should feel free to bring his or her needs to this gentle woman. More than that, we should imitate throughout the new year both her contemplative spirit for all that occurs in life and her obedience to God’s commands.

Homilette for Friday, June 26, 2009

Friday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 17:1.9-10.15-22; Matthew 8:1-4)

As a newly ordained priest the biblical scholar Raymond E. Brown told his pastor on January 1 that he intended to preach on the circumcision. “Ah, you’re not going to do that, are you?” the pastor replied as if even the circumcision of Jesus was a sordid subject. “I most certainly am,” Fr. Brown asserted. All of us, I imagine, would be interested in what he would say about today’s first reading.

Circumcision is a custom older than Abraham. Pagan societies circumcised young men as a sign of sexual potency and the coming of age. But when Abraham and his descendants circumcise their infants, a very different meaning is conveyed. The principal characters are the father and mother of the circumcised, not the boy himself. They demonstrate how carrying out a rite mandated by God does not flaunt sexual prowess but restricts it. The act indicates their intention of raising the child in every way that the Lord commands. Indeed, circumcision implies that the parents do not own their son but that he is a gift from God entrusted to their care.

It may not seem right that this sacred rite is reserved for males. However, we need to take note that the Bible is not concerned about equality in the same way as western humanity. The sad fact is that men need this reminder of duty and chastity much more than woman since nature allows them to distance themselves from the actual birthing of children. Perhaps it is significant that Baptism, which functions in ways similar to circumcision, is obligatory for female as well as male Christians. We recognize the tendency to sin in everyone and the way out of sin’s morass is not through reminding a person of his or her duty but through movement with the Spirit who comes by means of the water.

Homilette for Thursday, November 6, 2008

Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(Philippians 3:3-8a)

Circumcision being what it is, we might be shocked by Paul calling the Christian community “the circumcision.” Very likely Paul uses the term for affect, that is, to rouse his readers’ attention to what he is saying. But, like the instance in the second letter to the Corinthians when he calls Christ “sin,” a deeper truth is conveyed by his choice of words.

The prophets saw that circumcision of the male sexual organ as a sign of covenant with the Lord was not enough to assure the people’s virtue. Jeremiah recognized that circumcision of the heart, the proverbial seat of inner motivation, was necessary if the person was to live righteously. Today with cardiac surgery facilitating the proper functioning of the heart, we can more easily understand what Jeremiah meant. As human hearts can physically clog with fats, they can spiritually clog with desires for pleasure, power, and prestige.

The grace of Christ has altered the Christian heart so that it functions efficaciously. With Baptism love floods our hearts so that egotism is removed and love for God and neighbor takes hold. In communion with the faithful of every land we become the people that God intended when He called for circumcision. We become His people who do what is right because it is right even to the point of sacrificing ourselves to do the right.