Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist

(2 Timothy 4:10-17b, Luke 10:1-9)

Much has been said of the “New Evangelization,” but how is this evangelization being carried out?  A lot of it has been undertaken by lay men and women working with the so-called movements in the Church.  Cursillo was among the first of these movements.  It has been followed by a host of others: “Marriage Encounter,” “Emmaus,” “Christ Renews his Parish,” the “Charismatic Renewal among others.  Biblical foundation of these lay-dominated evangelization programs may be found in today’s gospel.”

Only Luke’s gospel records a sending of seventy disciples to preach the good news.  They may be considered laity as the number seventy is symbolic of fullness or universality.  They are sent to preach the good news of salvation.  This message is well summarized in the statement, “’The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’”

St. Luke is not only a champion of the laity.  He is the patron of doctors and artists.  He gives particular and valuable emphasis to the poor, to prayer, and to the Holy Spirit.  Above all, his portrayals of the Virgin Mary have edified the Christian faith through the centuries.  Luke sees her as a model showing us how to contemplate and practice the word of God.  He also sees her as our mother constantly pointing us to the Savior.

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

(Jeremiah 7:23-28; Luke 11:14-23)

Almost twenty-five years ago Pope St. John Paul II proclaimed a “New Evangelization.”  He said that it would be directed not only to the nations where Jesus is unknown and to Christians who have lost a living sense of their faith.  It would also go out to those who practice the faith!  All people -- good and bad alike -- need to hear God’s call to reform.  Taking His word into account, many who have thought of themselves as good will have to make a new appraisal.  Both Scripture readings today focus on this last group. 

In the first reading Jeremiah laments the reality of his day.  The people of Jerusalem are paying lip service to God.  They may go to the temple, but they do not practice love of God and neighbor that the law tries to instill.  In the gospel Jesus shows compassion when he enables a mute man to speak.  The people around him, however, refuse to acknowledge that Jesus’ power comes from God.  They say to the contrary that he heals because he is in league with the devil.  The passage ends with Jesus condemning those who deny his goodness. “…whoever does not gather with me,’” he says, “’scatters.’”

During the season of Lent, especially, we are being called to a true examination and conviction of self.  We may not be the biggest sinners, most of us at least, but we do gossip and curse others (while driving).  We fail to see the sufferings others undergo and often exaggerate our own challenges. There is plenty of room for improvement which must be made if we are to experience eternal life.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(I Corinthians 3:18-23; Luke 5:1-11)

The poet Alfred Lord Tennyson captures the vigor of ancient adventurers in his poem “Ulysses.”  One line is especially famous: "Tis not too late to seek a newer world."  Already an old man returned from the Trojan War, the hero is not content to sit back and die.  Rather he embarks on a new voyage to accomplish more feats. Jesus instills in the fishermen of today’s gospel a similar spirit.

Peter and company have ended a night's work without any fish to show for their efforts. But after hearing Jesus preach, they do not refute his command to try again. Rowing into deep water, they lower their nets and watch in astonishment the marvelous catch. Jesus then uses the incident as a parable to indicate the successful missionary efforts the fishermen will have as his disciples.

As many of our youth lose interest in the Church, some may become discouraged. They wonder whether the Lord is really here among us.  Of course, he is – closer to us than we are to ourselves as St. Augustine would say.  Let us not fear to put out into the deep.  We have to testify to the young of the Lord’s presence.  He has saved us from danger time and again.  He has also enlightened us continually to perform acts of kindness.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

(Revelation 11:19a.12:1-6a.10ab; Luke 1:26-38)

In his apostolic exhortation, entitled The Church in the America, Blessed John Paul II declared Our Lady of Guadalupe the “Evangelizer of the Americas.” The story of her apparitions to the native Juan Diego bears witness to the title.

In 1531, seven years after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire, the missionaries were unable to make significant inroads among the people. There were a few converts like Juan Diego but nothing like the mass numbers that came into the Church after the apparitions. Perhaps it was the intransigence of the missionaries to go to the centers of prior indigenous worship that restricted evangelization. The account of the apparitions is well known. The Virgin of Guadalupe first appeared to Juan Diego on the morning of December 9 on Tepeyac hill outside Mexico City, the site of a previous temple to a pagan goddess. Speaking in the indigenous language, she introduced herself to him as “the ever Virgin Mary, Mother of the true God by whom one lives, creator of heaven and earth.” Then she dispatched Juan Diego to Bishop Zumárraga in Mexico City with a request that a church be built on the spot of the apparition so that she might aid the indigenous people. The bishop met with Juan Diego but demanded a sign before he would believe his story. The sign came three days later when, at the mandate of the Virgin, Juan Diego brought to the bishop flowers which he found growing quite out of season at the summit of Tepeyac. When Juan Diego let the flowers fall from his tilma (outer garment) the image of the pregnant Virgin dressed as a native princess was emblazoned on it. From the retelling of the story by the natives themselves within six years nine million indigenous Mexicans became Catholic Christians.

This account underscores for us several principles of the New Evangelization. First, the New Evangelization begins with our relationship with Jesus being renewed. Both Juan Diego and Bishop Zumárraga experience a deepening of their faith through the encounter with the Virgin of Guadalupe representing her son. Second, along with spiritual renewal, we need to increase our knowledge of the faith. The Virgin gives Juan Diego a short doctrinal lesson with her introduction as “the ever Virgin Mary, Mother of the true God by whom one lives.” The facts that she appears on the site of a former pagan temple and speaking the native tongue also indicate cultural aspects of evangelization. Finally, once evangelized, we have to give witness to the good news be retelling the story and, although not apparent here, by living it.

In this “Year of Faith” Pope Benedict has challenged all serious Catholics to take up the work of the New Evangelization. The story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Evangelizer of the Americas, indicates the contours of this task.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary


(Zephaniah 3:14-18a; Luke 1:39-56)

The sportswriters were frustrated. They wanted the star athlete to talk about himself, but he continually deferred to others. His teammates’ play allowed him to stand out. His family’s support was instrumental in making him who he was. The dialogue resembled, in a way, Mary’s speech in the gospel today.

In visiting her kinswoman, Mary is given a supreme compliment. Elizabeth calls her the “most blessed …among woman” for bearing Jesus inside her womb. At this point one would expect Mary to return the compliment or to explain what she did to merit such an honor. But her eyes are fixed on God. Rather than speak of her own virtue or anyone else’s, she gives all the credit to the Lord. He “has looked with favor on his lowly servant.” He “has done great things” for her. He always “has mercy on those who fear him.”

Most of us enjoy talking about our achievements so much that often enough we slip into vanity. Mary, the model disciple, reminds us that God is the source of every good deed we do. To sing His praises, not our own, is our role as agents in the new evangelization.

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.