Monday, July 10, 2023

Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 28:10-22a; Matthew 9:18-26)

Although he does not know it, Jacob has come across a shrine.  It is a holy place sanctified by the prayers of many others on that spot.  The Lord is there ready to hear the request of this unwitting pilgrim.

Jacob has sneakily taken his brother’s birthright.  That is, he is to be, like Isaac and Abraham, the “father of many nations.”  Now he must escape Esau’s wrath and then establish himself with a wife and children.  God does not hold Jacob in contempt for his trickery.  Rather he has chosen Jacob, perhaps for his cleverness, to extend the heritage that will end in the birth of His own Son Jesus, the Christ.

Shrines are found in most cities with a Catholic heritage today.  They are places for us to ask the Lord for assistance.  There we are likely to find other good people whose faith helps us trust in God’s enduring love.

Thursday, July 6, 2023

Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 22:1b-19; Matthew 9:1-8)

 In the Shrine of St. Martin de Porres in Puerto Rico a compelling mural covers the back wall.  The mural portrays in abstract style the story related in today’s first reading. It features the angel and Abraham who is about to kill his son Isaac.  One hand of the angel points upward signaling a message from God and the other is raised palm up hand telling Abraham to stop.  The mural is said to symbolize the sacrifice of the Mass.

Thomas Aquinas calls Isaac a “type of Christ.” As Isaac was to be sacrificed to demonstrate Abraham’s faith in God, God himself allowed his own Son to be sacrificed to atone for the sins of the world.  His sacrifice on the cross was anticipated and prefigured at the meal Jesus shared with his disciples the night before he died.  It was God’s way of showing solidarity with humanity that became hopelessly lost because of sin.

The idea of God ordering a father to kill his son disturbs many people.  “Is not God violating His own natural law?” they ask.  But God did not allow the sacrifice of Isaac to take place.  God was acting as a judge testing Abraham’s fidelity, not as a tyrant seeking blood.  God loves His Son infinitely more than Abraham can love Isaac.  He loves all of us like He loves Christ.  For this reason He sent Christ to the world to die for our salvation.