Tuesday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
(Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 14:15-24)
The Year of Faith, which Pope Benedict initiated last month, has the ambitious objective of launching a new evangelization effort. Catholics, with faith rekindled, are to reach out to family, friends, and neighbors who have lost the spark of faith. In the enterprise they are likely to meet some of the same excuses that Jesus relates in the gospel parable today.
Two of the invitees who reject the offer to the dinner party say that they have business to attend. They resemble the majority of people today who, far from seeing their work as a vocation from God, view it as a career that they choose and cultivate themselves. Faith for these people is of marginal importance – if not a means to a social network that might advance their careers, then a sector of one’s private life that gives identity and customs to highlight times of transition. The other example that Jesus gives is the man who has just married. Is it far-fetched to suggest that his excuse is pleasure? Perhaps many in our society see Catholicism as teaching mores which may interfere with their pursuit of sensual gratification.
Other trends explaining contemporary disaffection from the Church can be so readily named that it may seem impossible to stem the tide. Yet Pope Benedict believes that the task is doable. Just as the master of the house in Jesus’ parable sends his servants to go out again and invite the unfortunate and otherwise marginal people, so the pope is urging us to return to the people who have rejected the initial invitation of faith with a more vigorous appeal. We are to testify how God’s love has given our lives direction, stability, and happiness, and will do the same for them.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Monday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
(Philippians 2:1-4; Luke 14:12-14)
Sometimes people ask if it is a sin to tell your hostess that you liked her soup when you thought it awful. Of course, it is; but bluntness may be uncharitable as well. In any case, Jesus openly tells his host in today’s gospel that he could have done better.
When Jesus chastises the Pharisee for inviting the well-to-do and not the needy, he is commenting on an established practice that remains in vogue today. Some people calculate whom they will invite to their weddings and banquets on the basis of how much money they will receive as a gift or what might be done for them in return. It may come as a surprise that Jesus is not really opposed to the custom! But he would not have his disciples make their calculations not on whether they may receive a fat check as a gift or perhaps an invitation to a brunch at the Four Seasons. No, they should count on an eternal reward for feeding the hungry or entertaining the lonely.
The holidays are almost upon us. Perhaps some of us are already drawing up lists of guests for Thanksgiving dinner or our annual Christmas party. Let us not too quickly exclude the widow next door because she doesn’t have a mate or the man who always comes to church alone because he might be gay.
(Philippians 2:1-4; Luke 14:12-14)
Sometimes people ask if it is a sin to tell your hostess that you liked her soup when you thought it awful. Of course, it is; but bluntness may be uncharitable as well. In any case, Jesus openly tells his host in today’s gospel that he could have done better.
When Jesus chastises the Pharisee for inviting the well-to-do and not the needy, he is commenting on an established practice that remains in vogue today. Some people calculate whom they will invite to their weddings and banquets on the basis of how much money they will receive as a gift or what might be done for them in return. It may come as a surprise that Jesus is not really opposed to the custom! But he would not have his disciples make their calculations not on whether they may receive a fat check as a gift or perhaps an invitation to a brunch at the Four Seasons. No, they should count on an eternal reward for feeding the hungry or entertaining the lonely.
The holidays are almost upon us. Perhaps some of us are already drawing up lists of guests for Thanksgiving dinner or our annual Christmas party. Let us not too quickly exclude the widow next door because she doesn’t have a mate or the man who always comes to church alone because he might be gay.
Friday, November 2, 2012
The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day)
(Wisdom 3:1-9; Romans 5:5-11; John 6:37-40)
We know that we have become old when we count more friends among the dead than the living. A twenty or thirty year- old will likely have experienced the demise of only a handful of loved ones. But this is hardly the case for a person who has reached sixty or seventy. She or he longs for eternal life as the reunion with the many deceased people who shaped their lives. Today, the Solemnity of All Souls, we have a foretaste of that event.
Cemeteries, which normally have few visitors, become crowded today. People come with flowers and, in some cultures, food for their beloved dead whom they often address with affectionate terms. But the occasion is not completely nostalgic. Prayers are raised that God pardon the sins of the dead which might have been considerable.
We believe that God is a merciful father who cares about the fate of His children. Even the people who seem to have defied His goodness are not beyond the scope of our prayer today. After all, only God knows the condition of human hearts - those which may have been so deformed by life’s vagaries that their culpability was muted and those whose last beat may have resounded in contrition.
(Wisdom 3:1-9; Romans 5:5-11; John 6:37-40)
We know that we have become old when we count more friends among the dead than the living. A twenty or thirty year- old will likely have experienced the demise of only a handful of loved ones. But this is hardly the case for a person who has reached sixty or seventy. She or he longs for eternal life as the reunion with the many deceased people who shaped their lives. Today, the Solemnity of All Souls, we have a foretaste of that event.
Cemeteries, which normally have few visitors, become crowded today. People come with flowers and, in some cultures, food for their beloved dead whom they often address with affectionate terms. But the occasion is not completely nostalgic. Prayers are raised that God pardon the sins of the dead which might have been considerable.
We believe that God is a merciful father who cares about the fate of His children. Even the people who seem to have defied His goodness are not beyond the scope of our prayer today. After all, only God knows the condition of human hearts - those which may have been so deformed by life’s vagaries that their culpability was muted and those whose last beat may have resounded in contrition.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Solemnity of All Saints
(Revelation 7:2-4.9-14; 8 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12a)
Yesterday's costume parties hint at today's feast. Just as people wore clothes of different nations and periods of history, so saints come from a variety of backgrounds. And just as regular people don the dress of the standouts of the ages, so they might become saints.
Blessed Pope John Paul II canonized more saints than all previous popes. He did not do it for exercise. Rather he wanted to give Catholics models to help them live holy lives. Individuals with distant relatives who were canonized have found special inspiration to struggle against evil inclinations. In examining the lives of the saints postmodern Christians will find examples of women and men who dealt successfully with questions and doubts similar to their own.
Still it is not easy to become a saint. We need not only models but divine grace to love as we ought. Fortunately the Holy Spirit has also come so that we might successfully take up the quest.
(Revelation 7:2-4.9-14; 8 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12a)
Yesterday's costume parties hint at today's feast. Just as people wore clothes of different nations and periods of history, so saints come from a variety of backgrounds. And just as regular people don the dress of the standouts of the ages, so they might become saints.
Blessed Pope John Paul II canonized more saints than all previous popes. He did not do it for exercise. Rather he wanted to give Catholics models to help them live holy lives. Individuals with distant relatives who were canonized have found special inspiration to struggle against evil inclinations. In examining the lives of the saints postmodern Christians will find examples of women and men who dealt successfully with questions and doubts similar to their own.
Still it is not easy to become a saint. We need not only models but divine grace to love as we ought. Fortunately the Holy Spirit has also come so that we might successfully take up the quest.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
(Ephesians 6:1-9; Luke 13:22-30)
The title of a new, well-advertised book asks a question which approximates the one in the gospel today. Will Many Be Saved? evidently gives an answer similar to Jesus'.
Jesus does not actually say that many will be condemned but certainly the logic of his statement points in that direction. He adjures his listeners to make every effort to live holy lives because, he implies, only those who commence the quest early and persist in long day’s struggle will achieve their end. However, his exhortatory language resists the conclusion that he means only a privileged few will find eternal happiness.
Nevertheless, we are wise to take Jesus’ words literally. If it is the case that most people will fall short of eternal life, then our efforts may prove eminently worthwhile. If God is as indulgent as some people think, then we will at least be giving good example that might save others from natural folly that warps human lives.
(Ephesians 6:1-9; Luke 13:22-30)
The title of a new, well-advertised book asks a question which approximates the one in the gospel today. Will Many Be Saved? evidently gives an answer similar to Jesus'.
Jesus does not actually say that many will be condemned but certainly the logic of his statement points in that direction. He adjures his listeners to make every effort to live holy lives because, he implies, only those who commence the quest early and persist in long day’s struggle will achieve their end. However, his exhortatory language resists the conclusion that he means only a privileged few will find eternal happiness.
Nevertheless, we are wise to take Jesus’ words literally. If it is the case that most people will fall short of eternal life, then our efforts may prove eminently worthwhile. If God is as indulgent as some people think, then we will at least be giving good example that might save others from natural folly that warps human lives.
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