Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 8:18-25; Luke 13:18-21)

The window of the car on the highway opened and out went an object – perhaps a plastic cup – littering the road.  It was a small act of defiance of both law and public decency indicative of a careless people.  But little things add up.  An estimated fifty-one billion articles of litter are deposited on the roads of the United States alone every year. 

Nevertheless, would it be that litter were today’s biggest environmental problem!  In truth there are many greater worries.  The burning of fossil fuels creates pollution and likely contributes to global warming.  The depletion of forests ruins the habitats of most of earth’s animals and causes the land to dry up.  What St. Paul writes to the Romans in the first reading today about the creation groaning makes perfect sense to environmentalists.

Yet Paul also extends a signal of hope.  He says that creation will be set free by a redeemed humanity fully in the grasp of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit will change our hearts to value the environment as a common patrimony.  All good people will cooperate to protect natural resources so that future generations may know the wonder of otters, ocelots,  and owls. 

Monday, October 28, 2013

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude

(Ephesians 2:19-22; Luke 6:12-16)

Today’s Feast of Saints Simon and Jude is celebrated in many places with all the vigor of a local patron.  Little is known about either apostle.  The reason for the popularity is that St. Jude has been labeled the patron of hopeless causes with which many identify.

The devotion stems from the lively faith of many Catholic people.  They know God loves them and will assist them in their need.  Jude, the last mentioned of the twelve in Luke’s gospel, matches their sense of being overlooked in the normal course of events.  Yet he sits at the Savior’s table and has proven willing to intercede on behalf of those who call on his name.

The feast should remind us to never give up praying for just needs.  God will turn bad situations into good ones even though the outcome may not be what we had in mind.  It is not just a matter of our changing perspectives to accept the inevitable.  Rather it is the work of an all-caring God who has the powers of creation at His disposal to meet our needs.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 7:18-25a; Luke 12:54-59)

“How can something that feels so right, be so wrong?” country crooners ask.  St. Paul has a similar thought in mind when he tells the Romans in the first reading today, “For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self, but I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind…”

Paul is expressing the deceptive nature of sin.  It appeals to our inner senses as something good or satisfying, but our minds tell us it is hurtful.  We might be willing to buy a stolen car to get to work, but we know that such a vehicle belongs to its rightful owner.  We would become accomplices in the crime by purchasing it knowingly.

Paul finds in Jesus Christ the resolution to the dilemma of feeling right about something but knowing it to be wrong.  He provides a greater desire which transcends any will to comfort or convenience residing in our strictly natural being.  He loves us as his brothers and sisters so that we might return his graciousness by always doing his virtuous will.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 6:19-23; Luke 12:49-53)

The man was involved in the numbers racket; that is, in collecting small bets on the final numbers of the daily stock market trading.  As Al Capone is supposed to have said, “That’s where the money is.”  And the man made much of it and spent it on liquor, dope, and other vices.  Now he was dying alone in a rundown rental room.  As today’s reading from St. Paul’s Romans poignantly says, “…the wages of sin is death.”

St. Paul has especially in mind the fact that sinful humanity will always die.  Reflecting on Genesis, Paul concludes that the curse of Adam is a tendency to sin that ensnarls every human being and leads to his or her downfall.  That is everyone except Jesus (and by special dispensation his Immaculate Mother).  He not only transcended enslavement to sin but boosted his followers out of their entrapment.  Trusting in Jesus as Lord, humans can now overcome the tendency to love creatures more than the Creator – what sin is all about.

We need to hold ourselves close to Jesus – desperately. Heeding his warnings and following his example, we actually become freer, happier people.  We become, in other words, beneficiaries of the gift of eternal life.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 6:12-18; Luke 12:39-47)

Msgr. Charles King was a priest’s priest.  He gave himself completely to the shepherding of souls.  He learned Spanish to assist the growing numbers in his parish who could not speak English.  He also sought Church unity by participating in ecumenical and interreligious movements.  On Sundays after parish masses were celebrated, Msgr. King didn’t crash in front of the television but would call shut-ins of the parish to offer his support.  This pastor illustrates what Jesus has in mind when he answers Peter’s question in the gospel today.

“Lord, is this parable (of a thief breaking into a house) meant for us or for everyone?” Peter asks Jesus on behalf of his companions.  In his answer Jesus implies that it is meant for his apostles not so much as missionaries but as pastors.  They are to provide pastoral care so that the faithful are not stolen away by the empty promises of evil.  They must also avoid taking advantage of their people by accruing for themselves the favors that the people would give to the Lord.

Pastors need the Spirit’s support and, therefore, the prayers of the faithful to fulfill their responsibilities.  When we think about it, we realize that prayers for faithful leadership redound to everyone’s benefit.  Not only are the people in the pews assisted by their parish priests, but those same people also have shepherding roles.  Parents, of course, are to guide their children to holiness and all Christians should give one another edifying example.