Monday, September 8, 2014

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Micah 5:1-4a; Matthew 1:1-16.18-23)

Did you ever have to pinch yourself to make sure you were not dreaming?  Sometimes things happen that are so incredible that we think we are imagining them.  Perhaps we see a person that we presumed to be dead.  “Can it be so?” we ask ourselves.  The other day an Iraqi Shiite soldier survived the massacre of fellow Shiite prisoners by ISIS militia.  He had a terrible ordeal but still may have had to pinch himself to know that he was alive.  We celebrate the birth of the Virgin Mary for a similar reason.

It is almost incredible that God would become human.  Why would the Almighty reduce himself to the fragility of humankind?  Perhaps it can be compared to one of us becoming an ant!  Who would want to be the smallest of animals that carries cargo all day long?  No one would, yet God became human.  Today in recognizing the birth of Mary, we acknowledge that her son, divine by conception of the Holy Spirit, was through her a human being.

We must ask ourselves, why did God become human if it was such a come down?  The answer, of course, is that He loves us.  God saw in human beings a faint likeness to Himself that He wanted us to share in His eternal life.  But that required that we become as caring as He.  For this reason Christ died on the cross.  By his life and death we are rid of our selfishness and filled with his love.

Friday, September 5, 2014

Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(I Corinthians 4:1-5; Luke 5:33-39)

As Americans wait for the fourth Thursday of November, the French get excited around the third Tuesday of that month.  No, the French haven’t adopted Thanksgiving, their celebration is typically unique.  On “Beaujolais Day,” as it is called, the latest vintage of Beaujolais wine goes on market.  Not only does the wine have a tasty fruity quality, it also indicates the caliber of that year’s vintage when the wines mature.  In grape-producing regions like France and Palestine wine serves as a symbol of joy.  For this reason Jesus compares his mission with a new wine in today’s gospel.

Interestingly, Jesus shows no contempt for the old wine, Judaism, when he proclaims his message of God’s kingdom as the new.  He says that some people prefer old wine as, indeed, it has a mellowness to be savored.  But there is no mixing of new wine and old.  Accepting Jesus’ messages means stepping away from Judaic law into the more challenging and more promising realm of gospel love.

 Church history is soiled by anti-Semitic outbursts.  Most likely the cause for of the prejudice has been envy given how successful Jews have been in commerce and the professions.  Certainly the anger against the Jewish faith is misplaced.  Jews, as Luke’s gospel consistently shows, are Jesus’ forbearers always worthy of respect and dialogue.

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, September 3, 2014

Memorial of St. Gregory the Great, pope

(I Corinthians 3:1-9; Luke 4:38-44)

At one parish there was an increasingly bitter rivalry between the Guadalupanas (the Sodality of Our Lady of Guadalupe) and the Carmelitas (the Sodality of Our Lady of Mount Carmel).  Each would contend that they were the best women group in the parish and began to shun members of the other group.  The pastor noting the un-Christ like behavior had the women serve each other.  On July 16, the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Guadalupanas would serve breakfast to the Carmelitas.  Of course the courtesy was reciprocated on December 12.  In today’s first reading Paul similarly tries to stem the rivalries brewing in Corinth.

After spending over a year with the Corinthians, Paul knows that they have been instructed well.  He has preached, modeled, and taught unity in Christ. He naturally becomes disappointed when they break down into factions like all their neighbors.  He must remind them that they are different from other groups because they have been molded by Christ into his body. In him there is no place rivalry.

Life in Christ makes us a new creation.  We are to leave behind thinking of ourselves as better than others.  We should know more form bands that rival one another than one of our arms would compete with the other for a place of honor.  Christ has made us one in love reflecting the love of him and his Father.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Tuesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(I Corinthians 2:10b-16; Luke 4:31-37)

One college man was telling a companion how he was listening to himself recite the Creed at Mass.  He said rather defiantly “Since when do I believe in everything ’seen and unseen’ (these were the days of the former translation)? “I don’t believe in what is unseen.”  He continued, “Since when do I believe in the Holy Spirit? Where is he?  I don’t believe in him.”  Fortunately, the young man was quite drunk and not completely responsible for the blasphemy.  However that may be, his words belie the Spirit of God to whom St. Paul witnesses in the first reading today.

Paul tells the Christians of Corinth that the rebirth in hope that they have experienced is nothing natural.  Rather it comes from God’s very Holy Spirit.  It is not an illusion because it raised Christ from the dead. Indeed, it will bring about their resurrection when Christ returns in glory.  For now the Spirit brings the community together in love despite differences of age, gender, temperament and national origin.

We find the same Spirit at work today.  It enables us to see the world in a different light.  We are not here to show off our talents so that we might be given a fleeting experience of adulation.  No, the Spirit enables us to serve others in humility that we might enjoy God’s eternal wonder.