Friday, Oct 6, 2015

Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 15:14-21; Luke 16:1-8)

In the adult fairy tale The Little Prince the fox teaches the little boy several valuable lessons. One of these concerns customs or rites.  They bring a regularity to life so that one can be free from constant stress.  In today's first reading taken from the end of the Letter to the Romans St. Paul assures his readers that he will respect their established customs.  

The church community at Rome has at least some Jewish converts.  Paul himself was not part of their conversion.  It only can be speculated who evangelized them – perhaps an apostle from Jerusalem? In any case Paul will not take the credit.  Nor, he implies, do the original evangelizers have to worry that Paul will impose himself in their territory in the future.  Paul explicitly says that he is an apostle to gentiles preaching only in places where the gospel has never been heard.

We may not be comfortable with all Church customs.  For example, we may not like singing at mass or being told that we must  be married in a church.  Nevertheless, like Paul we should willingly submit to such customs.  They are designed to keep peace in the Church.  As we want to live in peace, we try to keep peace with others.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Thursday of the thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 14:7-12; Luke 15:1-10)

His family came together to celebrate his special day. They made a toast, but it was not with the usual fare.  Not wine but juice filled their cups.  They were rejoicing as their husband, father, and grandfather had been twenty-five years without a drink of alcohol.  This is the kind of celebration that the Pharisees criticize in today’s gospel.

Sinners are coming to Jesus.  They glimpse in him the arrival of the kingdom of God.  Not wanting to let their moment of opportunity pass by, they repent for their past lives.  Jesus welcomes them with open arms, and the Pharisees wonder what is going on.  They don’t see the kingdom in Jesus.  They believe that repentant sinners should be on their knees not at the dinner table.

We must take care not to act like the Pharisees.  Grousing when others known to have lived dissolutely begin to change betrays God’s grace.  We should indeed thank God to have more witnesses stand with us in testimony to the faith.

Wednesday, October 4, 2015

Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, bishop

(Romans 13:8-10; Luke 14:25-33)

St. Charles Borromeo’s mother was a d’ Medici and his uncle, a pope.  In sixteenth century Italy this might have translated into easy street.  But Charles did not pursue a life of comfort.  Even as the cardinal-archbishop of Milan, it is said that he lived an ascetic life.  Certainly he vigorously implemented the necessary reforms to keep the Church intact.  He may be seen as having taken seriously Jesus’ admonition in today’s gospel.

The passage sounds incredible to many hearers.  Can Jesus really mean what he is saying, they ask? He is telling the people that to be his disciples they must hate even their own parents.  The answer is yes and no.  Luke’s gospel translates an Aramaic expression that literally means hate but more precisely means turn away from.  Actually the expression is not different from colloquial English where people say, “I hate broccoli.”  It means that they turn away from it.  To be Jesus’ disciple then means to leave behind the prejudices that they learned at home. 

The effort sounds easier to do than it is in reality.  We like ridiculing others because it makes us feel better than they.  It is difficult to turn away from our sinfulness and turn to God for mercy.  Yet this is the first step in the walk of discipleship with Jesus.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

The Memorial of Saint Martin de Porres, religious

(Romans 12:5-16ab; Luke 14:15-24)

The iconography of St. Martin de Porres includes a broom and a rat.  It is not that Martin cleaned out rats from houses.  Rather he became a friend to them as he went about his chores.  Like his patron, St. Dominic, Martin’s love embraced all – humans and animals.  In this way Martin reflects what St. Paul teaches in today’s first reading.

The last part of the Letter to the Romans is an exhortation to readers to put into action its elevated theology.  The letter highlights God’s love for humans in Jesus Christ.  It demonstrates how Jesus died for all – Greeks as well as Jews – so that all might know God’s mercy.   Moved by this supreme demonstration of love, it commands, “…love one another with mutual affection.”

This is no easy task.  People will readily befriend a benefactor.  But they are most likely to shun someone who has done them wrong.  We must love them, however, as a way to thank God for sending us Jesus.  We do so by showing them respect and including them in our prayers.

Monday, November 2, 2015

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day)

(Wisdom 3:1-9; Romans 5:5-11; John 6:37-40)

The preacher declared, “We all go to purgatory when we die.”  Then he gave his reasoning: since no one on this earth is perfect, everyone dies in need of purification. 

On one level the preacher may be too hopeful.  Evil does exist, and some people submit to it.  We pray that no one is condemned to hell, but we must not forego the possibility.  On another level, the preacher may not be optimistic enough.  There are a few who live spectacularly holy lives and are duly accorded heaven at death.  But generally the preacher has it right.  Most people never fully give up selfishness and will need some work before daring to show their face to God.

Today we pray for the dead hoping that in time other people will pray for us.  Purgatory may not be the dreadful fire that is sometimes depicted.  We could think of it as a kind of program for substance abusers.  As cozy as some programs appear to be, participants invariably want to return to their families.  Just so, the souls in purgatory long to be with God.