Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Memorial of St. Leo the Great, pope

(Wisdom 2:23-3:9; Luke 17:7-10)

The Book of Wisdom was probably composed in the century before Christ in Alexandria, Egypt.  In some ways the Jews in that context were dealing with the same challenges Christians face today.  Individualism was on the rise along with skepticism and general dissatisfaction concerning traditional beliefs.  Formerly religious people were turning to paganism and secular philosophy in order to avoid persecution.  The author of Wisdom searched ancient texts for remedies to these challenges.  He maintained that by living according to the Law, Jews could be assured of the soul’s immortal life.

This sounds like Christianity's message, but there is a critical difference.  Jesus promises much more than the eternal existence of the soul.  His resurrection from the dead offers followers the prospect of glorified bodies.  They are to enjoy again the wonders of physical creation without, of course, the problems that corporality inevitably bears in its current mode.

Today the Church remembers one of its wisest leaders.  St. Leo the Great was instrumental in resolving the conundrum of how Christ could be both God and human.  Equally impressive, he negotiated with a warring Attila the Hun who subsequently withdrew his forces.

Monday, November 9, 2015

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

(Ezekiel 47:1-2.8-9.12; I Corinthians 3:9c-11.16-17; John 2:13-22)

Today’s feast celebrates the dedication of the Lateran Basilica.  Many wonder, what is so great about that?  It is one of the four magnificent churches in Rome and the locale of five general councils of the Church, the most important one being the fourth in 1215.   That council called for bishops to appoint preachers and to support them in their work.  The mandate paved the way for the establishment of the Dominican Order a year later.

More importantly, the Lateran Cathedral is the church of the bishop of Rome, the Vicar of Christ.  As such, it serves as the symbol of all Christian churches.  In other words, today we raise up for consideration all the churches in the world.  A church is the preferred meeting place of the human person with God.  As we enter a church, we make a blessing with holy water.  This is a way of cleansing ourselves from the mess we sometimes make in the world so that we may communicate with God.

The deepest meaning for a church is actually Christ himself.  The church is the body of Christ as Jesus implies in today’s gospel.  Here we feel his warm embrace.  For this reason a church has been considered as a sanctuary where sinners and even criminals might find refuge.  Today we celebrate not so much a building but Jesus Christ.  We give God thanks for the love Christ has shown us and for the peace he imparts to us.

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.