Friday, November 3, 2017

(Optional) Memorial of Saint Martin de Porres, religious

(Romans 9:1-5; Luke 14:1-6)

St. Martin de Porres has been named the patron saint of interracial justice.  He was the son of a Spanish father and a Panamanian (African) mother in Lima, Peru.  He knew racial prejudice growing up.  As a child, he felt called to be a Dominican friar, but he was not permitted to join the order.  Because he had African parentage, it was not supposedly possible for him to become a religious.  He did not abandon his vocation but offered himself as a servant for the local Dominican monastery.  Faithfully serving the friars in menial tasks, he was put in charge of distributing the community’s alms to the poor.  In time he was allowed to take the one vow of obedience which all Dominicans make.  He cared for Lima’s sick with his knowledge of herbal medicine and was known as a friend to all kinds of animals.

Martin not only reconciled peoples of different backgrounds but also various kinds of animals.  He tore down walls of hateful discrimination by showing love and patience to everyone.  Like him people of African descent in American society have waited patiently for equal treatment.  Yes, some have demonstrated openly their disgust with being treated with suspicion and contempt.  And there is a disproportionate amount of social pathology in African-American communities. But most of the people there work hard and deserve to be duly respected. 

In today’s first reading St. Paul writes of the Jews as his “own people.”  Becoming a Christian, he did not forsake identifying himself with his nationality.  Likewise, we need not imagine a color-blind American society.  African-Americans have a culture and a tradition that have helpfully contributed to American life.  They should not be considered inferior but should enjoy equal dignity with citizens from other backgrounds.

Thursday, November 2, 2017

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

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

At the funeral mass of a man who committed suicide someone made a curious testimony.  He said that the deceased lived a good life and was surely enjoying eternal rest.  For ample reason the Church no longer denies Christian burial in case of a suicide.  But it is presumptuous to claim that one who takes his or her life is with God.  The best that can be done is to hope that the person was not fully aware of what was being done or repented before life drained away.

Many of us may find ourselves in a similar condition someday.  Hopefully we will never attempt taking our own lives.  Nevertheless, our integrity has been compromised by the bad choices we have made.  We choose to hang onto to grudges rather than to forgive.  We have robbed people of their good name if not their purses without making amends.  We continually put ourselves first with hardly a thought for the suffering.  Surely these sins have led us away from Jesus.

As we pray for the souls of all today, we rightly assume that others one day will pray for us.  We pray that despite their sins they have come to know Jesus.  We pray that he will not reject them however great their sins may be.  At the same time we utter a prayer for ourselves as well: that we recognize the sins that we have committed, have made reparation as far as possible, and that God will be merciful to us as well as others.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Solemnity of All Saints

(Revelation 7:2-4.9-14; I John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12a)

Mr. Blue is the story of a saint.  The main character was never canonized and, in truth, existed in the author’s, Myles Connolly’s, mind.  But there probably was a model on which the story was based.  In any case, Mr. Blue reminds readers of people in their lives who practiced all the virtues, especially faith and love.  These men and women may never have been recognized universally as saints in part because one of the virtues they cherished was humility.  In today’s Feast of All Saints the Church honors all such people.

They are indeed many.  The first reading from the Book of Revelation describes them as “a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.”  It is said that since the beginning of humanity there have lived one hundred billion human beings.  The really good ones make up that “great multitude.”  The criteria for counting them as saints come from today’s gospel. Saints are “poor in spirit,” “hunger and thirst for righteousness,” and strive to be “peacemakers.”  In short, they are always ready to sacrifice themselves for God’s sake.

We praise holy women and men not just by recalling them today but by imitating their virtue every day.  We pray for the realization of grace that assists the poor with their needs, speaks humbly and truthfully at all times, and fulfills all responsibilities to society.  Doing so will include us among the number who are praised today.

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

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

The car window opened, and an object flew out – perhaps a plastic cup – littering the road.  It was a small act of defiance of both law and public decency indicative of a careless person.  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! 

Yet litter is hardly the biggest environmental problem.  Other worries far outsize trash on roads.  The way humans consume fossil fuels causes pollution that likely contributes to global warming.  Their cutting down rain forests results in the destruction of animal habitats which, in turn, causes land to dry up.  St. Paul describes the situation well in today’s first reading.  Creation groans in anticipation of a redeemed humanity so that the environment may be saved.

Paul is far from being desperate about the situation.  He perceives creation already being liberated by the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit is changing our hearts to value the environment as a common patrimony.  Good people have begun to cooperate in protecting natural resources.  We want future generations to know the wonder of otters, octopuses, and owls.

Monday, October 30, 2017

Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 8:12-17; Luke 13:10-17)

An article in the October edition of First Things offers a perspective for reading today’s gospel.  Entitled “Empathy is not Charity,” the article criticizes the contemporary urgency to feel the pain of the suffering.  Such empathy often enough leads to actions that undermine truth and justice.  It may cause, for example, one to counsel a woman with a problem pregnancy to have an abortion.  Charity will move us to help the woman bear the child with all necessary support.

Jesus shows like concern for the woman who has been crippled for eighteen years.  He does not feel her pain but removes it.  Of course, the synagogue leader accuses him of working on the Sabbath which in Deuteronomy celebrates God’s gift of liberation from slavery.  But Jesus knows that he has not infringed any Sabbath rule.  Rather he has liberated the woman from oppression – an action quite in synch with the Sabbath.

We should not say that it is wrong to empathize with others.  Often trying to feel the pain of another gives us a true understanding of the situation that we face.  But we must realize that charity – the purest form of love – is not primarily taking away the other’s pain.  It is a matter of doing what is best for the one suffering as well as for everyone else.