Monday, June 11, 2018

Memorial of Saint Barnabas, apostle

(Acts 11:21b-26.13:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12)

There is a simple description of St. Barnabas in the Spanish Language.  He is a “santo varón”.  Literally, the term means holy man, but it implies a more uncommon virtue.  Barnabas fills the bill perfectly well.  At the beginning of Acts he generously contributes to the community.  In today’s second reading Barnabas rejoices when he encounters living faith in Antioch.  He also shows courage in searching out Paul and zeal to go forth as a missionary.  In an argument with Paul about Mark who once abandoned them, Barnabas shows a willingness to forgive.

Barnabas exemplifies the fourth of Jesus’ beatitudes in today’s gospel.  He hungers and thirsts for righteousness.  He wants to go beyond the letter of the law to embody its spirit of acting like God.  He does not hanker to be rich or famous but to always do what is right.  He would be a fine example for parents teaching their children Christian discipleship.

In truth Barnabas makes a worthy model for all of us.  When we feel a desire to take an annual cruise or buy a luxury car, Barnabas teaches us simplicity.  When we cannot find the time to visit a sick friend, Barnabas shows us how to go out of our way.  When we have trouble enduring a difficult person, Barnabas demonstrates patient love.

Friday, June 8, 2018

The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

(Hosea 11:1.3-4.8-9; Ephesians 3:8-12.14-19; John 19:31-37)

The metaphorical heart comes in different sizes, textures, and temperatures.  A big heart will generously share one’s resources.  A hard heart will spurn a plaintiff’s dire plea.  A warm heart will listen attentively to another’s problem.  Today we celebrate Jesus’ “sacred heart.”  The term is meant to convey the Savior’s immeasurable love for his people.  It is holy not because it stands apart from others.  Quite the contrary, the Sacred Heart of Jesus extends itself to everyone.  Jesus loves even those who hate him.

Today’s second reading from the Letter to the Ephesians speaks not of Jesus’ heart but our own.  However, it proposes that our hearts be nurtured in the love which emanates from his heart.  It is the love propelling Fr. Rob Galea, a popular youth leader in Australia.  Fr. Rob tells how he encountered Jesus after being entrenched in teen-age vice.  He says he confessed all the pain and anger that had moved him to sin.  Then he experienced the joy and hope of his mercy.  Now Fr. Rob sings and preaches of Jesus’ love around the world.

Fr. Rob’s experience is duplicated a million times a day, every day of the year.  It can be ours as well when we recognize the false claims of our ever-domineering will.  We have to acknowledge that we are not the center of the world.  Christ is because although completely innocent, he suffered out of love for the world.  His love has renewed our hearts so that we might glorify him by loving others.

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

(I Timothy 2:8-15; Mark 12:28-34)

“…the word of God is not chained,’” St. Paul tells his disciple Timothy in today’s first reading.  It is not chained because, first, it is an idea and not a body that can be locked down.  It also is not chained because it is liberating.  It moves people to act.  It foresees an end that is both desirable and attainable.  It promises life in the full – the absolute joy of knowing God.  Yet its vision is so threatening to some that they actually try to prohibit it.  This occurred in El Salvaor during the 1970s and 1980s.

El Salvador was experiencing severe social oppression.  Many rich families wanted to maintain their economic privilege at the expense of the poor.  Church leaders organized small faith communities among the poor s a pastoral service.  These groups reflected on the word of God together.  They dwelt upon passages articulating God’s love for the oppressed.  At the same time an armed revolution assisted by Communist governments was gathering momentum.  Both movements - the small faith communities and the revolution -- spoke of social liberation.  But their means and ends differed.   Nevertheless, the wealthy’s armed militia started to persecute poor people for possessing a Bible.  Heroes like Archbishop Saint Oscar Romero spoke out against this repression. 

We too might see the word of God as a source of liberation.  It can free us from the anxiety of not having all that others have.  It also assures us that the really important goal is eternal life.  It cannot be chained.  On the contrary, it can unchain us from useless worries and prideful ambitions.

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Wednesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

(II Timothy 1:1-3.6-12; Mark 12:18-27)

The American people have had a split mind on Lyndon B. Johnson, their thirty-sixth president.  Some have praised him for his concern for the poor.  Others have judged him as an obsessive and coercive politician.  One edifying assessment came from Joseph Califano, a former Secretary of Heath, Education, and Welfare.  Before holding that position,  Califano had served President Johnson as a domestic policy aide.  He wrote that Johnson invited him to his Texas ranch to get acquainted.  As they were touring the property, they saw a poor man waking on the side of the road.  Johnson told Califano, “See that man over there.  The difference between him and us is only this much.” Johnson was holding up his hand with the thumb and index finger only a fraction of an inch apart.  Johnson’s words and gesture echo what Paul writes in today’s first reading.

Paul is writing his disciple Timothy to give instructions on pastoral ministry.  First, however, he insists that Timothy realize the source of his call.  He says that Timothy was chosen not for any merit or by any birthright.  He might have never known the salvation of Christ.  But God called him gratuitously “according to his own design.”  Timothy needs to thank him for this gift which ultimately means eternal life.  Furthermore, like Paul he should make every effort to serve the Lord.

We do well also to recognize the wonder of being saved by Christ.  We do not really miss out on much fun.  Rather we know the peace of divine love.  Of course, we want to serve him in return.  We would not possess divine love if we did not share it with others.  Reading Paul’s advice in this letter we learn some of the basics of service.  Our preparation is filled out by attentiveness to Church leaders today.

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Memorial of Saint Boniface, bishop and martyr

(2 Peter 3:12-15a.17-18; Mark 12:13-17)

As commonly observed, we live in a fractured society and a fractured Church.  In society, the fault line touches abortion.  Should the state prohibit abortion?  Liberals think that the state has no business regulating what a woman does to her body.  Conservatives rightly see the newly formed being in the woman’s body as human.  Therefore, the state has an obligation to protect it.  In the Church the determining issue is artificial contraception within marriage.  Liberals believe that it should be permitted while conservatives see it as wrong.  Today’s gospel considers an equally divisive issue in Jesus’ day.

“’Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?’” a group of Pharisees and Herodians ask Jesus.  The Pharisees would say “definitely not” as the tax compromises a Jew’s loyalty to God.  The Herodians, on the other hand, think that such accommodation is only realistic.  That the two parties are collaborating against Jesus indicates the great animus Jesus arouses.  More interesting, however, is how Jesus deftly handles the challenge.  Rather than falling into his adversaries’ trap by answering their question, he sidesteps the issue.  He says, in effect, that each person must decide for herself what belongs to God and what belongs to Caesar. 

We would be more like Jesus if we refuse to categorize people according to a standard question.  We need to respect everyone by engaging him in dialogue.  We also should take care not to abhor others because their opinions differ from ours.  Lastly, we should try to claim as our own the positions of the Church on moral and social issues.