Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, priest and doctor of the Church

(I Kings 18:41-46; Matthew 5:20-26)

 “How long will you straddle the issue?” Elijah asks the people of Israel.  He is challenging them to choose between the Lord God and Baal.  The former is credited with liberating Israel’s ancestors from servitude.  Baal is associated with fertility.  He is thought to produce rain for the people’s crops.  The people must decide now to whom they will give allegiance.

First, however, they should take note how the Lord is active in their lives every day.  He has provided the Law to guide them to justice.  He also has responded to their pleas on numerous occasions. He does so in today’s passage.  Elijah calls out to the Lord in need.  Once again, the Lord acts with mercy and power.

People today continue to straddle the same issue.  They know of Jesus Christ who has given them a more perfect Law.  With him they can freely, even joyfully live in righteousness.  They also know of humanly made gods with far-reaching influence.  Technology which enthralls as well as makes living easier is the best example.  People worship it, in a sense, by pursuing constantly new inventions. Which one will we choose?  Christ who works from within enabling us to love unselfishly or the world of endless fascination.  We cannot straddle the issue forever.

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

(I Kings 17:7-16; Matthew 5:13-16)

According to social philosopher David Brooks people like to think of themselves as good.  Yet they find themselves, as always, giving in to selfishness and other vices.  How do they live with the contradiction?  They mix and match trying to keep themselves on the positive side of the moral ledger.  For example, they may cheat on their income tax by saying that everybody does it.  At the same time they may give fifty dollars to the Peter’s Pence collection.  Such moral calculus hardly approaches what Jesus has in mind in the gospel today.

Jesus wants his disciples to be perfect.  They are to give good example and, indeed, attract others by their moral rectitude.  In fact, they are to live in such exemplary ways that their neighbors will thank God for having them in their midst. 

We should never justify immoral acts by saying that everyone does them.  The statement is false and in any case does not live up to Jesus’ expectations.  Some moralists criticize using as a guide to good behavior, “What would Jesus do?”  Perhaps it is difficult to extrapolate Jesus’ actions to modern society.  But we can certainly ask, “What does Jesus want us to do?”  We hear him telling us in the gospel today to act as a model for everyone to follow.

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.