Monday, December 3, 2018

Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, priest

(Isaiah 2:1-5; Matthew 8:5-11)

Can only a Christian be saved?  Evidently St. Francis Xavier thought so. In a letter from India he wrote that many natives wanted to become Christians but there was no one to baptize them.  He said that he wished to go to the universities of Europe yelling to the students that their keenness on studies has resulted in many people being consigned to hell.  But is Baptism necessary for salvation?

The gospel passage indicates otherwise.  Jesus is amazed at the centurion’s faith in God.  He implies that there will be many like him coming from faraway places to take a seat at the heavenly table.  Although he does not say explicitly that these people are not his followers, he does leave this impression.  The centurion shows himself worthy a member of the Kingdom of God as much by his concern for a servant as by his deference to Jesus.

During Advent we express our hope for Jesus’ return as much by acts of mercy as by praying about the Advent wreath.  Our efforts on behalf of others imply faith in Jesus’ teaching that what we do to the least of humans, we do to him.  At the same time we show a relationship of care to the needy which suggests a common Father in God.  Francis Xavier had a point about the need for missionaries to teach about God’s love and Jesus’ sacrifice.  However, the Holy Spirit works in many ways. 

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Revelation 22:1-7; Luke 21:34-36)

The words discipline and disciple have the same Latin root discere which means to learn.  But this learning is not so much an intellectual exercise as it is a moral training.  Disciples learn a moral lesson by following a rigorous rule.  Today’s gospel conveys part of the rule while the first reading describes the disciple’s reward.

In the gospel Jesus exhorts his disciples not to become lax in the pursuit of virtue.  They are to watch out that they do not fall into either physical or moral addictions.  Physical addictions would be alcohol, drugs, or sex.  Moral addictions would be power, greed, or pride.  All of these corrupt the spirit so that the person cannot inhabit the city of God described in the reading from Revelation.  There, like a luxurious retirement community, the people live in health and joy.

Today as the last leaves fall from the trees (in northern climes), we have occasion to consider the fleetingness of life.  Most of us ran fast in our youth and exhibited soft skin and vigorous hair.  Hopefully we learned moral discipline then.  But if we didn’t, the Lord calls us today to change our ways.  More precisely perhaps he is calling us to himself in his heavenly city.

Friday, November 30, 2018

Feast of Saint Andrew, apostle

(Romans 10:9-18; Matthew 4:18-22)

Unlike other teachers of his time Jesus called a group of disciples to him.  Other teachers waited for men to come and study Torah with them, but Jesus is pro-active.  As we hear in the first reading and see in the gospel, Jesus searches out followers.  Peter and Andrew are the first of many disciples from whom Jesus will select twelve for a special mission.

Jesus is responding to the call of God to inaugurate the kingdom in the world.  It is to be a rule of justice where goodness is blessed and evil rooted out.  The new order takes effect as Jesus heals the sick, casts out evil demons, and preaches the will of God.  Andrew, Peter, and the other apostles will assume these ministries when Jesus leaves.  They will receive the Holy Spirit to spread God’s kingdom of justice and love throughout the world.

We may not have been called to be apostles, but all of us are Jesus’ disciples.  We study the Christian Torah, actually the whole Bible, with emphasis on Jesus in the gospels.  We are also sent out to the world to give witness to God’s kingdom.  By living righteously, by praying continuously, and by treating others with love, we fortify the kingdom’s foundations.

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Revelation 18:1-2.21-23.19:1-3a.9; Luke 21:20-28)

The other day a man entered a religious goods store and committed horrible crimes.  He sexually violated two women and killed one of them.  The barbarism resembles the happenings which Jesus foresees in today’s gospel.  He says that lawlessness and destruction will take place everywhere at the end of time.

In all likelihood the evangelist Luke embellished the prediction of Jesus with accounts of actual events.  Just before he wrote his gospel Roman troops decimated Jerusalem.  They not only destroyed the Temple beyond hope of rebuilding but evidently ravaged the people.  Such marauding is typical of foreign soldiers sent to punish a nation.  It is no wonder then that the first reading describes God’s the downfall of Rome in such graphic terms.  “Babylon” is code word for Rome since both were associated with extravagant hedonism.  According to the reading, Rome is completely devastated.  It is as if an earthquake swallowed up the city.

Both Luke and the author of Revelation mean to encourage Christians to live righteous lives.  They see Jesus as coming to save his people when the situation becomes most desperate.  He will recognize them by their courage to stand erect in hope of being rescued.  The righteousness and courage which the Scriptures bespeak include efforts to build a society of justice.  We will not be able to eliminate all crime and misfortune in the world.  But guided by the gospel and with the help of the Holy Spirit we can approximate the peace of the Kingdom of God.

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Revelation 15:1-4; Luke 21:12-19)

Both readings today proclaim the ultimate triumph of Christians who persevere.  The first reading pictures Christian soldiers making music over the ash heap of their impious foes.  The gospel passage ends with Jesus’ assuring those who remain faithful that their lives will be secured.  Such an overwhelming victory is hardly what we experience in everyday life.

A news report today focused on the war in Yemen.  Unknown to many Americans, the war is taking a costly toll on children.  According to the report, 85,000 children under five years of age have died of starvation and related disease in the middle eastern country.  Such evil occurs all too frequently in our world.  Yet we run across goodness as well all the time.  Groups of Catholics and oth4r people of good will are accompanying immigrants to hearings to assure their fair treatment. We seem to endlessly live in that wheat field where the enemy has sown weeds.  We may count on good and bad coexisting until the end of time.

This dualism reflects the struggle going on in our hearts.  We feel the urge to act sinfully.  Perhaps we want to tell an egregious lie to spite someone we don’t like.  Or maybe we dream of abandoning our families for a more adventurous lifestyle.  With God’s reliable grace we will be able to overcome these wicked impulses.  More significantly, with the same we will be able to love God and neighbor continuously.  This love will assure us a place in the symphony making music over our sins.