Tuesday, November 20, 2019

Tuesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(II Maccabees 6:18-31; Luke 19:1-10)

We look to the aged for prudence.  Experience has taught them not to delay something which must be done and to work diligently.  We also expect faithfulness in our elders.  They have learned the value of keeping commitments over the long haul.  Generosity is another virtue associated with the silver years.  Seniors have come to realize that giving has never made anyone poor.  Today’s first reading celebrates old age with the story of Eleazar, a virtuous Jew.

Eleazar refuses to eat pork to save his life.  He does not care that he will be tortured, much less that his das are ended.  What matters to him is keeping faith in God who created him.  Even when he is offered a ploy to avoid execution, he refuses.  Eleazar understands that being part of a people makes one responsible for others.  In this case he does not want to create scandal by giving bad example.  He is particularly conscious of the young who might be led astray.  They need to learn the nobility of the nation’s traditions.

We live in an age of individualism.  People care mostly about themselves and the circle immediately around them.  Too often the elderly lack a sense of intergenerational responsibility.  We need them to act like heroes as Eleazar does.  We need them to show us how not to live only for ourselves but for others.  We need them to assure us that God’s ways will lead to glory.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Memorial of Saint Frances Cabrini, virgin

(Wisdom 6:1-11; Luke 17:11-19)

We should not be dismayed by the mindlessness of the nine in today’s gospel who do not return to give thanks.  Many of us act in the same way.  We are often blessed but quickly forget the Lord, the source of all goodness.  We may even attribute our blessing to luck or to some personal quality.  We should emulate the man who seeks to pay homage Jesus in gratitude.

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini returned to the Lord after receiving his blessing.  She was at one point so frail that the sisters who educated her refused her petition to join them.  Yet she persisted in serving the Lord.  Gathering a group of women around her, she fulfilled her childhood hope of becoming a missionary.  Mother Cabrini, as she was called, established sixty-seven orphanages, schools, and hospitals.  She worked largely as an Italian immigrant with other immigrants in the United States.  Yet her dynamism did not stop at U.S. shores.  She extended her reach to South America and back to Europe. 

Gratitude becomes a person.  It bespeaks humility that enables him or her to keep self-deceiving pride at bay.  Recognizing the connectedness of society, gratitude further impels one to assist others.  It is not surprising then to see the Lord blessing the grateful cured leper with salvation.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Memorial of Saint Josaphat, bishop and martyr

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

Of all the evangelists St. Luke takes the prize for compassion.  His description of Jesus features this great virtue.  Only Luke quotes Jesus assuring Peter of his prayers when he predicts his denial.  Likewise, only Luke makes an excuse for his disciples sleeping while he is in agony in the garden.  He says that the disciples were “sleeping from grief.”  Only Luke will show Jesus healing the shorn ear of the servant.  So why does Jesus in today’s gospel imply that his disciples are not doing anything commendable when work overtime?

To understand Jesus’ intention one must note the context of the statement.  Jesus has just forbidden his disciples from giving scandal and mandating them to forgive.  When the disciples request more faith to carry out these commands, Jesus assures they already have enough faith.  Indeed, he says, even a little faith can move trees.  He implies that instead of needing added help, they must strengthen their resolve.

Today’s patron saint, Josaphat, exemplifies the kind of determination that Jesus has in mind here. He was a monk and later bishop of the Ruthenian (Eastern European) Catholic rite.  Through intensive apostolic effort, Josaphat was able to bring Orthodox Ruthenians into the Catholic fold.  He was martyred, however, by a mob of pro-Orthodox people resentful of his work.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Memorial of St. Martin of Tours, bishop

(Wisdom 1:1-7; Luke 17:1-6)

St. Martin of Tours captured the hearts of the people much like St. Francis many centuries later.  As a youth, Martin soldiered but resigned his commission rather than serve the heretical emperor.  He said at the time, “I am the soldier of Christ: it is not lawful for me to fight."  Martin became a monk and then a missionary. One day he was called to visit a sick person in the city of Tours. He was taken to a church where people were waiting to make him bishop.  As bishop, Martin upheld Church doctrine but also defended rights of heretics.  His tolerance alienated him from the Roman emperor.  Martin is most remembered as the man who shared his cloak with a beggar.

The first reading today is taken from the Book of Wisdom.  The work in part instructs rulers to be just and prudent in their judgments.  Martin of Tours could serve as a model of its teachings.  “…think of the Lord in goodness,” it reads, “and seek him in integrity of heart.” Martin lived for the Lord.  He was true to God’s way of compassion.  He did not seek punishment as an end but reconciliation.

All of us have at least some authority.  We may be parents or supervisors.  If nothing else, we make decisions about how to spend leisure time.  We should strive to imitate St. Martin – faithful, diligent, and caring. 

Friday, November 8, 2019

Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 15:14-21; Luke 16:1-8)

A group of pastors was discussing a gospel passage much like the one we read today.  The ministers were taken aback by the implication that people should act out of self-interest.  Is an action worthy, the ministers seemed to ask themselves, if one gains personal benefit from it?

The ministers were questioning from the perspective of an imminent Lutheran bishop, Anders Nygren.  Intolerant of self-love, Nygren drove a wedge between it and divine love.  He termed acquisitive, human love eros and selfless, divine love agape.  According to Nygren, human love is always unworthy of those redeemed by Christ.  He would see such an act as indicative of fallen human nature.

But Nygren’s thesis does not adequately account for how humans are created.  We are people with real needs.  Beyond physical necessities we need support and assurance.  Having a destiny beyond the troubles of earthly life, we work for this end.  This means that we strive for perfection out of a desire for eternal life.  Jesus’ parable tells of a man who takes risks so that he may not suffer in the future.  In like manner we love the poor, God’s special concern.  We do not want to lose the eternal life which Christ promises us.