Tuesday, September 15, 2020

 Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

(I Corinthians 12:12-14.27-31a; John 19:25-27)

A German writer went to Egypt to find out more about the twenty-one Coptic martyrs a few years ago.  The men were slain by Muslim extremists for their adherence to belief in Christ.  The writer discovered that the mothers of the young men were not grief stricken, at least at the time of his visit.  They were mostly joyful and proud that their sons gave their lives for Christ.  Mary in today’s gospel has this air as well.

Mary, like everyone else in John’s gospel, accompanies Jesus to the cross.  There Jesus pronounces her mother of his beloved disciple.  It is not necessarily a singular responsibility.  In becoming the mother of the unnamed disciple, Mary becomes the mother of all Jesus’ beloved disciples.  Like the mothers of the Coptic martyrs, Mary would feel proud and joyful.  She now has an intimate relationship with the multitude of Christians through the ages.

We do not mean to say that Mary is not at the same time sorrowful.  No doubt her heart is heavy to see her son executed.  But from the beginning of the gospel she is a woman of faith.  She knows that Jesus’ horrific death will turn into unimaginable glory. We likewise believe that, because of Jesus’ sacrifice, our dying to self leads to eternal life.

Monday, September 14, 2020

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

(Numbers 21:4b-9; Philippians 2:6-11; John 3:13-17)

Some see in the figure of a cross the hope of transcendence.  A horizontal line signifies a never-changing end of life.  Things may improve from one generation to the next, but everyone is terminal.  The cross, however, has a vertical component breaking through the relentless movement toward death.  This pole promises glory beyond the struggles of the world. Paul expresses this work in the passage from Philippians.  Because Christ accepted death on a cross, God raised him to glory.

Early Christians especially saw the cross as a sign of contradiction.  To them the cross represented Rome’s cruelest form of execution.  It meant torture and death.  Yet Christ, by dying on a cross and then rising from the dead, turned the cross into an instrument of life.  Today’s first reading reveals the cross as a sign of contradiction.  The Israelites having been bitten by serpents were dying from infection.  But  when they looked on the serpents mounted on the pole, they were cured of the snakes’ venom.  

Today’s gospel expresses still another Christian view of the cross.  The cross becomes the sign of God’s love for us.  When Jesus tells of the Son of Man being lifted up, he is speaking of both his crucifixion and his resurrection.  When we look upon him as our savior, we avail ourselves of God’s love that enfolds us into eternal life.

Friday, September 11, 2020

 Friday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(I Corinthians 9:16-19; Luke 6:39-42)

 Alexander Pope was an English, Catholic poet of the eighteenth century.  The lines of his poetry usually form rhyming couplets that are easy to remember.  Perhaps his most famous lines relate to today’s gospel.  Pope writes:

A little learning is a dangerous thing;

Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:

 

Disciples, Jesus says, must learn well or they will be blind guides who lead their followers to ruin.  He is insisting that they must listen carefully to what he teaches.  They can ask questions. But the purpose of their questioning should be to understand and not to refute. 

We must do so as well.  We live in a time of, what philosophers call, “deconstructionism.”  People, finding problems in the way thing are, want to tear down working structures.  Even Christianity is found hopelessly wanting.  That is like putting a log in your eye.  We should critique society with the gospel in hand.  But we must keep in mind that the gospel has been interpreted in various ways at different junctures of history.  We must endeavor to seek its truth and apply it to our times.  The gospel puts us in touch with our friend and Lord.  He is like a compass that keeps us on course in an often-tempestuous world.

Thursday, September 10, 2020

 

Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(I Corinthians 8:1b-7.11-13; Luke 6: 27-38)

St. Paul does not use the word scandal in today’s first reading, but he talks about it.  When one says or does something to cause another to sin, that person is giving scandal.  Paul exhorts the Corinthians to avoid scandal by not taking food that has been offered to pagan gods.  Although the gods do not exist, he knows that some believe that food is contaminated when offered to them.  These people will be scandalized by seeing another Christian eat it and may eat it themselves.  They will sin because their scrupulous consciences will tell them that it is wrong to eat offerings to god.

Scandal is a difficult torrent to maneuver around.  People can be scrupulous about the slightest thing.  Some think drinking coffee at Starbucks, whose founder has contributed to Planned Parenthood, is sinful.  Some moralists have tried to rationalize scandal by distinguishing between “scandal given” and “scandal taken.”  The former is doing something truly wrong, for example, attending an “all-girl revue” at a men’s club.  The latter is considered a problem of scrupulosity on the part of the viewer.  But this distinction conflicts with what Paul is saying.

We should heed Paul’s advice and not say or do something that will be taken as sinful among the people present.  If scrupulosity is the problem, we might explain how what we are doing is not sinful.  What is essential is that we follow Jesus’ gospel command to love everyone by doing what is good.  He has loved us by sacrificing everything for us.  We can sacrifice something for the sake of our sisters and brothers in him.

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

 Memorial of Saint Peter Claver, priest

(I Corinthians 7:25-31; Luke 6:20-26)

As Jesus says to his disciples in today’s gospel, St. Peter Claver no doubt said to African slaves, “’Blessed are you poor…’”  The slaves may have wondered if he were ridiculing them.  But they would have been convinced when Peter not only preached to the slaves, he helped them.  He gave them food and medicine and defended them from their slave masters.  They were blessed by Peter’s selfless work on their behalf.

The beatitudes in Luke’s gospel are fewer and more focused than those in Matthew’s.  Jesus speaks exclusively to those who are suffering – the poor, the weeping, the hungry, and the persecuted.  They are blessed because he, the Lord, has arrived to assist them.  His companionship is more valuable than gold.  His love will turn their tears into laughter.  And he will feed them with food that gives eternal life.

In these days of racial tension, we need to look to Peter Claver for inspiration and intercession.  As he descended into the holds of ships to care for sick slaves, let us go out to persons of different races, creeds, and backgrounds.  As a Jesuit, Peter Claver belonged to the Company of Jesus.  Surely, he will beseech his companion to help us help others if we ask him.