Friday, October 9, 2020

 Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Galatians 3:7-14; Luke 11:15-26)

There is a story about a monk named Fr. Moses.  Fr. Moses was having a particularly hard time keeping lustful thoughts at bay.  He went to the wise, old Fr. Isidore for help.  He told the elder that he could stand it no longer, that he should leave the monastery.  Fr. Isidore took him outside to see the night sky.  He told Fr. Moses to look west.  The young monk looked there and saw a great number of devils whooping it up for battle.  Then Fr. Isidore told him to look at the eastern sky.  There Fr. Moses saw a countless host of angels.  Fr. Isidore said that this was the help God sends to his holy ones to defend them from evil spirits.  It is like the strong man who overtakes the guard of the palace in Jesus’ parable today.

Jesus is repudiating the charge of his critics that he casts out a demon by invoking an evil spirit.  He implies that the charge is absurd because one evil spirit will not harm another. Jesus claims that he can cast out demons because he has the power of God which is greater than that of any demon.  But he warns that a demon can return to a person to make matters worse if he or she only makes superficial changes.  The person must undergo a radical change of life if demons are going to be kept away.

We should not doubt the possibility of having our sins forgiven, be they having to do with sex or with justice.  Nor should we doubt the possibility of committing those same sins again if we do not change our ways.  We must avoid the things that lead us into temptation and pray constantly for God’s help.

Thursday, October 8, 2020

 Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Galatians 3:1-5; Luke 11:5-13)

An old folk tale tells the story of John Henry, “a steel driving man.”  John Henry dug tunnels through mountains by hammering a rod of steel against the rock.  When his livelihood was threatened with the invention of a power drill, he challenged the makers of the drill to a contest.  Who would make a tunnel through a mountain first?  In the competition John Henry died of a broken heart.  This story relates to both readings today.

St. Paul is upset with the Galatians for adopting the Jewish law.  He tells them that it is not practicing the law which makes them just but believing in Christ.  When they seek his mercy, they become true children of God.  Then, as the gospel relates, they can ask for whatever they wish with assurance that it will be given.  The person striving for salvation with personal works is like John Henry, who, however nobly, relies on his own resources.  The person of faith, on the other hand, has the almighty power of God like the man with a power drill.

Faith in Christ is no mere lip service but a true surrendering to his ways.  It means allowing one’s self to be formed according to his model.  It is loving beyond measure without forsaking the other virtues.  It entails dying to one’s egotistical desires in order to do the Father’s will.

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

 

Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

(Galatians 2:1-2.7-14; Luke 11:1-4)

What makes a Catholic Christian?  In St. Paul’s day this question involved whether a Greek had to be circumcised like Jesus of Nazareth.  The Church authorities then decided that circumcision was not necessary but care for the poor was.  Could we say the same today about the rosary?  Do we have to say the rosary to be Catholic?

The rosary is identified with the Catholic faith.  Probably Catholics are the only Christians who use it regularly in devotion.  Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden, who is Catholic, is said to carry a rosary in his pocket. Besides the Mass Catholics are more likely to recite the rosary when they gather than use any other prayer form.  Its focus on a sequential part of Christ’s life, its brevity, and its physicality all contribute to its popularity.

Our Blessed Mother is usually associated with the rosary.  The mental reflections prescribed for each decade of the rosary consider her second to Jesus. Indeed, the decade itself is the recitation of a prayer to her repeated ten times.  There are also legends of her exhorting the praying of the rosary.  Although praying the rosary is not essential to being Catholic, honoring Mary is.  And she is especially honored precisely in saying the rosary.

Tuesday, October 6, 2020

 Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Galatians 1:13-24; Luke 10:38-42)

As much as some people look for God, often enough it is God who finds them.  Both readings today testify to God making a call on people.  In the first reading St. Paul tells the Galatians how he was persecuting Christians when Christ paid him a visit.  The account of Christ’s appearance is the most authentic available.  It is the personal testimony of someone who saw the risen Lord.    Unfortunately, Paul does not elaborate beyond saying that Jesus was revealed to him so that he might proclaim him to the Gentiles.

In the gospel Jesus stops at Martha and Mary’s house for a visit.  They are evidently his friends as Martha does not mind complaining to him.  Indeed, they seem to be such good friends that Jesus can correct Martha’s attitude without ingratiating himself first.  Meanwhile, Mary knows that when the Lord comes, people should drop everything to listen.  No matter that dinner is on the stove or that the dryer buzzer has just rung.  He deserves complete attention.

Jesus comes to us especially in the Eucharist.  But he also arrives throughout the day at unexpected moments.  He may say something important to us through the friendly mail deliverer.  Or perhaps when we face a setback, he will speak to us if we offer a prayer instead of a curse.  He is always around and will make himself apparent if we open ourselves to him.

Monday, October 5, 2020

 

Monday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

 (Galatians 1:6-12; Luke 10:25-37)

 Most people, when they have something hard to say to another, will try to ingratiate themselves first.  If you have to tell an employee that his work could be better, you might start by complimenting him for showing up on time.  But Paul in his letter to the Galatians wastes no time for niceties.  Right after his salutation, he delivers his first salvo of criticism.  This is where today’s reading begins: “I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking the one who called you…”

Paul has been informed of a serious aberration in the faith of the Galatians.  He preached salvation through faith in Jesus and imitation of his love.  Since he left them, however, other preachers have convinced the Galatians of the need to observe Jewish law in order to follow Christ.  After all – the preachers would say – Jesus was a Jew.  In his letter Paul assures the Galatians that trying to abide by the Jewish law would only entangle them in a morass of regulations.  He tells them that they must either accept Judaism or accept Jesus.

We may wonder if the Catholic Church has become somewhat like Judaism with its many laws.  We see Protestant communities boasting, “All are welcome,” and question whether the Church is exclusivist by not offering the Eucharist to all who wish to partake of it.  But such questions are simplistic.  The Church would rejoice if people would commit themselves to her through Baptism and Confirmation.  She would gladly give Communion to anyone who repents of their sins to follow Christ.  The regulations it maintains are only to keep repentant sinners -- as all of us are -- centered on Christ’s love.