Thursday, November 5, 2020

 

Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(Philippians 3:3-8a; Luke 15:1-10)

Joe Fitzgerald played handball at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He had trained hard – seven days a week, twice a day except Sunday -- and became proficient.  He also quarterbacked his college football team.  He is handsome and evidently articulate.  Yet, like St. Paul writes in his Letter to the Philippians, despite these promising professional attributes, he decided to follow Christ. 

Paul is not ashamed to boast about his Jewish background.  He mentions his tribe, his observance, even his zeal in pursuing rivals of Judaism.  Then an encounter with Christ turned his life on end. Joe Fitzgerald mentioned in an interview that he had been living in a way that was not pleasing to God.  Knowing that being lukewarm was not an option, he decided to enter the seminary. At the time of the interview, years after he was ordained, he said he was “very happy” as a priest.  Paul is even more upbeat.  He writes that he considers every trait and accomplishment as a loss in comparison to knowing Christ Jesus.

We too know him.  Perhaps we do not experience Paul’s euphoria because we listen to him with our ears waxed and our vision filtered.  We may spend too much time following the news and not enough attending to the gospel.  There he repeatedly tells us how much he loves us.  He tells us today that he would risk everything to find us.  There is no reason to be disturbed by news reports if we just trust in him.

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

 Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, bishop

(Philippians 2:12-28; Luke 14:25-33)

When Jesus says that people must hate their parents in order to follow him, his command must be contextualized.  The Aramaic language, which he spoke, uses “hate” as a way of saying “not love as much.”  In other words, Jesus is telling his disciples that they must love him more than their parents.  Today’s patron, Charles Borromeo, understood what Jesus meant.  He came from some of the most prominent families in Italy.  Yet when his father, Count Borromeo died, Charles declined the headship of his family.  He became a priest and was soon made bishop of Milan.

As a young bishop, Borromeo faced the challenge of the bubonic plague of 1576.  Rather than leave Milan with the city officials, he stayed behind to organize his clergy and religious in the relief effort.  He also personally administered to the sick.   Like bishops have done in the pandemic this year, Charles made the difficult decision to close churches to avoid spread of the disease.

In order to follow Jesus, we must not hate anybody.  On the contrary, we must love all – even those with whom we feel uncomfortable.  This can be a difficult task as is accepting people with different ideas about the danger of Covid.  It helps to talk with the people and to pray for them.  While we are at it, we might ask God to make us closer followers of Jesus.

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

 (Optional) Memorial of Saint Martin de Porres, religious

(Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 14:15-24)

Today, both the Feast of St. Martin de Porres and Election Day, we wonder if there is something in common between the two.  Does the life of St. Martin inform us of how to vote?  What would St. Martin make of the candidates now running for office? 

In one sense Martin de Porres had nothing to do with politics.  By necessity, he was apolitical. As an African American in a society ruled by Spanish colonists, he would not be considered eligible to hold a public office or, as much as there were elections, to vote.  Yet he might have made an excellent public servant because he cared so much about people.  He treated everyone well but gave particular attention to the needy.  He probably would have found candidates who took time to talk with common people as most worthy of public office.

But in the end, Martin would probably not have given much attention to elections, much less lived and died over them.  He spent long hours in prayer because he knew that God is in control of creation.  Instinctively, he would have realized that legislators have limited capacity to effect positive change. He would have prayed, “Thy kingdom come,” and then worked to make that happen. He knew that it was his role, as it is for most of us, is to help others with kinds words and charitable deeds. 

Monday, November 2, 2020

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day)

(Wisdom 3:1-9; Romans 5:5-11; John 6:37-40)

Life for us who know Christ may be thought of as a pilgrimage.  We are destined for the sanctuary where our Lord abides. On the way we meet many other pilgrims whose company we enjoy for a while.  Then they depart from us into the night that surrounds the pilgrimage.  We will meet other fellow-travelers with whom we also pray and sing until finally it is our turn to depart from the pilgrimage.

Where do the pilgrims who drop out of the procession go?  Do they find a shortcut to the sanctuary at the pilgrimage’s end?  Or are they lost in oblivion? Some of these possessed virtues that shined like torches to light their way.  Others, to the contrary, had hidden faults that caused them to stumble.  They were too quickly embittered with life’s vicissitudes.  Or they gave into the temptations of the flesh. 

It is for these departed pilgrims, whom we will someday join, that we pray today.  We ask God to forgive them their transgressions so that they may reach the journey’s end.  We also pray for newcomers to  the pilgrimage.  We want them to be faithful and perhaps to pray for us when we depart into the night. 

Sunday, November 1, 2020

 THE SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS, November 1, 2020

(Revelation 7: 2-4.9-14; I John 3: 1-3; Matthew 5: 1-12)

Twelve years ago, an American writer published an essay about his relative, an Italian priest. The author was almost ecstatic that his grandfather's cousin was named as a saint of the Church. He said that knowing that his cousin was a saint has made him a better man. He credited Pope St. John Paul II with facilitating the canonization of many saints like his cousin. In fact, this pope canonized more people as saints than all of his predecessors combined.

Saint John Paul II believed that the people need saints as models for their lives. He recognized how the Second Vatican Council called all the faithful of the church to holiness. Therefore, he exhorted people not to think of the saints as "unusual heroes" of holiness. He said that there are many paths to holiness so that every person can achieve it.

On today’s feast we celebrate all the men and women who have passed through these roads at the same time accessible and not much taken. We take into account canonized saints like Saint Gaetano Catanoso, the Italian priest and cousin of the American author. We also remember Saints Louis and Zelie Martin, a French couple and parents of Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus. Although they are canonized, we may not find their names on our parish calendars.

We also celebrate today many saints that Rome not even knows. They are the people who have walked their paths to holiness in relative obscurity. Possibly all of us have known at least one person who if he was not helping others, was praying for them. He may be the man who stopped by the parish every day to do the maintenance without asking for anything in return. He was such a trustworthy person that everyone from the pastor to the newest parishioners saw him as a friend. Or it may be the judge who comes to the noon mass from his courtroom in which he is known as a wise and just arbiter.

The Beatitudes trace eight paths to holiness. They all have the undertone of humility. The saint does not insist on having his way but always submits to the will of God. The poor in spirit do not seek wealth or fame but look to God as their reward. Those who hunger and thirst for justice do not plot to obtain their well-being but rather strive to do what God expects of them. The pure in heart have no other motive other than the desire to do God's will. To be holy is to leave the race to be admired by others in order to give glory to God through acts of love.

We like to see children in costumes on Halloween, the vigil of All Saints' Day. Some wear the clothes of a queen. Others dress like cowboys or Goldilocks. The lazy appear may come as hobos. That’s all right too. All these characters and many others besides are welcomed among the saints as long as they submit to the will of God. Saints are those who have submitted to God’s will.