Wednesday, September 7, 2022

 Wednesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

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

In his famous inaugural address John Kennedy spoke of a new generation taking responsibility for the world.  He outlined the challenges facing the leaders, especially controlling the power of nuclear arms and alleviating the burdens on the poor. He also mentioned what virtues were in order – justice and courage.  Both today’s first reading and gospel likewise herald a new epoch.  They declare that the old order of sin is ending and a disposition of peace and justice is in the wings. 

 St. Paul writes that the end is so near that there is no need to marry and raise a family.  Rather he suggests that everyone dedicate themselves to preparing for the Lord’s return.  In the gospel Jesus declares that the poor need not weep and the hungry need not worry for the Kingdom of God has arrived and is theirs to enjoy.

 We should ask ourselves what happened to these promises.  Has the Kingdom come or not?  Is it still wiser not to marry?  The answer may be more complicated than we would like.  Yes, the Kingdom has come, at least in part.  Those, like St. Teresa of Kolkata, who feel urged to work for its full implementation should not marry and have a family.  But the end is not likely going to be tomorrow or next year or even in this century.  Realization of this likelihood should not disappoint us.  Quite the contrary, we should be redoubling our efforts to make the Kingdom happen.  In doing so, we will find ourselves in its midst as if we were working in a cloud of cool air beneath the hot sun. 

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

 

Tuesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(I Corinthians 6:1-11; Luke 6:12-19)

An American Catholic would have no problem taking to court another Catholic if there is a serious grievance.  St. Paul in today’s first reading finds such action outrageous.  It is not that he is living at a different time.  He has a very different sense of Church.

For Paul the Church is Christ.  As the people consume Christ’s body and blood, they are assumed into him.  For this reason Paul regularly calls the Church the “Body of Christ.” Bringing a member of the church community to court, then, would be akin to settling family problems with justice of the peace.  Family members at odds should find better judgment in a discerning matriarch or a wise uncle who knows intimately all involved.

No church community is perfect.  There will always be some people who think differently and others whose personality we find difficult.  Yet we should make a determined effort to deepen our relations in community.  We want to act as Christ who, as always, comes to the world to establish the Kingdom of God.

Monday, September 5, 2022

 

Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Times

(I Corinthians 5:1-8; Luke 6:6-11)

A few years the press noted a strange alliance between the Church and labor unions in France.  Both opposed the government’s attempt to allow stores to open on Sundays.  The cooperation was strange because in France labor unions have regularly opposed the Church.  The confrontation between Jesus and the Jewish lay leadership in today’s gospel reflects this opposition. 

Jesus wants to heal the man with a withered right hand on the Sabbath.  The scribes and Pharisees note this and watch if he will work the cure.  They believe that all work, even that of healing the infirmed, is forbidden on the Sabbath.  Jesus, however, thinks differently.  He affirms that healing is an activity of God who must work 24/7 to keep the world from falling apart.

The Church has supported the organization of labor at least since Pope Leo XIII’s monumental encyclical Rerum Novarum.  It notes how labor unions defended the rights of workers to fair wages and safe working conditions.  At times, however, the Church and other fair-minded people have opposed the efforts of “big labor.”  For example, the Church cannot support unions when they promote any so-called right to abortion.  Even on some strictly labor issues unions may pursue measures which benefit relatively few and harm the common good.

Thursday, September , 2022

 Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Micah 5:1-4a; Matthew 1:1-16.18-23)

Today’s celebration of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary underscores an important principle of faith.  Each of us is born for a purpose.  We share with Mary the vocation to know, love, and serve God.  But also like Mary, each of us has a singular call in life.  Hers was to be the mother of the Savior.  Ours is something else.

 

We should think of our vocation as dynamic.  We are to discern God’s call through our imagination, experience, and abilities as well as prayer.  What is more, we will usually find that it is a complex calling.  We are likely to be a salesman–father or a teacher-mother.  In Mary’s case, she was both mother and disciple of Christ.   Again, we have to find our purpose by probing and seeing, questioning and listening, asking and thinking.  This is what Mary did.

 

It’s important as well that once we decide on our purpose, we stick to it.  If we discern a vocation to be a nurse, then we are to prepare ourselves by taking the required courses and getting used to treating people in acute need.  Although there may be the possibility of a change of careers, sometimes the determinations we make are permanent.  Those who see themselves as married in the future should realize that this vocation lasts until death.  So as always we need to make the best discernments possible.

 

 

Sunday, September 4, 2022

 TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, September 4, 2022

(Wisdom 9:13-19; Philemon 9-10.12-17; Luke 14:25-33)

The issue of infant baptism has become controversial at different times in the Church. In the early church some parents did not want their children baptized because they were likely to sin in their youth. Then, during the Protestant Reformation some reformers said that infant baptism is not valid because the person has to make a free decision for Christ. The Church has responded to these approaches with three points.  First, there is evidence of infant baptism in the New Testament. Second, baptism delivers children from the darkness of error into the light of grace. Finally, at baptism parents commit to raising their children in the faith. However, those who were baptized as infants still have to decide for Jesus. Therefore, Jesus challenges us together with the people following him in the gospel today. Jesus tells us: “’ If anyone comes to me without hating his… own life, he cannot be my disciple.”

We have to ask ourselves first how Jesus can make such a sweeping statement. Who is he that we have to love him above all other things? Is he revealing his divine nature in this statement? He may be, but it is also possible that he is identifying himself with the fight against Satan. It is as if a generalissimo asked his troops to fight for him to save the country. Or this weekend we would like to put this example of the world of work. It is as if a union leader were to ask the members to fight for him to win the dignity of the worker.

Then Jesus warns his followers to be aware of what it costs to be his disciple so that they avoid appearing foolish. For the poor of his followers, Jesus gives them the example of a farmer who, before beginning the project, calculates the expenses to build a watchtower in his vineyard. For the rich Jesus compares the preparation for discipleship to a king seeing if he has the troops to defeat another king before he attacks him. In other words, Jesus is challenging his followers to be prepared to make sacrifices to be his disciples.

What St. Paul asks of Philemon in the second reading is no different. Paul wants Philemon to free his slave Onesimus for the sake of Jesus' service. Onesimus sought out Paul after running away from Philemon. He evidently could help Paul so that Paul now wants to get him released. Philemon has to weigh his friendship with Paul and perhaps his membership in the Colossus community against the cost of freeing Onesimus. This cost will be more than the loss of his service. If he frees Onesimus, probably his other slaves will try to gain their freedom by running away to an apostle.

Today's gospel ends with Jesus declaring: "'... anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.” What does he mean by this alarming statement? Do we have to destitute ourselves to be Christians? But it's not like that. The statement means that the disciple has to be ready to relinquish his possessions when necessary. As the peasant has to be ready to spend his savings and the king has to be ready to sacrifice his troops, the disciple has to be ready to sacrifice all his goods if necessary. We have several examples of this type of sacrifice. After the crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea gave his own tomb to bury Jesus. Twenty years ago, the so-called "richest man in the world" gave most of his wealth to charity. Today the war in Ukraine has revealed many willing to open their homes to refugees.

In the movie "Jurassic Park" someone comments that people would pay any amount of money to see an island full of dinosaurs. As interesting as that is, it's worth much more to inherit the God’s Kingdom as a disciple. We should not worry about the costs involved to get it. Let us look at the good that the Kingdom will present us.