Thursday, May 30, 2024

Thursday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary time

(I Peter 2:2-5.9-12; Mark 10:46-52)

Addressing himself to non-Jewish Christians in today’s first reading, Peter reminds them of the graces they have received.  They are no longer vulnerable individuals but a strong nation with God as their protector.  Each person of the nation has a priestly status whereby she or he might offer prayers as valid sacrifices. 

The new status of the people carries with it heightened responsibilities.  The people must live as God has directed in the commandments as reinterpreted by Jesus.  What is more, they should offer spiritual sacrifices of self-denial and works of mercy.  In these ways they will be silently preaching salvation in Jesus.

What Peter says to the churches of the first century certainly applies to us today.  We too may be rejected by others for insisting on the right to life and the evil of euthanasia. We too have been called out of the darkness of pursuing convenience into the light of never fading, sacrificial love.

Wednesday, May 9, 2024

 Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

 (I Peter 1:18-25; Mark 10:32-45)

 With so much emphasis on sex today one might think of it as a wholly contemporary concern.  In truth, however, extramarital sex has always worried people.  What is new is its widespread social acceptance.  Few today stand up to condemn premarital sex.  Of course, catechisms call it sinful, but often preachers steer clear of the subject to not offend Church members in unlawful relationships. The New Testament letters testify that licentiousness troubled decent people of the first century and see Christ as leading the people out of the morass.

 Today’s reading from the First Letter of Peter typically exhorts the people to “love…from a pure heart.”  It reminds them that “’all flesh is like grass’” that withers.  Therefore, they are to place their hope in God and not surrender themselves to debauchery. 

 Youth may respond to the argument of coherency.  After all, they have a sense of justice even if not fully developed.  Coherency requires congruence between what one says and does.  The argument goes like this.  Sexual intercourse is the most intimate way to demonstrate one’s love for another.  Therefore, it should be accompanied by the giving of oneself in a permanent union.  In anything short of a permanent union, the act becomes a lie as sure as Brutus’ profession of love for Caesar.

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

(I Peter 1:10-16; Mark 10:28-31)

It is said that the First Letter of Peter once was as well-considered as St. Paul’s epistles.  However, in modern times its importance has waned.  The principal reason for reason its waning stature is the questioning of its attribution to Peter, Christ’s lead apostle.  Its polished Greek and its addressees -- Greek churches in Asia Minor – indicate that the apostle Peter was not its genuine author.

Still the message of the letter addresses the needs of Christians in the latter half of the first century.  It teaches Judeo-Christian mores to peoples who have not long believed in the one God.  It also urges perseverance in suffering, a reality for many if not most Christians in the latter first century.

First Peter, as the letter is often called, inspires as well as instructs.  Its opening section telling of the “new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” moves Christians across the centuries.  We have a new way of living which will crescendo in unimaginable blessing if we stay the course.

Monday, May 27, 2024

Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

(I Peter 1:3-9; Mark 10:17-27)

The disciples are amazed at Jesus’ statement that it is hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God.  It is likely that there were many pious rich people in gospel times to give the disciples pause.  Yet in every age the rich are tempted to think that they do not need God.  Having comforts and conveniences, they may forget that only God provides happiness that lasts forever.

Today many from the middle and upper classes see gender as a personal choice and sexual license as the norm.  These trends do not correspond to traditional Church teaching, and those who cling to them are risking entry into the Kingdom of God.  Such ideas may be still hard to resist when not only movie stars but also politicians endorse them.

More than ever, we need to know and understand Catholic moral teachings.  They will lead us away from counterfeits and onto the road of eternal happiness.

Sunday, May 26, 2024

SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY

(Deuteronomy 4:31-34,39-40; Romans 8:14-17; Matthew 28:16-20)

Many preachers don't like to preach today. They say something like: “How can I explain the Holy Trinity to others? It's as complicated as teaching Einstein's relativity." This statement is curious because, according to theologians, God is above all simple.

When the theologians say that God is simple, they mean, in the first place, that He has no parts. As a spiritual being, God has no extensions like legs, a mouth, or a brain that mighty be described as tall, fat, dark, or any other quality. But God's simplicity goes beyond being spiritual. God was never created so that He could be called either old or young. Likewise, he has never been dependent on anything or anyone so that it might be said that He has lacked something.  Nor has He changed so that it might be said that He has improved or diminished.

Yes, we can say that God is true, loving, wise, etc., but not in the sense that God has the characteristics of truth, love, wisdom, etc., like we may have; that is, up to a certain point. Rather because God is simple, He must be truth, love, wisdom, etc., in themselves.  This means that God is the basis of truth, love, wisdom, and all other qualities, including existence. In other words, if it were not for the presence of God to it, nothing can have truth, love, wisdom, or even existence.

The First Letter of John tells us, “God is love.”  The phrase itself indicates why the One God may be likened to three persons.  To achieve love, three things are necessary. There must be a lover, a loved one, and a relationship between the two. We usually identify God the Father as the lover and God the Son as the beloved although we can say with equal validity that the Son loves the Father. Anyway, the relationship between these two is God Holy Spirit. Although God is perfectly content with this mutual love, He wanted to share it with humans. We not only exist because God loves us, but we have the Holy Spirit to love like God. We can sacrifice what is precious to us, even our lives, for the good of another.

There was a young woman who did exactly that. After graduating from college she dedicated six years as a missionary bringing the faith to other college students. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, always welcoming newcomers at assemblies and spending most of her time with those who seemed in need of a friend. At the age of thirty she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and died a year later. Two months before her death, the young woman wrote a letter to Jesus. She told him: “Jesus, not only do I want to be a saint, but I want to be a great saint who brings others to you -- of course for your greater honor and glory!”

The Church has declared this young woman a “Servant of God.” She is on her way to being recognized as a saint. For us she serves as a model and a sign. We should also love others by trying to bring them to God. Furthermore, she shows us how true love is not exclusive but, as in the Holy Trinity, solicitous of others.