Thursday, June 27, 2024

 Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

(II Kings 24:8-17; Matthew 7:21-29)

Today’s gospel ends the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus has proclaimed his law.  It is not just a series of prohibitions.  It contains many prescriptions or mandates that are to be followed.  Most famous is his command that followers love their enemies by doing good to their persecutors.

Several years ago a police officer was shot and killed in Texas.  His assailant was then killed.  The officer’s widow received many donations from people.  She used the money, which she didn’t need, to establish a fund for the children of her husband’s assailant.  This is the kind of love that Jesus expects of his followers.

At the very least we can pray for our enemies rather than seethe with hatred.  When we pray for those who offend us, we are likely to find opportunities to express more concretely our love for them.

Wednesday, June 26, 2024

 Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

 (II Kings 22:8-13.23:1-3; Matthew 7:15-20)

False prophets have criticized the Church for its defense of human life from conception to natural death.  The critics say that Catholic doctrine does not have compassion on those suffering from an unwanted pregnancy or for those who have lost their faculties.  In today’s gospel Jesus gives a lesson to his disciples about who really are false prophets. 

Jesus may well have in mind the Pharisees who quote the Scriptures but seem to avoid their intentions.  True prophets convey God’s will to the people by word and deed.  They do not simply pacify people or make them feel good.  Rather they work to improve people’s stature before God.  True prophets make people more God-like. False prophets lead people to dishonesty and contentiousness.  False prophets are wolves under the appearance of shepherds.

God’s will often challenges us to do what is hard.  Caring for an old, feeble person and nurturing a fetus and newborn are not easy tasks.  However, they make the practitioners stronger and more loving.  Even more importantly, such practice does no harm.  Much to the contrary, it respects people in their initial and final stages of life as true images of God.

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

 Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

(II Kings 19:9b-11.14-21.31-35a.36; Matthew 7:6.12-14)

Bringing up priestly celibacy in a discussion often seems like throwing a pearl before swine.  Although most people do not understand it, they speak of it negatively.  They will say that it is an outdated rule that the pope may change at will.  And they offer the scandal of sexual abuse by priests as reason for change.

Unfortunately, people are unaware of the history of priestly celibacy and of its profound spirituality.  Celibacy is grounded in the experience of Jesus.  There is absolutely no evidence that he married.  Its Scriptural foundation rests on his statement that some people are eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom of God.  It is much more than a practical matter that allows more time for ministry or that avoids problems of inheritance of Church property.  Rather celibacy – the sacrifice of personal fulfilment in marriage -- witnesses to the Lord as the one who bestows ultimate value.

Priests are not “lone rangers.”  They need support.  Especially diocesan priests require affirmation from the people when they serve well.  Providing encouragement to priests fulfills the vision of solidarity to which God calls His people.

Monday, June 24, 2024

Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

(Isaiah 49:1-6; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66.80)

The name “John” befits the son of Zachariah and Elizabeth in two ways.  The name means “The Lord has mercy.”  First, God shows mercy to the child’s parents who waited anxiously for years to have a child.  Their love for each other made them desire to give birth to offspring who would bear characteristics of them both.

More importantly, the Lord has shown mercy in initiating the process of human salvation.  John will announce to the world the coming of the Messiah.  He will also baptize Jesus, thus sending him forth to baptize “with the holy Spirit and fire.”  Both images relate the purification of sins and the charging with love. 

We have a mission similar to John’s.  We too are to announce Jesus Christ to the world.  Those of us who can, should tell others about Jesus’ unique and wondrous love for all.  Others may present Jesus to the world by unapologetic prayer or wearing a crucifix.  Still others will openly serve the needy in the name of Jesus.

Sunday, June 23, 2024

TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

(Job 38:1.8-11; II Corinthians 5:14-17; Mark 4:35-41)

Dear friends, today's Mass readings help us believe in Jesus as our Lord and God. Although we proclaim this belief in “the Creed,” it is such an extraordinary truth that we have difficulty claiming it with all our hearts.

The first reading comes from the Book of Job, one of the most thoughtful works in the entire Bible. Job is a righteous man who experienced setbacks beyond what we think possible to endure. He has lost his fortune, all of his children, and his health. He wants to die, but before this he seeks an interview with God to ask him why he was given such a terrible fate. Why did he, a man who had never mistreated anyone, have to suffer so much? At the end of the book God grants him the interview. But before Job speaks, God tells him that he could not possibly understand the reason that he had to suffer because Job was not there when God made heaven and earth. He adds the words from today's reading. It was He, that is God, who set the limits to the sea.

Anyone who has seen the ocean can verify that it is more immense than can be imagined. The sea has always been formidable, but in the first century before the great ships of modern times, it was considered the end of the world. It was thought of as a region of chaos inhabited by insurmountable monsters. The reading says that God tells Job that only He could set limits to the sea to form the contenders. Before a being as magnificent as God, Job becomes silent. He no longer wants to register complaints.

Now we should look at the gospel. Jesus is in a boat with his disciples when a powerful storm arises. The waves of the sea crash against the boat like the bombs of the Allied forces in the invasion of Normandy. The disciples are overcome with terror while Jesus sleeps contentedly. They awaken him in fear for his life and exhort him to save them. He just has to tell the storm to shut up and it deflates like a balloon with a puncture. If God is the one who sets limits to the sea, Jesus shows himself to be God by calming the furious sea.

Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by the troubles that arise in our lives. It can be a confluence of misfortunes: the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, and an accident that hospitalizes us all occurring simultaneously. We pray to the Lord, but it seems like he is sleeping. We feel that he has forgotten us. This was the condition of the early Church at the time of Mark's writing his gospel. There were persecutions of Christians with no one to defend them. Under such conditions we should never give up praying. In the second reading Saint Paul says that “the love of Christ compels us.” He who died for all will not leave us in trouble, but he will rescue us. This is as sure as a mother's attention to the crying of her baby.

The gospel today wants to emphasize first that Jesus Christ has the ability to help his faithful people in need. Also, it emphasizes that he will not disappoint us when we call him. It is up to us not to stop doing that incessantly.