Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in
Ordinary Time
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Tuesday
of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Deuteronomy
31:1-8; Matthew 18:1-5.10.12-14)
Social
theorists claim that childhood is a relatively recent phenomenon. Only in the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries were children guaranteed an education and provided time to grow up. Before that most boys were doing manual work
as soon as their bodies could bear it. Girls
were drafted into the kitchen to do domestic chores. In today’s gospel Jesus speaks up in favor of
society’s little ones.
Recognizing
virtue in children’s docility, Jesus recommends this quality to his disciples.
More than that, he identifies children with himself as he says, “…whoever
receives one child such as this in my name receives me.” Jesus did not initiate a pro-children
campaign, but he was certainly consciousness about how children need disciples’
consideration and care.
The last
fifty years has witnessed a deterioration of childhood. Kids still go to school, of course, but they
are often exposed there to social controversies beyond their stage of
development. Cell phones and the Internet have magnified the damage. We should take to heart Jesus’ warning not to
despise any of the “little ones.” All
enjoy God’s favor and require our support.
Monday, August 11, 2025
Memorial
of Saint Clare, virgin
(Deuteronomy
10:12-22; Matthew 17:22-27)
In today’s
gospel Jesus gives his disciples important lessons on freedom and on charity. The temple tax discussed in the passage was
permitted by the Roman authority. It seems
to be a modest amount, perhaps the price of a cup of coffee. Most Jews of Jesus’ time paid it, but
religious teachers often considered themselves exempt. Jesus likewise sees
himself as exempt, but not for the same reason as the rabbis.
The example
that Jesus gives needs to be drawn out to explain his rationale for claiming
exemption. “Kings of the earth” exempt
their sons from taxes, not their subjects as the passage reads. Jesus, the Son of God, then is exempt from
the tax for God’s house. So too are his brothers,
the disciples. The exemptions do not end here but are extended to other ritual
and dietary laws.
Jesus
provides for the payment of the tax out of love for others. As Paul in I Corinthians abstains from meat sacrificed
to idols, Jesus does not want to cause scandal.
He will pay the tax in solidarity with those who see it as the duty of all
faithful Jews. We too claim exemption from
Jewish dietary and ritual laws, but not from charity. Jesus actually multiples our obligations of charity
with his death on the cross.
Sunday, August 10, 2025
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Wisdom
18:6-9; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19; Luke 12:35-40 [short version])
Today's
Gospel contains two short parables. Let me try to explain it with another
parable, or better, a story. The story
is not from Jesus, but from President John Kennedy of the United States. To
emphasize how diligently he would work when elected, Kennedy told the story of
a state legislature in the early years of the American republic. He said the
legislature was in session when an eclipse of the sun was taking place. The
skies grew dark, and the legislators thought the end of the world had arrived.
Some of them proposed that the session be adjourned so they could be with their
families when the Lord came. But another member of the legislature asked the
Speaker of the House to do the opposite. He exclaimed, "Mr. Speaker, if
it's not the end of the world and we adjourn, we'll look foolish. If it is the
end of the world, I'd rather be found doing my duty. I propose, sir, that you
bring candles."
Through
parables, Jesus advances his plan to reestablish the Kingdom of God in the
world. He has recruited disciples to continue the work after his death. With
the parable of the servants awaiting their master's return, Jesus advises them
to be diligent in their efforts for the Kingdom. As the legislator in Kennedy's
story says, they want to be found "doing (their) duty." Why be
diligent? To be welcomed into the halls of eternal life. Jesus’ parable
describes this welcome with a magnificent image: the Lord "will gird
himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them."
The project
of the Kingdom is to make the world a place of justice, peace, and love. It
requires establishing laws, customs, institutions, and ultimately virtues so
that all people will respect one another and care for the common good. One
person definitely working for the Kingdom lives in Pakistan where he serves his
own people. Shahzad Francis leads a fraternal organization that helps Catholics
struggle to live with dignity in the midst of a predominantly Muslim society. Among
many other works Francis fosters peace by holding public dialogues among all
religions. He travels to the nation's capital to advocate for minority rights.
He recently established schools for the children of brick kiln workers, who are
among the poorest in the country and are largely Christian.
We can work
for the Kingdom of God by implanting its values in our families and
communities. Instead of having each family member entertain himself or herself
on a personal telephone, we might share common activities like a hike in the
woods. Instead of watching a football game from the interviews before to the
analysis afterward, we could take a couple of hours to serve food to the
homeless or visit the elderly abandoned in nursing homes.
Does it
seem impossible or too idealistic to change the ways of the world? Consider the
Second Reading. The Letter to the Hebrews points to Abraham and Sarah, old and
childless, moving forward with faith in God to produce “offspring as numerous
as the stars of the sky and as countless as the sand of the sea.”
The second
parable Jesus uses concerns his coming to claim His own at the end of time. He
says He will arrive like a thief in the night, that is at an undetermined time.
Jesus urges us to be always ready for him by regularly doing good works. In
Kennedy's story, the request for candles equates to “be ready, always.” Boy Scouts
have a slogan that can serve as a guide: “Do a good turn every day.” We must
not let a day pass without making an effort to help another. The Lord may not
come with the definitive end of the world for eons, but it is certainly
possible that He will come tomorrow to claim our individual lives. If not for
the love of our neighbors, then at least to avoid a negative judgment in death,
we want to prepare ourselves with good actions.
The two
parables of today's Gospel can be reduced to two admonitions. First, help one
another, especially the needy, for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Second, begin
the work now and continue doing it every day of your life. By attending to
these tasks, we will be inviting Jesus to take us with Him to his heavenly
table.
Friday, August 8, 2025
Memorial of Saint Dominic, priest
(Deuteronomy 4:32-40; Matthew 16:24-28)
St. Dominic
was a twenty-year-old theology student when his region of Spain underwent a severe
famine. Dominic heard of people starving
and decided to do something. After
giving away his allowance, he sold all his belongings, including his precious theological
manuscripts. The latter were by no means
a luxury. They represented Dominic’s passionate
interest and future ministry. Rather
than second guess himself about parting with his parchments, Dominic told
friends, “I will not study on dead skins when men are dying of hunger.”
Of course,
Dominic was not sealing his fate to oblivion but insuring it for eternal
life. In today’s gospel Jesus tells his
disciples, “’… whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.’” Only by dying to oneself -- sacrificing one’s
possessions and opportunities for the sake of Christ -- can one hope to live
with him forever.
Dominic’s selflessness and compassion drew many men to the Order of
Preachers which he founded. His vision of learned preaching and robust
community still attracts men and women to the Order. We should realize as he did that humanness
and godliness are not mutually exclusive.
Rather both must be joined to thrive in the present age and to flourish for
all eternity.