Monday, August 18, 2025

 

Monday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

(Judges 2:9-11; Mathew 19:16-22)

The fact that the man who approaches Jesus in today’s gospel is “young” has a bearing on the passage’s teaching.  The young men are commonly ambitious.  They are willing to do whatever is necessary to obtain their heart’s desire.  They will work twelve or fourteen hours a day to acquire a fortune or will spend a night queued at a ticket office to attend a concert.

It cannot be said that ambition is evil as lust or greed is evil.  However, ambition tends to fog one’s conscience.  Prodded by ambition, a young man or woman may ignore responsibilities to family, friends, or the Lord. In today’s gospel the ambitious young man thinks that he might work to gain heaven as if it were real estate.  He poignantly asks Jesus, “’What must I do to gain eternal life?’” When Jesus points out that heaven requires trust in the Lord, not specific works, the youth’s illusion is shattered.  He cannot give up control of his life, even for an eternal destiny.

We may wonder if we must sell all we own and give the proceeds to the poor to attain eternal life.  Not literally, but we must discern deeply and critically what the Lord expects of us.  Then we must follow up on our conclusions in continual dialogue with him.

Sunday, August 17, 2025

 

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10; Hebrews 12:1-4; Luke 12:49-53)

The terms and concepts of today's Gospel may attract attention, but they also raise concerns. We wonder: what does the Lord mean when he says he has "come to bring fire and division on the earth"? And wasn't Jesus baptized by John in the Jordan? What is this baptism he is about to receive that distresses him?

To understand Jesus here, we must not take him literally but figuratively. He uses expressive language to urge us to respond to his demands. “Fire” is not the combustion of physical materials but the destruction of spiritual vices. “Baptism” is not immersion in water but the trauma of a bloody death. In the Gospel according to Luke, more than in the others, Jesus anticipates his passion and death in Jerusalem. He realizes that this will be the moment of truth for the world. Seeing him hanging on the cross, forgiving and healing to the very end, everyone must declare themselves either for him as the Savior or against him as a deluded do-gooder.

There are several occasions in the Gospel that indicate how Jesus is anticipating the encounter with his destiny in Jerusalem. Luke describes the Transfiguration as an occasion for Jesus to speak with Moses and Elijah about his coming “exodus” or passion. Not long after this,  Jesus “headed boldly toward Jerusalem” when “the time was nearly fulfilled.” Focused on his Passion, Jesus doesn't avoid it but embraces it as he heads to meet his destiny in ward the holy city. Another reference to anticipation and, in this case, preparation for the Passion occurs when Jesus is on the Mount of Olives with his disciples. Luke describes how Jesus was "in agony" and that his sweat "became like great drops of blood." We are accustomed to thinking of "agony" as extreme pain, but here the Greek agon refers to the preparation of athletes for competition. It is the exercise regimen runners do to warm up their muscles to give their best. The drops of sweat as thick as blood mean that Jesus is supremely ready. He can now march forward to confront the devil in the battle for souls.

Jesus' passion and death on the cross put the world on trial. Everyone must decide whether they are with Jesus or against him. These decisions will divide families, friendships, and communities, as Jesus predicts in the reading. The Gospel takes into account stories like that of Saint Perpetua, an African martyr who opposed her father when he wanted her to deny Jesus to save her life. Although such cases still exist today, we see Jesus' prophecy fulfilled in everyday matters. Spouses can often be divided on the issue of contraception: one saying that sex is for pleasure while the other acknowledges that it has higher purposes, as the Church teaches. Friends are divided on the issue of service: one proposing that they spend every weekend seeking entertainment while the other responds that she wants to use at least part of the time helping the needy. The parish community can be divided, with some in favor of joining with other faith communities in a community organizing project, and others threatening to leave the parish if they become involved in political issues.

It would be patently false to say that Jesus came to separate families, friendships, and communities. But he did come to teach his Father's will by word and example. We reject him at the risk of losing eternal life. And we accept him in the hope of having him as our companion forever.

Friday, August 15, 2025

 

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Revelation 11:19a.12:1-6a.10ab; I Corinthians 15:20-27; Luke 1:39-56)

The Church always celebrates her saints on the day they died.  Mary, the Virgin Mother of Jesus Christ, is no exception unless one holds, with many, that Mary never died!  (According to a minority of authorities she went to sleep and awoke in Paradise.)  No reason for the August 15 date is given for the “Dormition” or “Assumption” of Mary is given.  However, the Church of Jerusalem yearly celebrated the Commemoration of the Mother of God on this date in the middle of the fifth century. 

Scripture does not reference Mary’s transition from earth to heaven, but apologists find reasons to accept the event as reasonable.  There never have been relics of the Blessed Mother, nor is there record of a grave or tomb where early Christians venerated her.  Given testimony in Scripture of Mary’s presence not only at Jesus’ birth but also during his ministry, at his death, and even among his disciples after his resurrection, both absences indicate that something unique happened at the end of her life.

Mary’s Assumption into heaven does more than complete for us the story of arguably Jesus’ closest associate.  It supports our hope of experiencing the resurrection of our bodies. With such hope it gives us added reason not to abuse our bodies by laziness or gluttony.  It also confirms our reliance on Mary as an intercessor and our choice of her as a model in life.

Thursday, August 14, 2025

 

Memorial of Saint Maximillian Kobe, priest and martyr

(Joshua 3:7-10a.11.13-17; Matthew 18:21-19:1)

The Ark of the Covenant makes its biblical debut in today’s reading from the Book of Joshua.  The Ark was prescribed in the Book of Exodus as a wooden chest with gold overlay and a lid called a “Mercy Seat.”  It was constructed to house the tablets of the Ten Commandments, the basic law of the Mosaic Covenant.  The Ark represented the Lord who wished to stay close to the people.

In the passage from Joshua the Ark is described with miraculous power.  Carried into the Jordan River, it holds back its waters so that the Israelis might occupy the land God promised to their forefathers.  The Ark was eventually placed in the Solomon’s Temple and remained there for 400 years. It was taken out of the temple for processions and to assist the Israelites in battle.  Nothing is known of the Ark after the Babylonians destroyed the Temple in the sixth century B.C.

The Ark of the Covenant has parallels with the tabernacle housing the Blessed Sacrament.  Yet its similarities should not be exaggerated.  The Ten Commandments reminded the Israelites of the covenant they made with the Lord.  The Eucharist is Christ’s physical presence, not a symbol indicating His presence.  The Eucharist is a spiritual creation meant to strengthen human souls.  The tablets of the Commandments have great symbolic value, but they are part of an order that will pass away.  The Eucharist is Christ’s abiding presence which will remain into eternity.

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

 

Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

 (Deuteronomy 13:1-12; Matthew 18:15-20)

 Internet applications like Zoom and Facetime give the experience of talking to others face-to-face without actually being in their presence. However marvelous such conversations may be, they are hardly as intimate as being in one another’s physical presence.  In fact, one of the current issues in prison reform is assuring that prisoners have direct, not electronic, access to visitors. In the first reading today, Moses is exulted for having known the Lord “face to face.” But what do these words mean and how do they align with Christian belief that only Christ has seen the Father?

 Various interpretations for knowing God “face to face” are given.  Some say they do not indicate a direct encounter with the Lord because in the Book of Exodus God tells Moses that “’no one shall see me and live’” (33:20).  Of course, there is also the very real question of God, a purely spiritual being, having a material face.  It may be best to conclude that Moses enjoyed a spiritual intimacy with God like no one else before the writing of the Book of Deuteronomy. 

 At one point in Deuteronomy (18:15-18) Moses himself mentions another prophet who will come after him.  This prophet will have God’s words in his mouth and bring a definitive revelation of God’s will.  We find fulfillment of this prophecy in Jesus Christ.  The Gospel of John quotes him as saying, at least indirectly, that he has seen the Father: “’Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father’” (6:46).  His seeing of the Father constitutes a knowing that goes beyond Moses’ spiritual intimacy.  It is a divine indwelling whereby as Jesus again says in John: “(He) and the Father are one’” (10:30).  An approximation of this indwelling with its accompanying knowledge of God is Jesus promises to his followers of Jesus in the beatitudes.  We says, “’Blessed are the clean of heart for they shall see God’” (Matthew 5:8).