Wednesday, XXVIII Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr
(Luke 11:42-46)
It sometimes seems that Jesus had a running battle with Pharisees. He always seems to be criticizing them. So it is important to note that in today’s gospel Jesus is at dinner in the home of a Pharisee as he has been before and will be again in Luke’s gospel. Obviously, Jesus has some differences of outlook, but he also shared much in common with Pharisees. We may profitably suppose that some of the harsh criticism of the gospels is not Jesus’ for the Pharisees of his time but the evangelists’ for Pharisee-like Christians a generation later.
Christians today, including Catholics, like the Pharisees of Jesus’ time, may pay too much attention to details and too little to the gospel message. Some go to church checking to see if the flowers there are actually freshly cut or artificial. (In order to prevent cheap imitations Church rubrics have called for fresh flowers by the altar.) Others might report the profanities used by a minister of the Church without realizing that they might be committing a graver sin of detraction.
Jesus compares the nit-picking Pharisees to “unseen graves.” He means to say that they are already dead because they do not have the love of God which gives life. Jesus with perfect judgment did not condemn all Pharisees, and we should be that much less given to criticism. Rather, we should make every effort to display the love of God that fills our hearts with the Holy Spirit.
Homilette for Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Tuesday, XXVIII Week of Ordinary Time
(Romans 1:16-25)
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights...” Most of us recognize these words from the Declaration of Independence almost as surely as we recognize the American flag. By speaking of truths that are “self-evident,” they imply a reality that many Americans have trouble seeing. That reality is the existence of a natural law which governs human actions.
In the reading from Romans today Paul makes reference to natural law. He is not talking about Jews when he writes, “...for although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks.” Rather, he is referring to pagan Romans and Greeks who from observing human nature should be aware that their carnal excess is immoral. For this reason Paul is exhorting Christians Romans not to imitate these people.
Catholics especially believe that society should heed the natural law. We do not claim that it is always easy to discern its contents although its tenets in some cases like the prohibition of abortion and of so-called homosexual marriage are obvious enough. We also see the Ten Commandments as embodying the natural law and therefore there is no real need to ban its image in public courts.
(Romans 1:16-25)
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights...” Most of us recognize these words from the Declaration of Independence almost as surely as we recognize the American flag. By speaking of truths that are “self-evident,” they imply a reality that many Americans have trouble seeing. That reality is the existence of a natural law which governs human actions.
In the reading from Romans today Paul makes reference to natural law. He is not talking about Jews when he writes, “...for although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks.” Rather, he is referring to pagan Romans and Greeks who from observing human nature should be aware that their carnal excess is immoral. For this reason Paul is exhorting Christians Romans not to imitate these people.
Catholics especially believe that society should heed the natural law. We do not claim that it is always easy to discern its contents although its tenets in some cases like the prohibition of abortion and of so-called homosexual marriage are obvious enough. We also see the Ten Commandments as embodying the natural law and therefore there is no real need to ban its image in public courts.
Homilette for Monday, October 15, 2007
Monday, Memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus, virgin and doctor of the Church
(Romans 1:1-7; Luke 11:29-32)
A compelling image that Pope John Paul II left us is the picture of his playing with pigeons a couple weeks before he died. He seems to be in joyful ecstasy as he watches them fly about his head. Christianity radiates this same joy because it envisions the rising from the dead – God’s ultimate victory over evil. Even if we must suffer now, we need not be completely glum. We can also laugh because we know that relief is on the way.
Although she is noted for reforming monastic life, St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila) exemplified joyfulness. She prayed tongue in cheek, “God save us from sad-faced saints.” Evidently, she realized that reform is not only about repentance of sin. It means as well conversion to God’s love that brings true happiness.
Both the reading from the Letter to the Romans and the gospel refer to the resurrection. Paul says directly that he is charged with preaching the Gospel, the proclaiming of Jesus Christ as God’s Son known from his rising from the dead. The gospel refers to the sign of Jonah who spent three days nights in the belly of a large fish before preaching in Nineveh – a resurrection experience. The joy of the resurrection pervades our faith. Let us allow it to touch every aspect of our lives.
(Romans 1:1-7; Luke 11:29-32)
A compelling image that Pope John Paul II left us is the picture of his playing with pigeons a couple weeks before he died. He seems to be in joyful ecstasy as he watches them fly about his head. Christianity radiates this same joy because it envisions the rising from the dead – God’s ultimate victory over evil. Even if we must suffer now, we need not be completely glum. We can also laugh because we know that relief is on the way.
Although she is noted for reforming monastic life, St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila) exemplified joyfulness. She prayed tongue in cheek, “God save us from sad-faced saints.” Evidently, she realized that reform is not only about repentance of sin. It means as well conversion to God’s love that brings true happiness.
Both the reading from the Letter to the Romans and the gospel refer to the resurrection. Paul says directly that he is charged with preaching the Gospel, the proclaiming of Jesus Christ as God’s Son known from his rising from the dead. The gospel refers to the sign of Jonah who spent three days nights in the belly of a large fish before preaching in Nineveh – a resurrection experience. The joy of the resurrection pervades our faith. Let us allow it to touch every aspect of our lives.
Homilette for Friday, October 12, 2007
Friday, XXVII Week of Ordinary Time
(Luke 11:15-26)
With an election year approaching, citizens of the United States can expect some freebies. Politicians will distribute buttons and t-shirts. Incumbents will work to pass favorable programs to get re-elected. Like the crowd in the gospel asking whether Jesus may be casting out demons by the prince of demons, we should ask whether these political gifts support worthy or malevolent causes.
Jesus knows the thoughts of the people and tries to calm their anxieties. First, he uses logic. Beelzebub would be working against himself if he cast out demons. It would be as imprudent as the “robbing Peter to pay Paul.” Then, Jesus poses a question to the people. He knows that his exorcism is suspect because he is a stranger. So he asks, “If the Jewish prophets drove out demons by God’s power, why should you doubt that I might not do so with the same authority?” Finally, he proposes the reasonable alternative. He casts out demons by “the finger of God” which means that the long anticipated Kingdom of God has finally broken in on the world.
Jesus also shows how the coming of the Kingdom entails effort on the part of its beneficiaries. People have to convert to its standards of intellectual honesty, moral integrity, and religious worship. If not the good of having a demon exorcised will end in a much worse condition. We might think of a household that has exterminated all the mice that inhabited it and then has restocked the food supplies. Unless protections and safeguards against pests are also put in place, the mice are likely to return in force.
(Luke 11:15-26)
With an election year approaching, citizens of the United States can expect some freebies. Politicians will distribute buttons and t-shirts. Incumbents will work to pass favorable programs to get re-elected. Like the crowd in the gospel asking whether Jesus may be casting out demons by the prince of demons, we should ask whether these political gifts support worthy or malevolent causes.
Jesus knows the thoughts of the people and tries to calm their anxieties. First, he uses logic. Beelzebub would be working against himself if he cast out demons. It would be as imprudent as the “robbing Peter to pay Paul.” Then, Jesus poses a question to the people. He knows that his exorcism is suspect because he is a stranger. So he asks, “If the Jewish prophets drove out demons by God’s power, why should you doubt that I might not do so with the same authority?” Finally, he proposes the reasonable alternative. He casts out demons by “the finger of God” which means that the long anticipated Kingdom of God has finally broken in on the world.
Jesus also shows how the coming of the Kingdom entails effort on the part of its beneficiaries. People have to convert to its standards of intellectual honesty, moral integrity, and religious worship. If not the good of having a demon exorcised will end in a much worse condition. We might think of a household that has exterminated all the mice that inhabited it and then has restocked the food supplies. Unless protections and safeguards against pests are also put in place, the mice are likely to return in force.
Homilette for Thursday, October 11, 2007
Thursday, XXVII Week of ordinary Time
(Malachi 3:13-20b)
“Do we have to fear God?” a man asked a priest after Mass one day. When he received a positive reply, the man walked away shaking his head. Perhaps the priest, if he had time to think, might have said more precisely, “That depends on what you mean by fear.” The prophet Malachi gives us plenty of reason to fear God’s punishment. “For lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven,” he says, “when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble...” But St. Thomas Aquinas assures us, however, that the more we love God, the more our fear of punishment turns into a filial fear of offending someone so good.
In our age of indulgence many have come to think that an all-good and all-loving God will not punish the wicked. That’s hardly the testimony of the Bible. Both the Old Testament and the New emphasize that those who do evil will pay a heavy price for their deeds. We should fear God’s justice. But this fact alone gives us reason to love God. Being all-knowing and all-caring, He is a scrupulously fair judge who does not punish unnecessarily. Like we would not want to offend a person who has lived with as much integrity as Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa, we would not want to cause any offense to God. Here filial fear takes over our fear of punishment so that we always do the right thing for the best reason.
(Malachi 3:13-20b)
“Do we have to fear God?” a man asked a priest after Mass one day. When he received a positive reply, the man walked away shaking his head. Perhaps the priest, if he had time to think, might have said more precisely, “That depends on what you mean by fear.” The prophet Malachi gives us plenty of reason to fear God’s punishment. “For lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven,” he says, “when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble...” But St. Thomas Aquinas assures us, however, that the more we love God, the more our fear of punishment turns into a filial fear of offending someone so good.
In our age of indulgence many have come to think that an all-good and all-loving God will not punish the wicked. That’s hardly the testimony of the Bible. Both the Old Testament and the New emphasize that those who do evil will pay a heavy price for their deeds. We should fear God’s justice. But this fact alone gives us reason to love God. Being all-knowing and all-caring, He is a scrupulously fair judge who does not punish unnecessarily. Like we would not want to offend a person who has lived with as much integrity as Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa, we would not want to cause any offense to God. Here filial fear takes over our fear of punishment so that we always do the right thing for the best reason.
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