Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter
(Acts 13:13-25)
Biblical students find three distinct “missionary journeys” of St. Paul in the Acts of the Apostles. Although the apostle himself did not likely divide his preaching so neatly, the three-journey arrangement helps us appreciate his great accomplishment. The section from Acts that we read today shows Paul shortly after commencing his first missionary expedition.
In the reading Paul typically goes to the Jewish synagogue of the town where he finds himself. When he has an opportunity to say something, he does not hesitate to stand up. His message conveys what is often called the kerygma, a Greek word meaning the proclamation of salvation in Jesus Christ. Today’s kerygmatic message summarizes the story of salvation from the slavery of the Hebrews in Egypt to the preaching of John the Baptist. It continues tomorrow with Jesus’ death and resurrection as the fulfillment of God’s promise.
As Paul proclaims the kerygma on his missionary journeys, the Church calls us to be missionaries. Last year the bishops of Latin America assembled in Aparecida, Brazil, issued a document formally describing Catholic Christians as “missionary disciples.” As disciples, we allow ourselves to be formed according to the word of God. As missionaries, we put that word into action. Some will have the role of proclaiming the word orally like Paul. All of us, however, are to proclaim it by loving service to family, neighbor, and world.
Homilette for Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
(John 12: 44-50)
Words are cheap, we say, because they are often mixed, like tainted water supplies, with falsehood. Really true words, on the other hand, are treasures to be heeded and savored. In the gospel Jesus claims that the words he speaks could not be truer because they come from the Father.
This week Pope Benedict XVI is preaching in the United States and at the United Nations. He is to proclaim Jesus Christ as the hope of the world. Different people will hear that message in different ways. For Christians Jesus is, above all, the hope of eternal life. Embracing him, as he urges in this gospel, we receive a share in the glory of his resurrection.
For people of other faiths or of no faith, Jesus is still part of the patrimony of history. His words convey the promise of fuller cooperation among peoples and nations. More than anything else, the pope will reiterate Jesus as saying, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” These words provide the key to human progress. Treating one another as we want to be treated assures personal freedom, provides the basis of justice, and advances the journey to peace.
(John 12: 44-50)
Words are cheap, we say, because they are often mixed, like tainted water supplies, with falsehood. Really true words, on the other hand, are treasures to be heeded and savored. In the gospel Jesus claims that the words he speaks could not be truer because they come from the Father.
This week Pope Benedict XVI is preaching in the United States and at the United Nations. He is to proclaim Jesus Christ as the hope of the world. Different people will hear that message in different ways. For Christians Jesus is, above all, the hope of eternal life. Embracing him, as he urges in this gospel, we receive a share in the glory of his resurrection.
For people of other faiths or of no faith, Jesus is still part of the patrimony of history. His words convey the promise of fuller cooperation among peoples and nations. More than anything else, the pope will reiterate Jesus as saying, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” These words provide the key to human progress. Treating one another as we want to be treated assures personal freedom, provides the basis of justice, and advances the journey to peace.
Homilette for April 15, 2008
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
(John 10:22-30)
Experts tell people unused to publicity never to joke with the press. In today’s media when journalists often make the news themselves, they are inclined to give the most controversial interpretation possible to anything a public person says. For this reason people of responsibility, if they talk with reporters at all, are very cautious and exact. In a similar way Jesus deftly answers his interrogators in the gospel today.
The Jews ask Jesus to state clearly whether or not he is the long-awaited Christ or Messiah. We may notice how this question is the exact one put to Jesus during his interrogation by the high priest in the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke which the Gospel of John treats very differently. Jesus gives a similarly indirect answer in Matthew, Mark, and Luke as he does here. He implies that he is the Christ and his works testify to it, but the Jews still do not believe.
Prudent and intelligent, Jesus outwits his enemies again. But his accomplishment just begins here. More importantly, the Father has given him the power not to lose any of his sheep. We can rest assured, therefore, that as long as we stay close to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, nothing will ever really harm us. Come cancer, fire, even murder, Jesus will save us from disaster.
(John 10:22-30)
Experts tell people unused to publicity never to joke with the press. In today’s media when journalists often make the news themselves, they are inclined to give the most controversial interpretation possible to anything a public person says. For this reason people of responsibility, if they talk with reporters at all, are very cautious and exact. In a similar way Jesus deftly answers his interrogators in the gospel today.
The Jews ask Jesus to state clearly whether or not he is the long-awaited Christ or Messiah. We may notice how this question is the exact one put to Jesus during his interrogation by the high priest in the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke which the Gospel of John treats very differently. Jesus gives a similarly indirect answer in Matthew, Mark, and Luke as he does here. He implies that he is the Christ and his works testify to it, but the Jews still do not believe.
Prudent and intelligent, Jesus outwits his enemies again. But his accomplishment just begins here. More importantly, the Father has given him the power not to lose any of his sheep. We can rest assured, therefore, that as long as we stay close to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, nothing will ever really harm us. Come cancer, fire, even murder, Jesus will save us from disaster.
Homilette for April 14, 2008
Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
(Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4)
In October, 1995, approximately one million African-American men marched for justice in Washington, D.C. They were not primarily interested in social justice but in becoming more personally just. They walked as a pledge to themselves, their families, and society that they would become more responsible fathers and more involved citizens. Organized by religious leaders, the Million Man March demonstrated the thirst for God of which we hear today in the responsorial psalm.
As forest animals search for streams to refresh themselves, the human soul seeks not just truth but the doing of truth – justice. It begins with oneself. What is the truth we seek for ourselves? Because it is difficult to discern among the complexities of life, our soul asks God for light. And because following truth may challenge us more than finding it, the soul also petitions fidelity to its demands. Light and fidelity take us to God’s mountain – heaven -- where we meet God face-to-face.
Short of that anticipated full encounter, we experience God’s helping hand by participating in marches not completely different from the one on Washington a generation ago. When we join the line for the Sacrament of Penance or the march to Communion, we prepare ourselves for a meeting with the Lord. The sacraments, we know, are Christ’s presence guiding us to truth and justice.
(Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4)
In October, 1995, approximately one million African-American men marched for justice in Washington, D.C. They were not primarily interested in social justice but in becoming more personally just. They walked as a pledge to themselves, their families, and society that they would become more responsible fathers and more involved citizens. Organized by religious leaders, the Million Man March demonstrated the thirst for God of which we hear today in the responsorial psalm.
As forest animals search for streams to refresh themselves, the human soul seeks not just truth but the doing of truth – justice. It begins with oneself. What is the truth we seek for ourselves? Because it is difficult to discern among the complexities of life, our soul asks God for light. And because following truth may challenge us more than finding it, the soul also petitions fidelity to its demands. Light and fidelity take us to God’s mountain – heaven -- where we meet God face-to-face.
Short of that anticipated full encounter, we experience God’s helping hand by participating in marches not completely different from the one on Washington a generation ago. When we join the line for the Sacrament of Penance or the march to Communion, we prepare ourselves for a meeting with the Lord. The sacraments, we know, are Christ’s presence guiding us to truth and justice.
Homilette for April 11, 2008
Memorial of Saint Stanislaus, bishop and martyr
(Acts 9:1-10)
With the jubilee year of St. Paul fast approaching, we can reflect for a few minutes on his conversion. Of course, the reading from Acts today tells its story. But today’s reading is just one of four accounts the New Testament gives of the event. Paul himself writes about it in the Letter to the Galatians which must be considered the most reliable source. The two other accounts are taken from speeches of Paul also recorded in Acts. One interesting note is that none of the four accounts mentions that Paul was knocked off a horse on the way to Damascus. That detail probably comes from a painter’s depiction of the conversion. A more curious element is the light which supposedly blinded Paul.
Did Paul actually see a light or is this reference a metaphor meaning that Paul came to know the truth? In Galatians Paul does not tell of any light. He only says that God revealed His Son to him. This reference indicates a vision of the resurrected Jesus which Paul twice claims he had in his first letter to the Corinthians. Perhaps Jesus appeared to Paul wrapped in light. Matthew describes Jesus in this way when he describes the Transfiguration which is traditionally interpreted as a glimpse of Jesus’ future resurrection.
At the Easter Vigil services this year Pope Benedict baptized Magdi Allam, a 55 year-old Italian journalist who was raised a Muslim. In a letter to the newspaper of which he is deputy director, Mr. Allam wrote of his conversion as “finally (seeing) the light.” The journalist went on to say that he received death threats for turning to Christ just as Paul did. Reading the letter, we get the idea that significant forces within Islam are intent on terrorizing people into accepting what they cannot in conscience believe. Paul, of course, never evangelized in this way although in history other men did so in the name of Christ. As Christians seeing the light have apologized for the sin of fanaticism among ancestors, we can pray that the light of respect and peace penetrate the consciousness of all Muslim brothers and sisters.
(Acts 9:1-10)
With the jubilee year of St. Paul fast approaching, we can reflect for a few minutes on his conversion. Of course, the reading from Acts today tells its story. But today’s reading is just one of four accounts the New Testament gives of the event. Paul himself writes about it in the Letter to the Galatians which must be considered the most reliable source. The two other accounts are taken from speeches of Paul also recorded in Acts. One interesting note is that none of the four accounts mentions that Paul was knocked off a horse on the way to Damascus. That detail probably comes from a painter’s depiction of the conversion. A more curious element is the light which supposedly blinded Paul.
Did Paul actually see a light or is this reference a metaphor meaning that Paul came to know the truth? In Galatians Paul does not tell of any light. He only says that God revealed His Son to him. This reference indicates a vision of the resurrected Jesus which Paul twice claims he had in his first letter to the Corinthians. Perhaps Jesus appeared to Paul wrapped in light. Matthew describes Jesus in this way when he describes the Transfiguration which is traditionally interpreted as a glimpse of Jesus’ future resurrection.
At the Easter Vigil services this year Pope Benedict baptized Magdi Allam, a 55 year-old Italian journalist who was raised a Muslim. In a letter to the newspaper of which he is deputy director, Mr. Allam wrote of his conversion as “finally (seeing) the light.” The journalist went on to say that he received death threats for turning to Christ just as Paul did. Reading the letter, we get the idea that significant forces within Islam are intent on terrorizing people into accepting what they cannot in conscience believe. Paul, of course, never evangelized in this way although in history other men did so in the name of Christ. As Christians seeing the light have apologized for the sin of fanaticism among ancestors, we can pray that the light of respect and peace penetrate the consciousness of all Muslim brothers and sisters.
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