Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
(Mark 10:28-31)
What Jesus says is true. People who worry about committing themselves to a religious vocation often find that they receive several times more than they gave up. Moving away from relatives as a young woman or man may be wrenching, but the person typically finds herself or himself in wonderful company which literally becomes a second family.
In the gospel Jesus predicts exactly this kind of bountiful return for those who sacrifice themselves for his sake. We can note a couple of other blessings associated with religious life. Above all, religious and priests develop an intimate relationship with the Lord. All Christians should pray, but those dedicated to the Church find themselves constantly reflecting on Scripture and petitioning God for assistance. Especially as we become less interested in doing things, knowing Christ in these ways can fulfill the heart’s desire.
Ministry for priests and religious can also be particularly meaningful. They usually assist well-disposed people in need of guidance. Speaking about Jesus brings great satisfaction, especially when the message is heard with interest. Finally, Jesus assures his disciples that those who have committed themselves as they have made will receive eternal life. He means that they will never leave the bliss of his companionship.
Homilette for Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
(Mark 10:28-31)
What Jesus says is true. People who commit themselves to a vocation as a priest or religious often receive several times more than they give up. Moving away from relatives as a young woman or man may be wrenching, but priests and religious typically find themselves in wonderful company which becomes like a second family.
We can note other blessings associated with religious life. Above all, religious and priests develop an intimate relationship with the Lord. All Christians should pray, but those dedicated to the Church have constant opportunity to reflect on Scripture. By meditating on how God prepared His people for His Son in the Old Testament, how Jesus lived and died in the gospels, and how the new People of God looked to him as Savior throughout the New Testament, we come to trust Christ as both our Lord and brother.
Ministry for priests and religious can also be particularly meaningful. They usually assist well-intentioned people needing guidance in the quest for holiness. Speaking about Jesus brings great satisfaction, especially when the message is heard with interest. Finally, Jesus assures his disciples that those who have committed themselves to him will receive eternal life. He means that they will never leave the bliss of his companionship.
(Mark 10:28-31)
What Jesus says is true. People who commit themselves to a vocation as a priest or religious often receive several times more than they give up. Moving away from relatives as a young woman or man may be wrenching, but priests and religious typically find themselves in wonderful company which becomes like a second family.
We can note other blessings associated with religious life. Above all, religious and priests develop an intimate relationship with the Lord. All Christians should pray, but those dedicated to the Church have constant opportunity to reflect on Scripture. By meditating on how God prepared His people for His Son in the Old Testament, how Jesus lived and died in the gospels, and how the new People of God looked to him as Savior throughout the New Testament, we come to trust Christ as both our Lord and brother.
Ministry for priests and religious can also be particularly meaningful. They usually assist well-intentioned people needing guidance in the quest for holiness. Speaking about Jesus brings great satisfaction, especially when the message is heard with interest. Finally, Jesus assures his disciples that those who have committed themselves to him will receive eternal life. He means that they will never leave the bliss of his companionship.
Homilette for Monday, May 27, 2008
I am posting two reflections here -- the first explicitly for Memorial Day and the second focusing on the readings for Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time. cm
Memorial Day
In Shakespeare’s play Henry V, the king under disguise speaks with his troops before battle. One soldier claims that the king would be guilty of all the sins of those who die in battle if his cause is not just. Henry disagrees. “The King is not bound to answer the particular endings of his soldiers...,” he says, “for they purpose not their death when they purpose their services.”
Henry seems to make the better argument. For this reason we come here to pray for dead soldiers and sailors, not for dead Presidents. We can easily imagine the temptations of those going off to war. They may become over-zealous in killing during battle, or they may behave immorally in recreation away from home. Whether their sins are grave or light, they deserve our prayers. After all, they gave their lives that we might enjoy freedom and dignity.
Catholics show themselves as worthy Americans on Memorial Day by remembering at Mass our country’s war dead. Few practices are more uniquely Catholic than praying for the dead. And there is no better way to pray for the dead than offering for their sake the memorial of our Savior’s death.
Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
(Mark 10:17-27)
Preachers used to have a solution to the absurdity of a camel passing through the eye of a needle. They claimed that there was a gate in Jerusalem called “the needle eye” which a camel might enter if it ducked enough. So, they concluded, Jesus allows the possibility of the rich saving themselves after all.
Such an interpretation of Jesus’ words, however, misconstrued the point Jesus is making. Because they think of riches as a blessing from God, the disciples figure that God will continue to bless them with a ticket to heaven. Jesus disabuses them of this idea by saying that the chances of the rich entering heaven are as impossible as a ten-foot animal’s passing through a quarter-inch opening.
Do the poor have a greater chance? Jesus would answer “yes” because the poor tend to ask God’s help more regularly. The rich too can be saved if they sincerely turn to God for assistance. Jesus wants to impress upon all that on our own we cannot cross the divide that separates us from God. Whether we are as rich as Bill Gates or as strong as Mr. Atlas our resources are insufficient. But God can get us across so let us implore His help and live up to His commands.
Memorial Day
In Shakespeare’s play Henry V, the king under disguise speaks with his troops before battle. One soldier claims that the king would be guilty of all the sins of those who die in battle if his cause is not just. Henry disagrees. “The King is not bound to answer the particular endings of his soldiers...,” he says, “for they purpose not their death when they purpose their services.”
Henry seems to make the better argument. For this reason we come here to pray for dead soldiers and sailors, not for dead Presidents. We can easily imagine the temptations of those going off to war. They may become over-zealous in killing during battle, or they may behave immorally in recreation away from home. Whether their sins are grave or light, they deserve our prayers. After all, they gave their lives that we might enjoy freedom and dignity.
Catholics show themselves as worthy Americans on Memorial Day by remembering at Mass our country’s war dead. Few practices are more uniquely Catholic than praying for the dead. And there is no better way to pray for the dead than offering for their sake the memorial of our Savior’s death.
Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
(Mark 10:17-27)
Preachers used to have a solution to the absurdity of a camel passing through the eye of a needle. They claimed that there was a gate in Jerusalem called “the needle eye” which a camel might enter if it ducked enough. So, they concluded, Jesus allows the possibility of the rich saving themselves after all.
Such an interpretation of Jesus’ words, however, misconstrued the point Jesus is making. Because they think of riches as a blessing from God, the disciples figure that God will continue to bless them with a ticket to heaven. Jesus disabuses them of this idea by saying that the chances of the rich entering heaven are as impossible as a ten-foot animal’s passing through a quarter-inch opening.
Do the poor have a greater chance? Jesus would answer “yes” because the poor tend to ask God’s help more regularly. The rich too can be saved if they sincerely turn to God for assistance. Jesus wants to impress upon all that on our own we cannot cross the divide that separates us from God. Whether we are as rich as Bill Gates or as strong as Mr. Atlas our resources are insufficient. But God can get us across so let us implore His help and live up to His commands.
Homilette for Friday, May 23, 2008
Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
(James 5:9-12)
We have all seen enactments of court witnesses taking an oath. The attendant holds a Bible on which the witness places her left hand. He then asks her, “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?” When the witness responds, “I do,” is she defying the command we find in today’s reading from James, “...do not swear,
either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath”?
Actually the Scripture basis forbidding the taking of oaths runs deeper than the Letter of James. Jesus tells his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, “...’I say to you, Do not swear at all....Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one’” (Mt 5:34). When a Christian takes an oath then using the words “so help me, God,” like the new President will likely do in January, it seems to be a sinful matter.
The Church, however, which is the official interpreter of Scripture, has judged to the contrary. The Catechism explains that we follow a tradition found in St. Paul’s letters that permits oaths invoking God for serious reasons (cf. #2154). Nevertheless, today’s reading from the Letter of James and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount should remind us not to use God’s name frivolously. Too often people say “O my God,” “God, help me,” and even the curse “God damn” without respect for the holiness of God’s name. We should no more use that name lightly, indeed we should use it much less, than we would flippantly toss about our mother’s name. On the other hand, we should call upon it without hesitation when we are in legitimate need of God’s help.
(James 5:9-12)
We have all seen enactments of court witnesses taking an oath. The attendant holds a Bible on which the witness places her left hand. He then asks her, “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?” When the witness responds, “I do,” is she defying the command we find in today’s reading from James, “...do not swear,
either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath”?
Actually the Scripture basis forbidding the taking of oaths runs deeper than the Letter of James. Jesus tells his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, “...’I say to you, Do not swear at all....Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one’” (Mt 5:34). When a Christian takes an oath then using the words “so help me, God,” like the new President will likely do in January, it seems to be a sinful matter.
The Church, however, which is the official interpreter of Scripture, has judged to the contrary. The Catechism explains that we follow a tradition found in St. Paul’s letters that permits oaths invoking God for serious reasons (cf. #2154). Nevertheless, today’s reading from the Letter of James and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount should remind us not to use God’s name frivolously. Too often people say “O my God,” “God, help me,” and even the curse “God damn” without respect for the holiness of God’s name. We should no more use that name lightly, indeed we should use it much less, than we would flippantly toss about our mother’s name. On the other hand, we should call upon it without hesitation when we are in legitimate need of God’s help.
Homilette for Thursday, May 22, 2208
Thursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
(James 5:1-6; Mark 9:41-50)
Both the first reading and the gospel today demonstrate the Bible’s capacity to use hyperbolic language to make its point. We must remember that such language should not be understood literally. Rather we should allow common sense to question extreme commands and judgments and then defer to Church authorities for a proper interpretation.
In the reading from the Letter of James the author seems to tell all the rich that they will end up in misery. Apparently he believes that everyone with wealth has extorted the poor. Of course, this position is patently false. Still, however, seeking wealth as the heart’s desire runs the risk of greed and selfishness. Everyone – the rich, the poor, and persons in the middle – should become “poor in spirit” as the responsorial psalm says. That is, all people should look to God as their principal resource of fulfillment in life.
Jesus tells his disciples that if their hand, foot, or eye causes them to sin, they should sever these organs. If Jesus meant to be taken literally here, he would be advocating actions contrary to natural law! But he only wants to emphasize the necessity that those with authority in the Church must never lead the faithful astray. By way of example we might say that Church leaders have to avoid giving scandal by keeping their hands out of community funds, by not kicking others with their feet, and by not lusting after any one with their eyes.
(James 5:1-6; Mark 9:41-50)
Both the first reading and the gospel today demonstrate the Bible’s capacity to use hyperbolic language to make its point. We must remember that such language should not be understood literally. Rather we should allow common sense to question extreme commands and judgments and then defer to Church authorities for a proper interpretation.
In the reading from the Letter of James the author seems to tell all the rich that they will end up in misery. Apparently he believes that everyone with wealth has extorted the poor. Of course, this position is patently false. Still, however, seeking wealth as the heart’s desire runs the risk of greed and selfishness. Everyone – the rich, the poor, and persons in the middle – should become “poor in spirit” as the responsorial psalm says. That is, all people should look to God as their principal resource of fulfillment in life.
Jesus tells his disciples that if their hand, foot, or eye causes them to sin, they should sever these organs. If Jesus meant to be taken literally here, he would be advocating actions contrary to natural law! But he only wants to emphasize the necessity that those with authority in the Church must never lead the faithful astray. By way of example we might say that Church leaders have to avoid giving scandal by keeping their hands out of community funds, by not kicking others with their feet, and by not lusting after any one with their eyes.
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