Memorial of the Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist
(I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Mark 6:17-29)
Lord of the Flies tells the story of a group of schoolboys shipwrecked on a deserted island who are forced to struggle for survival. At first they work together and establish a rescue plan. Not long afterwards, however, two factions develop with the members of one hunting down those of the other. The drama conveys the idea that people are quite capable of treating others cruelly, at least when no one is looking. Many reject this base opinion of human nature, but often enough human atrocities occur - like the attempted genocide of Jews by the Nazis - that defy its complete dismissal. Although an isolated incident, the story of John the Baptist's beheading also gives an air of plausibility to the gloomy opinion of humanity.
Herod recognizes John as "righteous and holy." The gospel today sounds almost as if he wants to keep John close-by to provide spiritual guidance. But as attuned as Herod might be to John's goodness, he cannot rise above his own pride. Because he promises Herodias' daughter anything that she asks, he executes the eminently honorable man in order to appear true to his word. A decent person would have apologized for his foolhardy promise and disciplined his step-daughter for her outrageous request.
We are wise not to deny our capacity to sin grievously and to thank God every day that we have avoided offending Him. It is His grace, given through Christ, which turns us from brutal nature into people who love and desire the good.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Friday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
(I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Matthew 25:1-13)
As much as the Internet has improved business possibilities today, it has brought a special windfall to purveyors of sex. Arranging sexual liaisons and dealing in pornography are leading Internet activities. The young as well as the old, stay-at-homes as well as gallivants, are all within the Internet’s reach. This fact makes Paul’s advice to the Thessalonians in the first reading as poignant as ever.
Paul is warning the Thessalonians about the pitfall of sex. He contrasts holiness with lust because the first is given to imitating God’s care for all while the second is taken up with egotistical pleasure. Interestingly, he criticizes taking a spouse primarily to satisfy one’s carnal craving as lacking proper motivation. He is advising his readers to purify their love of animal desire so that they may contribute to the good of all, even in their own bedrooms.
Many in our society, and even in our Church, are wont to say that what a married couple does in its bedroom is nobody else’s business. Although it is hard to imagine laws that would restrict a couple’s actions there, we must not say that anything goes. No, the Church are right to admonish married couples, as Paul does here, that marital sex needs regulation to produce truly free and loving people just as sure as the unmarried need to refrain from sexual fulfillment.
(I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Matthew 25:1-13)
As much as the Internet has improved business possibilities today, it has brought a special windfall to purveyors of sex. Arranging sexual liaisons and dealing in pornography are leading Internet activities. The young as well as the old, stay-at-homes as well as gallivants, are all within the Internet’s reach. This fact makes Paul’s advice to the Thessalonians in the first reading as poignant as ever.
Paul is warning the Thessalonians about the pitfall of sex. He contrasts holiness with lust because the first is given to imitating God’s care for all while the second is taken up with egotistical pleasure. Interestingly, he criticizes taking a spouse primarily to satisfy one’s carnal craving as lacking proper motivation. He is advising his readers to purify their love of animal desire so that they may contribute to the good of all, even in their own bedrooms.
Many in our society, and even in our Church, are wont to say that what a married couple does in its bedroom is nobody else’s business. Although it is hard to imagine laws that would restrict a couple’s actions there, we must not say that anything goes. No, the Church are right to admonish married couples, as Paul does here, that marital sex needs regulation to produce truly free and loving people just as sure as the unmarried need to refrain from sexual fulfillment.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Thursday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
(I Thessalonians 3:7-13; Matthew 24:42-51)
The Greek New Testament word diakonia means service. It has been translated into Latin as ministerium from which is derived the English word ministry. Of course, ministry is recognized as a form of service, but for a long time the Catholic Church considered it exclusively the service rendered by the ordained. Only recently, and still not completely, has the term been acknowledged as legitimate for the services lay people render in the Church.
Today’s gospel may be interpreted as supporting this point of view. Although the Greek does not use diakonia for the servant’s work, Jesus indicates that his disciples should await his return by caring for household needs. Since he is referring to the Church, he is saying that every member should contribute to her welfare.
All Catholics will not build up the Church in the same way. Many laypersons, doing their jobs efficiently, honestly, and benevolently, are reordering world affairs according to the norms of justice. This is not strictly secular work. Done with the right motivation, it fulfills in part the Church’s mission and has been termed the “ministry of the laity.” Others will expend their creative effort back in the parish teaching religion or working with the evangelization program. They perform a more recognized but not necessarily more important ministry.
(I Thessalonians 3:7-13; Matthew 24:42-51)
The Greek New Testament word diakonia means service. It has been translated into Latin as ministerium from which is derived the English word ministry. Of course, ministry is recognized as a form of service, but for a long time the Catholic Church considered it exclusively the service rendered by the ordained. Only recently, and still not completely, has the term been acknowledged as legitimate for the services lay people render in the Church.
Today’s gospel may be interpreted as supporting this point of view. Although the Greek does not use diakonia for the servant’s work, Jesus indicates that his disciples should await his return by caring for household needs. Since he is referring to the Church, he is saying that every member should contribute to her welfare.
All Catholics will not build up the Church in the same way. Many laypersons, doing their jobs efficiently, honestly, and benevolently, are reordering world affairs according to the norms of justice. This is not strictly secular work. Done with the right motivation, it fulfills in part the Church’s mission and has been termed the “ministry of the laity.” Others will expend their creative effort back in the parish teaching religion or working with the evangelization program. They perform a more recognized but not necessarily more important ministry.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Feast of Saint Bartholomew, apostle
(Revelation 21:9b-14; John 1:45-51)
How can it be that on the Feast of St. Bartholomew, apostle, we hear a gospel story about Nathanael? But it is not an oversight. On the lists of apostles in the gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the name Bartholomew always appears paired with Philip. In John’s gospel, which makes no mention of Bartholomew, there is a story about Nathanael who is a friend of Philip. It is likely, therefore, that Nathanael and Bartholomew are the same person. Also, Bartholomew appears to be a surname since bar in Hebrew means son of. This fact makes some conclude that the celebration today is more properly the “Feast of St. Nathanael Bartholomew”!
As interesting as the apostle’s name may be, we commemorate him today for something more. He proclaims Jesus “the Son of God and King of Israel.” At the end of John’s gospel Thomas calls Jesus “my Lord and my God.” But he will have the advantage of seeing him after the resurrection. Nathanael’s insight into Jesus’ identity comes from his being, as Jesus says, “a true child of Israel.” This means that he has faithfully waited for the Lord to send his servant for the redemption of His people.
As St. Nathaniel Bartholomew and all true Israelites waited for the coming of the Messiah, so we and all true Christians wait for him to return. After two millennia we would feel frustrated if there were no evidence that he is close at hand. But such testimony is available. Jesus is present to us in the Eucharist from which we draw spiritual nourishment and moral guidance. Nevertheless, we yearn for him to reappear in human form so that he might tell us secrets about ourselves as he does about Nathanael in the gospel today.
(Revelation 21:9b-14; John 1:45-51)
How can it be that on the Feast of St. Bartholomew, apostle, we hear a gospel story about Nathanael? But it is not an oversight. On the lists of apostles in the gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the name Bartholomew always appears paired with Philip. In John’s gospel, which makes no mention of Bartholomew, there is a story about Nathanael who is a friend of Philip. It is likely, therefore, that Nathanael and Bartholomew are the same person. Also, Bartholomew appears to be a surname since bar in Hebrew means son of. This fact makes some conclude that the celebration today is more properly the “Feast of St. Nathanael Bartholomew”!
As interesting as the apostle’s name may be, we commemorate him today for something more. He proclaims Jesus “the Son of God and King of Israel.” At the end of John’s gospel Thomas calls Jesus “my Lord and my God.” But he will have the advantage of seeing him after the resurrection. Nathanael’s insight into Jesus’ identity comes from his being, as Jesus says, “a true child of Israel.” This means that he has faithfully waited for the Lord to send his servant for the redemption of His people.
As St. Nathaniel Bartholomew and all true Israelites waited for the coming of the Messiah, so we and all true Christians wait for him to return. After two millennia we would feel frustrated if there were no evidence that he is close at hand. But such testimony is available. Jesus is present to us in the Eucharist from which we draw spiritual nourishment and moral guidance. Nevertheless, we yearn for him to reappear in human form so that he might tell us secrets about ourselves as he does about Nathanael in the gospel today.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Memorial of Saint Rose of Lima, virgin
(I Thessalonians 2:1-8; Matthew 23:23-26)
A priest ministering to the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa’s congregation, rightly feels humbled. The sisters sit at his feet seemingly attending to every word that he utters. The priest knows that they, much more than he, exemplify the work of Jesus in their service among the poorest of the poor. In her daily life St. Rose of Lima demonstrated an even greater self-effacement and dedication than the Missionaries of Charity. Her care for the poor was overshadowed only by her acts of piety as she demonstrated for an entire city love for God.
St. Paul in the reading today sees himself as the same kind of servant. “…we were gentle among you,” he writes, “as a nursing mother cares for her infants.” Paul likely means that he was patient in his work among the Thessalonians taking pains to explain the gospel in simple terms that these simple people could understand. Evidently he also labored at his own trade of tent-making while among the people so that he would not burden them with requests for his upkeep.
The piety and service of saints move us from self-concern to devotion to others. Certainly our times provide no ready outlet in the race for vainglory. However, we can see saints among us today as certainly as in the seventeenth century when St. Rose of Lima lived and in the first century when St. Paul worked shining like stars in the sky. They remind us that there is one greater and better than we who commands our constant effort to purify our love for others.
(I Thessalonians 2:1-8; Matthew 23:23-26)
A priest ministering to the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa’s congregation, rightly feels humbled. The sisters sit at his feet seemingly attending to every word that he utters. The priest knows that they, much more than he, exemplify the work of Jesus in their service among the poorest of the poor. In her daily life St. Rose of Lima demonstrated an even greater self-effacement and dedication than the Missionaries of Charity. Her care for the poor was overshadowed only by her acts of piety as she demonstrated for an entire city love for God.
St. Paul in the reading today sees himself as the same kind of servant. “…we were gentle among you,” he writes, “as a nursing mother cares for her infants.” Paul likely means that he was patient in his work among the Thessalonians taking pains to explain the gospel in simple terms that these simple people could understand. Evidently he also labored at his own trade of tent-making while among the people so that he would not burden them with requests for his upkeep.
The piety and service of saints move us from self-concern to devotion to others. Certainly our times provide no ready outlet in the race for vainglory. However, we can see saints among us today as certainly as in the seventeenth century when St. Rose of Lima lived and in the first century when St. Paul worked shining like stars in the sky. They remind us that there is one greater and better than we who commands our constant effort to purify our love for others.
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