Memorial of Saint Isidore (patron of farmers)
(Acts 16:22-34; John 16:5-11)
The way some people talk, farming in the United States is strictly big business. It is probably mostly so, but there are marvelous exceptions like Joel Salatin’s farm in Virginia. There crops are rotated, cows eat grass, and chickens feed on bugs. It is the kind of farming associated with St. Isidore, whose feast is celebrated today in rural areas around the world.
St. Isidore was a Spanish peasant of the twelfth century. He did not own his own land but diligently worked the manor of another. In his simplicity and devoutness he appears much like the jailer in the reading from Acts. The man is so bereaved by the thought of prisoners’ escaping on his watch that he wants to kill himself. Paul saves him from committing the terrible deed and introduces him to one worth dying for. The jailer, along with his family, embraces Jesus along.
We must remember that saints are not usually found among “world champions” or “the world’s richest.” Rather saints are people who live every moment of everyday trying to please the God who, they know, cherishes them as sons and daughters.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Feast of St. Matthias, apostle
(Acts 1:15-17.20-26; John 15:9-17)
Eleven men make up a football team, and there are “twelve apostles.” No coach would send only ten players onto the field, but is it unthinkable that there would be only eleven in the inner group directing the early Church? We might say “no,” but in the first reading today the community of disciples in Jerusalem evidently considers it critical that there are twelve leaders. One of its first decisions after Jesus’ ascension is to replace Judas, the lost soul.
Jesus was definite about choosing only twelve as his core group of disciples. He wanted no more and no less in order to epitomize his mission. Jesus came to initiate God’s Kingdom by gathering together the twelve tribes of Israel as a magnet to attract all peoples of the earth. He needed one leader for each of the tribes.
The New Testament does not mention Matthias other than in this passage. His significance is to indicate the clarity of Jesus’ vision for the church he founded. This realization should fill us with confidence. The Church to which we belong is no happenstance but the product of Jesus’ conscious design. Just as deliberately, Jesus has chosen us to constitute the Church’s membership. As today’s gospel indicates, we are his friends fully formed by his teaching and commissioned to witness to him in the world.
(Acts 1:15-17.20-26; John 15:9-17)
Eleven men make up a football team, and there are “twelve apostles.” No coach would send only ten players onto the field, but is it unthinkable that there would be only eleven in the inner group directing the early Church? We might say “no,” but in the first reading today the community of disciples in Jerusalem evidently considers it critical that there are twelve leaders. One of its first decisions after Jesus’ ascension is to replace Judas, the lost soul.
Jesus was definite about choosing only twelve as his core group of disciples. He wanted no more and no less in order to epitomize his mission. Jesus came to initiate God’s Kingdom by gathering together the twelve tribes of Israel as a magnet to attract all peoples of the earth. He needed one leader for each of the tribes.
The New Testament does not mention Matthias other than in this passage. His significance is to indicate the clarity of Jesus’ vision for the church he founded. This realization should fill us with confidence. The Church to which we belong is no happenstance but the product of Jesus’ conscious design. Just as deliberately, Jesus has chosen us to constitute the Church’s membership. As today’s gospel indicates, we are his friends fully formed by his teaching and commissioned to witness to him in the world.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter
(Acts 15:22-31; John 15:12-17)
In "Peter Pan," the captivating story about coming of age, children are taught a lesson on wish-making. When Tinker Bell, the fairy, comes on scene to grant any worthy wish, the smaller children ask for frivolous things like candy and toys. They seem perplexed when their requests are not honored. Then they catch on. They should seek noble qualities, like happiness and peace. This is the kind of request that Jesus has in mind in the gospel today.
Jesus tells his disciples, whom he now regards as friends, that they have developed a new level of consciousness. They will no longer be thinking in the ways of the world; that is, doing what they like and looking out primarily for their own welfare. No, from now on they will pursue the common good and do God's will above all.
Christians still may trivialize faith by trying to use it to pursue personal whims. They believe that they could use it to ask that the Cubs win the pennant or for some other frivolous thing. But faith has an infinitely higher purpose. It is to connect us to God so that we might have the fullness of life. We should not restrain from asking God to meet our needs, but our petitions should always be in line with the plan that He has for us. Let us ask for patience to take good care of our children and for courage to face pain and death. Such requests, Jesus assures us, the Father always honors.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter
(Acts 15:7-21; John 15:9-11)
In his encyclical Ut Unum Sint Blessed John Paul II expressed the willingness to envision a new form of papal leadership. In a significant outreach to Orthodox and Protestant Christianity the pope asked for suggestions to change his office to accommodate non-Catholic Christians without compromising truth. His offer is reminiscent of the concession that the first followers of Christ are making in the readings from the Acts of the Apostles today.
In the beginning Judaism was as much a part of Christianity as Mother's Day is part of being American. God chose the Jews to be His own people, and, as Jesus says in the Gospel of John, "Salvation is from the Jews." But this does not mean that one necessarily has to become a Jew to be saved. Peter proclaims what Jesus' disciples know instinctively: salvation does not come from Jewish ritual and dietetic observance but from the grace of the Jew, Jesus Christ.
The great ecumenical question for us is not how much change in the papacy we are willing to accept but how much personal renewal we are willing to make. Some Catholics may harbor prejudices against non-Catholics which surely have to go. Most of us need to emulate the virtues of other kinds of Christians - like the serious study of the word of God. Finally, all of us must pray more determinedly with Christian brothers and sisters for unity.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Wednesday of the Fifth W eek of Easter
(Acts 15:1-6; John 15:1-8)
When astronaut Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the moon just after mission commander Neil Armstrong, one of the first things he said was a line from today’s gospel: "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.” Then, retrieving from his spacesuit the Eucharistic host and vial of wine which he had taken from his church, he gave himself Communion.
In the gospel Jesus assures his disciples that they will accomplish much if they stay close to him. Their works will be the fruit of love because his words (or commands) are centered in love. As such, they will see their people flourish and they themselves becoming wiser and stronger.
We keep ourselves connected to Jesus especially by the Eucharist. Here the word of God prunes our excessive desire and fortifies our weaknesses. Here we participate in the ultimate sacrifice that frees us from the damper of sin and sets our sights on our eternal destiny.
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