Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Wednesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

(Ezra 9:5-9; Luke 9:1-6)

In the middle of the American Civil War, President Lincoln signed a proclamation calling for a day of public prayer and humiliation.  The document recognized that while God had been so generous in His blessings upon the United States, the nation had forgotten Him.  This spirit, notable for its absence today, is similar to the sentiment expressed by Ezra in the first reading.

The issue causing Ezra’s public repentance with the approval of the people is the apostasy of many Israelites.  In great numbers Jerusalem’s men have taken foreign wives and converted to pagan idolatry.  Ezra knows that faith is both precious and elusive.  Unless the people take strides to practice and preserve their faith, it will slip from their possession like a fish held out of water.

Few seem to have the stomach for private penance, much less public demonstrations of remorse.  Friday is a day of penance on the books, but even church organizations do not hold back from celebrating on that day.  Yet penance is more building up the self than tearing it down.  It acknowledges God as the supreme source of a people’s strength and appeals to Him to correct their faults.

Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

(Ezra 6:7-8.12b.14-20; Luke 8:19-21)

In 515 B.C., the returned exiles from Babylon dedicated the second Temple or Temple of Zerubbabel.  It is said to have been of the same dimensions as Solomon’s magnificent edifice but completely lacking the latter’s luxury.  Nevertheless, it served for five hundred years the need of the Jews to express their appreciation of the Lord with sacrifices.

Today’s first reading gives a little detail of the second Temple’s day of dedication.  There is a sense of relief that the structure is finally completed after taking more than twenty years since work first began.  The carnage of animal sacrifice is significant, but even more impressive is the ordering of priests and Levites.  Back in their places of offering sacrifice and speaking on behalf of God, the priests once more give to the people a sense of the divine presence.

Catholics have two orders of priesthood – a common priesthood and an ordained one.  All the baptized can offer worthy prayers to God because they partake of Christ.  Nevertheless, it is the sacrifice of Christ on the cross re-presented by the ordained in the Eucharist that brings the most intimate union with the divine.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcino, priest

(Ezra 1:1-6; Luke 8:16-18)

The wives of two men watching television in their own homes come to their respective husbands.  Each woman says, “I have something to tell you.”  One man says back, “O.K., what is it?”  The other turns off the television, motions to his wife to sit next to him, and says the same, “O.K., what is it?”  Which of the two will really hear what his wife wants to tell him?  In the gospel today Jesus warns the people to take the care of the second man in hearing his words.

The passage is composed of three sayings that follow Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed.  The seed, of course, is a metaphor for the word of God and the different types of ground that it falls on represent different kinds of hearers.  Jesus is exhorting the people to be fertile ground, that is, again, listeners who pay close attention to his words.

After hearing the gospel passages read at mass for thirty, forty, and fifty years we may take them for granted.  But if we do not heed them, they cannot give us life.  We do well to take them to heart.  They can change our lives from the ordinary to the saintly.  They can bear abundant fruit in us.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Memorial of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, priest and martyr, and St. Paul Chong Ha-sang, martyr and companions, martyrs

(I Timothy 6:2c-12; Luke 8:1-3)

When St. Dominic was founding the Dominican Order, he started by establishing a convent of women converted from the heretical sect in southern France.  They provided spiritual support for the soon to be organized band of friars.  Dominic could draw from Jesus’ experience in today’s gospel.

Luke mentions that a group of women accompanies Jesus and the Twelve as he proclaims the Kingdom of God.  The gospel emphasizes that they were more than enthusiastic followers but provide necessary material support for the troupe.   The third gospel takes pains to present women alongside men.  In this past Sunday’s gospel, for example, the parable of the woman who searches her house for a lost coin follows that of the shepherd who does not rest until he finds the lost sheep. 

Especially in Church circles women can be taken for granted today.  Such practice is deplorable because it betrays Jesus’ legacy.  Certainly measures have to be taken to avoid scandal, but including women in decision-making positions, as Pope Francis has promised, seems much in line with Jesus’ own practice.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Thursday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(I Timothy 4:12-16; Luke 7:36-50)

In one of the great sermons from antiquity St. Augustine exhorts priests and bishops to take good care of the community of faith.  Thinking of his own responsibilities, he says: “In addition to the fact that I am a Christian and must give God an account of my life, I as a leader must give an account of my stewardship as well.”  Augustine only echoes the first reading today telling a church leader to take extra care in how he lives.

St. Paul’s disciple Timothy is told to “attend to yourself and to your teaching.”  That is, he must live righteously and also instruct others to do the same.  The passage concludes: “…preserve in both tasks, for by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.”

Of course, ordained ministers with the huge burden of responsibility they carry must heed the advice.  They do not need our adulation or material gifts but our attention and prayers.  It also applies to the growing number of lay ministers who take on, at least temporarily, parallel duties of teaching and consoling.  Certainly, it applies to parents as well who have the task of nurturing their children in the faith.