Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Doctor of the Church

(Exodus3:1-6.9-12; Matthew 11:25-27)

An edifying story is told of St. Bonaventure which demonstrates the humility Jesus praises in the gospel today.  St. Bonaventure was a very learned man who has been named a doctor of the Church.  Still, according to the story, he was humble enough to recognize greater genius in others.

It is said that the pope announced a poetry contest in praise of the Holy Eucharist.  Both men Bonaventure and his colleague St. Thomas Aquinas submitted entries.  On the day of competition, Thomas read his work first -- the famous “Pange Lingua” which we still sing today.  According to the story, Bonaventure listened to Thomas’ words, wept in adoration, and tore up his own entry.

We do not have to write glorious poetry to give God praise.  Like those whom Jesus recommends to his Father in the gospel, we only have to respond with loving faith to God’s goodness.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Memorial of Kateri Tekakwitha, virgin

(Exodus 2:1-15a; Matthew 11:20-24)

Kateri Tekakwitha’s life was short but hard.  At the age of four her family contracted smallpox which left her both orphaned and physically impaired.  In becoming a Christian she was rejected by the Iroquois tribe among whom she grew up in what is now New York State.  She immigrated to the indigenous Christian community near Montreal.  There she might have chosen resentment for all the troubles she experienced.  Instead she devoted herself to God and concern for others.  She can be seen as a model of the conversion which Jesus desires in the gospel today.

Jesus laments the towns of Galilee where he has worked wonders to no avail.  Despite his cures, the people go on with life as usual.  They refuse to respond to the wonder of God’s mercy shown in His servant Jesus.  Jesus cannot but regret their obtuseness.  The woes he makes are expressions of condemnation for their refusal to change themselves to live in accordance with God’s loving mercy.   

The change that Jesus calls for is not that we begin to pray all the time although that would be most helpful.  He wants us to change our hearts, to live with compassion for others and not in constant judgment.  He wants us to imitate the very goodness of God.

Monday, July 12, 2015

Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Exodus 1:8-14.22; Matthew 10:34-11:1)

The word genocide is bantered about today.  People attach it to every mass murder.  It means the extermination of a nation or kind of people.  The Nazis attempted genocide against the Jews at the end of World War II.  More recently, the Hutu tribe in Rwanda tried to exterminate its rival Tutsi tribe, and the Serbs of Serbia attempted to eliminate the Bosnian minority.  In the first reading today the Egyptians have genocide in mind as they deal with the Israelites.

The conditions for genocide are rife.  The Israelites, once no more than a small clan, have grown both numerous and prosperous.  The ruling Egyptian nation resents the Israelites’ success and views them as a potential threat to their hegemony.  The overlords multiply the Israelite workload, but the added labor seems to make the Israelites more ingenious.  As a final solution to the threat, the Egyptian pharaoh orders the death of all Israelite boys.  The girls would be married to Egyptians and their offspring assimilated in the dominant culture. 

Pharaoh’s plan, of course, fails and the Israelites are led out of Egypt to the desert where they are formed as God’s chosen people.  The saga clues us on how to deal with oppression.  We are not to give into evil but to maintain our noblest values.  God will see us past the threat of genocide and mold us into a people reflecting His own goodness.is own goodness.hi

Friday, July 10, 2015

Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

 

(Genesis 46:1-7.28-30; Matthew 10:16-23)

 

Watching network news an observer is taken aback by the amount of fear-mongering.  Not long ago photos of aviation disasters that occurred months ago were dredged up as if they happen all the time.  Reports of tornados in other parts of the country were made ominously as if they were about to touch down next door.  Prudential security for the Fourth of July was chronicled like preparation for an imminent invasion.   God’s words to Jacob in the first reading need re-echoing: “Do not be afraid…”

 

Jacob is secure in what has become his homeland.  Why should he move his clan to Egypt where they will be strangers amidst a mighty power?  The reason is obvious.  There is a terrible draught with no relief in sight.  Equally significant, in Egypt his son Joseph will provide for the family and look after its security.  God confirms this option telling Jacob that eventually his bones will be interred in the “Promised Land.”  Now Jacob must trust the Lord and proceed with courage.

 

Of course, trusting in God and proceeding with courage sums up the way we should live as well.  We might add prudence to courage, but in any case we are not to fear.  Fear provokes isolation and hostility.  It short-circuits friendliness and love.  Rather than being fearful and becoming cynical, we should try to engage others in dialogue with the hope of finding common ground for mutual respect.

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 44:18-21.23b-29.45:1-5; Matthew 10:7-15)

The women just completed an adult religious education program.  She expressed her confidence about what she had learned by saying, “The next time Jehovah Witnesses came to my door, they should be prepared to sit down and talk for an hour.”

Door-to door canvassing is so associated with Jehovah Witnesses that it is scarcely considered a Catholic thing to do.  Yet Jesus in today’s gospel seems to tell his apostles to do just that. “As you enter a house,” he says, “wish it peace.”  But contemporary intuition, in this case at least, is not wrong.  Jesus is prescribing a manner for the missionary to find a place of lodging, not a way to evangelize.  Although there may be value in speaking of God’s love in visits to households, the new evangelization as proclaimed by recent popes is more about intimating that love by example.

In our postmodern culture everybody is said to be free to believe what she or he finds meaningful.  This implies toleration of different belief systems.  In this way our society avoids conflict without absolutizing any doctrine about which there is no general agreement.  However, by itself toleration hardly says anything about divine revelation in Jesus Christ.  It would be contradictory to force belief in Christ, but, as the popes suggest, we should not content ourselves merely with allowing each individual to believe whatever he or she likes.  Rather, we are to impress upon others the superiority of Catholic Christianity by the quality and tenor of our lives.