Thursday, August 11, 2016

Memorial of Saint Clare, virgin

(Ezekiel 12:1-12; Matthew 18:21-19:1)

Peace activists sometimes paint shadows of human forms on cement.  The figures represent the outcome of a nuclear bomb.  Its searing light would bleach the earth except the spot shielded by the person. This phenomenon actually took place in the bombing of Hiroshima.  The painted figures are prophetic gestures similar to Ezekiel’s activities in the first reading today.

Ezekiel takes his baggage outside his home to indicate that someone will be taking a trip.  Then he makes a hole in the wall of his home and slips through it.  This gesture represents the person’s stealthily leaving home.  Finally, he covers his face so as not to be recognized.  Taken together, the three symbols foretell the puppet king Zedekiah’s attempt to flee Jerusalem.  As the Babylonian army approaches the city, the king will seek refuge elsewhere.  He needs to run because he has lost the Lord’s protection. Like most of his predecessors, he has not led the people in religious reform.  Rather he has relied on political maneuvering to rule the people.  Now Babylonia is coming to inflict God’s punishment.

God constantly calls us to reform.  On a personal level this means enabling others in varied ways to correct their faults.  Failing to do so, we are likely to desire that international crises be settled with arms, not reason.  If this happens, the world may once again experience the horror of nuclear weapons.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Feast of Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr

(II Corinthians 9:6-10; John 12:24-26)

Lawrence is one of the most illustrious saints in the Church.  Stories about his martyrdom abound with both insight and humor.  Also, his feast day coincides with the visibility of shooting stars in the Italian skies.  Lawrence’s brilliant life is well reflected in both readings today.

Lawrence was a friend of the poor whose welfare as a deacon he oversaw.  He received from God the gift of life which he shared by working among the poor as the reading from Second Corinthians recommends.  Even more generously he sacrificed that life as a testimony of spirit so that the poor might believe.  As the gospel says, the seed dying in the ground will produce much fruit.

We can give similar testimony by remembering the poor in prayer and in deed.  Our request on their behalf will be matched by our generosity if we pray with sincerity.  Our solicitude on behalf of the needy will likely find us being more appreciative to God for all we have. 

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Ezekiel 2:8-3:4; Matthew 18:1-5.10.12-14)

A Protestant businessman once told a priest that he had the best job in the world.  Used to be told that priests were overworked, the father was wondering what the businessman had in mind.  Then the man explained himself.  He said that not everyone has the benefit of having to study the word of God like ministers do.  He had it just about right.  Priests are privileged by being called upon to study and preach the word of God.  Ezekiel expresses this thought in today’s first reading.

Ezekiel is given a directive to eat the scroll; that is, he is to digest the word of God.  It is sweet on the tongue because it speaks of the victory of faithfulness over idolatry, of justice over oppression.  But it also produces bitterness.  Justice demands judgment against those who prefer to comfort themselves rather than give what is due to others.  In the end it can only be hoped that the unjust see the way of God and change. 

We might find some satisfaction in talking to people about their sins.  But that may be a sign that we are contemptuous.  Instead of self-righteously criticizing others, we need to develop the habit of praying for others before we speak to them.  And when we talk with them, we should be ready to explain why we see their actions as injurious.  In these ways the word of God grows in both them and us.

Monday, August 8, 2016

Memorial of Saint Dominic Guzman, priest

(Ezekiel 1:2-5.24-28c; Matthew 17:22-27)

Some may remember St. Dominic from images in churches of him receiving the rosary from the Blessed Mother.  A few may recall a song about his life by a Belgian religious that rose to the top of the sales charts in the early 1960s.  But for most people St. Dominic’s story is as obscure as that of Jorge Bergoglio’s four years ago. 

Dominic was not a bishop or a martyr.  He did not leave any writings as a legacy beyond a simple exhortation to a community of sisters and some letters.  He was reportedly a fine preacher but no transcriptions of his sermons exist.  Dominic achieved standing in the Church for founding the Order of Preachers exactly eight hundred years ago.  In fact, since there is no historical evidence of Dominic’s miraculously receiving the rosary, historians attribute the popular image to the fact that members of the Order, called “Dominicans,” have been the leading promoters of the rosary through the ages.

But no one should mistake Dominic as a mediocre man who happened to found a successful religious congregation.  The Order of Preachers became successful because of his effectiveness as a leader.  Three qualities stand out: the breadth of his vision for the “holy preaching” (as he called it), the excellence of his character to set that vision in motion, and most of all the profundity of his faith which was not deterred by historical setbacks or weak followers.    Dominic believed radically in God’s providence and beseeched the Lord constantly for assistance in his enterprise of announcing Jesus Christ to the world.

Friday, August 5, 2016

Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Nahum 2:1.3.3:1-3.6-7; Matthew 16:24-28)

There is a powerful scene in A Man for All Seasons where St. Thomas More cites today’s gospel. More has been accused of treason and is given his day in court.  A former assistant, Richard Rich, is called as a witness of the state to testify against him.  Rich is introduced as the solicitor of Wales, a position he gained by conspiring with the authorities.  Rich perjures himself saying that More did indeed express denial of the king’s supremacy over the Church of England.  As Rich leaves the scene, More says to him: “The Lord asks what profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his life? But you have done so for Wales, Richard?”

Even though Thomas More evidently did not consider Wales much of a prize, many people seem willing to forfeit eternal life for less.  It is not for us to judge who will be saved and who will be damned, but certainly people perform actions they know are seriously wrong.  Murder, adultery, and abortion are three which quickly come to mind, but there are others which would be in most cases difficult to excuse.  These crimes are perpetrated sometimes for relatively shallow reasons like momentary pleasure or avoidance of shame.

No life is easy.  All have their share of disappointment and misery.  Yet all carry the prospect of happiness.  We bear our particular cross, as Jesus admonishes today, without great complaint so that we might follow him to glory.  It is also likely that we will find our forbearance bringing a measure of happiness among the people with whom we associate.