Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Ligouri, bishop and doctor of the Church

(Exodus 33:7-11.34:5b-9.28; Matthew 13:36-43)

Adoration has become again a central feature of Catholic devotion.  Almost abandoned for decades, most parishes are now designating parts of days, whole days, and even ongoing days for praying before the Blessed Sacrament.  Chapels on college campuses as well often have regular hours of Eucharistic devotion.  Evidently people today just as in Moses’ time according to today’s first reading feel the need to commune with the Lord.

The reading specifies that the meeting tent was open to everyone.  What is more, when Moses entered the tent, everyone would pray before his or her own tent.  As one commentator says, “Everyone’s life was oriented toward meeting God.”  No doubt, they share with the Lord both personal and communal needs.  They want to know God’s will for them and also seek His help in carrying out their responsibilities.

Today the Church honors St. Alphonsus Ligouri, an eighteenth century theologian and bishop.  More than most St. Alphonsus was able to clarify what God expects of people.  When we go to him in prayer, he will help us to find our way to God. 

Monday, July 31, 2017

Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, priest

(Exodus 32:14-24.30.34; Matthew 13:31-35)

St. Ignatius Loyola founded the Society of Jesus to be like yeast in today’s gospel parable.  Although relatively few in comparison to the great numbers they serve, Jesuits have a tremendous enhancing effect.  Their power results from education but even more than that from a Christ-centered spirituality which gives them the focus and drive of St. Paul.   

Jesuits also go into the world which may be compared to the three measures of wheat flour.  In the beginning their mission was not to found monasteries where people could come for sanctification or communities from which they could go forth and retreat to preach the gospel.  No, they have traditionally been associated with the “front lines” engaging the people with an authentic interpretation of the gospel. 

The achievement of the Jesuits has been impressive.  Like the “whole batch” of bread mentioned in the gospel parable, Jesuits have been instrumental in bringing many to Christ.  They have established centers of learning throughout the world.  They have become not only among the best of theologians, but leaders in every ministry field.  As much as anyone Pope Francis epitomizes what the Jesuits.  He is well-learned but humble.  He can rub shoulders with the powerful but is at home with the poor.  He has accomplished much in his eighty years but is above all a prayerful man dependent upon God. 

Friday, July 28, 2017

Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Exodus 20:1-17; Matthew 13:18-23)

People often speak of the necessity to set boundaries.  These are limits that allow relationships to develop without friction.  For example, a person may tell friends that he does not want to be called after 10 p.m.  Often boundaries are implied by the nature of a relationship.  Teachers should not date their students even when both are adults. 

In the first reading today God sets boundaries for humans.  Not keeping the Sabbath or stealing injures our relationship with the Lord.  It should be noted, however, that a literal observance of the Ten Commandments hardly fulfills one’s responsibilities as a Christian.  It is not enough that she refrain from worshipping idols; she must also love God with her whole mind and heart.  It is not enough that he not covet his neighbor’s wife; he must love his neighbor as himself.  This is why, when asked, Jesus did not name any of the Ten Commandments as the greatest.

In writing his moral theology Thomas Aquinas did not concentrate on the commandments.  He realized that if we are to come to know God, we have to do much more than follow rules.  We have to practice virtue.  This is a huge task that might exhaust us from the get-go except for the Holy Spirit.  God breathes this life into our bones so that we might not only avoid evil but also might do good.

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Exodus 19:1-2. 9-11.16-20b; Matthew 13:10-17)

We think of parables as little stories that illustrate what Jesus is trying to teach.  They are like the vignettes a high school teacher used to tell to make a point.  Most of his students will remember the anecdote about the bank robber Willie Loman.  Asked once why he robbed banks, Loman famously replied, “…because that’s where the money is.”  Then the teacher told his students that they must decide what is most important in life and, like Willie Loman, go after it.

In today’s gospel passage, however, Jesus says that he uses parables to confuse his listeners: “’This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.’”  It is only right to ask, what gives?  The evangelist Matthew, writing perhaps fifty years after Jesus, knows that many people have already rejected the message of the gospel.  But even in Jesus’ time many follow him with no intention of heeding his call to repentance.  They merely want to see him work a wonder. For the first group Jesus death and resurrection will seem like a fantasy.  For the second his stories will sound so.

But, hopefully, it is not this way for us.  We believe that Jesus has the words of eternal life and want to follow his teachings.  

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary    

(Exodus 16:1-5.9-15; Matthew 13:10-17)

A senior citizen tries to pass on the Catholic faith to his adolescent grandson.  When the youth spends a weekend with him, he invariably takes him to Sunday mass.  The youth tells him that he enjoys the experience; however, he has yet to express interest in committing himself to the Church.  Today as we honor Saints Anne and Joachim, the parents of Mary and thus the grandparents of Jesus, we may speculate on their contribution to Jesus’ faith commitment.  

It may be presumed that Anne and Joachim raised Mary as a devout Jew.  They taught her how to wait upon the Lord and instructed her not to follow the winds of the time.  They reminded Mary of how God loves His people and will come to their aid in distress.  Mary, in turn, passed on these instructions to Jesus who perfectly fulfilled God’s will by his sacrifice on the cross.

Catholic grandparents today often have to teach their grandchildren the rudiments faith.  Their own children have often become so alienated from God and the Church that they understand religion as a set of dispensable rites to mark the passage of time.  Where this is the case, grandparents need to convey how human nature is distorted by sin but redeemed by Jesus’ death and resurrection.  They also want to show how heeding Jesus’ words leads to happiness and how embracing him in the sacraments will give them the strength to listen and follow.