Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Memorial of Saint Benedict, abbot

(Hosea 10:1-3.7-8.12; Matthew 10:1-7)

St. Benedict founded monasteries.  He also was responsible for the “Rule of St. Benedict,” a description of the ideal monastic life.  It might seem, then, that St. Benedict would be honored as a man who promoted retreat.  His name, however, is associated with the evangelization of Europe.  His legacy is similar to that of the apostles whom Jesus sends out to preach in today’s gospel. 

Evangelization is a multi-faceted project.  It is more than telling people about Jesus.  Evangelization includes shaping a culture responsive to the gospel.  For this to be done evangelizers must build churches and found schools.  They have to influence government to allow the people to practice their faith.  And they need to inculcate a sense of Christ being part of the people’s lives all day, every day.  Benedictine monks have been carrying out these practices for fifteen centuries.

Many wonder if Christian evangelization has not come to an end.  In this time of globalization societies are becoming more and more pluralistic.  Moreover, young people in many western countries are abandoning their Christian heritage.  Christian customs and traditions have lost a central place in much of Europe and North America.   Yet Christian culture cannot be lost.  It has Christ himself as its cornerstone.  Furthermore, its supreme value of self-sacrificing love is the deepest desire of the human heart.  We need other Benedicts to retrace the way.

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Hosea 8:4-7.11-13; Matthew 9:32-38)

Isn’t it strange that today’s gospel refers to the people as like sheep in one sentence and in the next as a field of harvest?  Shepherds and farmers are notorious rivals.  Witness Cain and Abel for example.  Then why does Matthew mix these metaphors?

Perhaps he wants to contrast Jesus’ perspective with the narrow outlook of the Pharisees.  The passage begins with the Pharisees accusing Jesus of casting out demons “by the prince of demons.”  They refuse to include in their field of vision a positive reading of Jesus’ actions.  Rather they choose to see him narrowly, as in league with the devil.  Jesus, on the other hand, cures “every disease and illness.”  His broad perspective allows him to resist evil and support goodness in all their forms.

We too should strive for inclusiveness.  We must not approve bad behavior, but we should help everyone live good lives.   Even those people commonly associated with bad behavior we need to care about.  This is what Jesus means when he says, “The harvest is abundant…” 

Monday, July 9, 2018

Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Hosea 2:16.17c-18.21-22; Matthew 9:18-26)

Today’s gospel should seem like déjà vu.  It is an abbreviated parallel to the passage read a week ago Sunday from the Gospel of Mark.  It pictures Jesus as somewhat more than the “man of God” as people thought of him in his day.

Jesus shows himself to be a servant of God when he wastes not a minute in going to help the official’s daughter.  The woman with hemorrhages certainly considers Jesus a holy person when she thinks that by touching his cloak, she could be cured.  In fact she touches it and is healed.  Jesus then reveals just how like God he is.  When he enters the official’s house, his daughter appears to be dead.  Yet when he takes her hand, she comes to life.

But Jesus is more than a "man of God."  When he rises from the dead, he shows himself to be equal to God -- the true Son of the Father.  We look to him to raise us like the official’s daughter from the stupor in which often find ourselves.  We tend to go along with the masses believing that happiness consists of being rich or being powerful or being sated with pleasure.  When Jesus takes our hand and awakens us, he shows us something different.  We see that true happiness consists in being generous, humble, and befriended by Jesus himself.  Of course, he will do more for us than that.  Because he is God, he will also raise us from the sleep of actual death when the time comes.

Friday, July 6, 2018

Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 23:1-4.19.24:1-8.62-67; Matthew 9:9-13)

Building inspectors are often suspected of corruption because of the nature of their profession.  They can overlook faulty wiring or missing fire alarms for a few dollars under the table.  For this reason they may be considered like the tax collectors of Jesus’ time.

Today’s gospel affirms tax collectors’ dishonestly when Jesus says that he has come to call sinners.  But its hidden and more important message is that the “man named Matthew” is open to repentance.  When the Lord commands him to follow, Matthew jumps to the command.  The action implies that he will forfeit any unrighteous tendencies as he submits to Jesus’ instruction.

We must remember that we too are tax collectors of sorts.  By reason of a corrupted nature all of us are given to taking dishonest money, illicit pleasure, or what have you.  Nevertheless, at the same time like Matthew God has graced us with openness to truth and love.  We learn from Jesus how to live out this new way of grace.

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Amos 7:10-17; Matthew 9:1-8)

Fifty years ago Pope St. Paul VI made a prophetic statement.  In his encyclical Humanae Vitae Pope Paul said that artificial birth control will lead to disregard for women.  He reasoned that when husbands grow accustomed to contraception, many will no longer look on their wives primarily as equal partners in the creation of a family.  Rather, he said, they will see them more as objects of sexual desire.  Pope Paul suffered great unpopularity, even ridicule for the stand he took.  He may be seen as another Amos as pictured in today’s first reading.

Amos has exhorted Israel to reform its ways.  He has criticized especially the royalty for not giving leadership that truly trusts in the Lord.  As a result, he is ostracized by the high priest and told to go home.  His prophecy that Jeroboam will die by the sword evidently did not come to pass as predicted.  However, the northern kingdom of Israel was exiled with the Assyrian invasion.

Even Catholics have a hard time accepting that the sexual revolution engineered by artificial contraception has led to great misery.  Physical and emotional poverty caused by absent fathers is prevalent in both wealthy and poor nations.  Sexual desire has a tremendous hold on humans.  This in itself desire is not bad; rather, it is quite magnificent.  But such a powerful force needs to be checked by reason constructing prudent laws to guide the will.