Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

(Proverbs 21:1-6; 10-13; Luke 8:19-21)

Most baby-boomers remember with fondness the Mickey Mouse Club.  Walt Disney’s daily television show of the late 1950s provided edifying entertainment without pedanticism.  Proverbs were an almost daily feature.  The show’s host repeated a proverb like the ones of today’s first reading.  Then he sang a tune, “Proverbs help us all to be better mouseketeers; that is, followers of Mickey Mouse.  The cheerful, good-hearted cartoon creation was proposed as the model for children of the generation.

The ten proverbs cited today were probably used on the Mickey Mouse Club.  They do not have a unifying theme beyond the need to be humble, earnest, honest, and kind.  They reflect the Decalogue in their moral wisdom and succinctness.

The fact that Jesus frequently uses proverbs in his preaching gives those we hear today added currency.  As he says in the gospel, his closest human relatives are they who hear such words and put them into practice.

Monday, September 24, 2018

Monday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

(Proverbs 3:27-34; Luke 8:16-18)

A lifetime ago poet T.S. Eliot asked of his generation questions that seem even more relevant to ours.  “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?” Eliot wrote. And, “Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”  Our society seems to know more and more but acts with less and less prudence.  Information abounds, but few seem to use it well.  News media provides an example.  All too often newspapers and TV news editorialize as they report.  They picture reality through a distorted prism so that readers and viewers are left with a biased understanding of what is happening.   One can turn to Scripture as a more reliable source of knowledge and wisdom.

The passage from the Book of Proverbs today reminds us to be generous and just.  In the gospel Jesus uses proverbs to teach the crowds.  The wise, he says, will listen carefully to worthy instruction or they will lose whatever edge they have in facing life’s challenges.  Jesus is showing himself to be the fulfillment of Simeon’s prophecy at the gospel’s beginning.  He is the light of the nations who comes to reveal God’s plan for the world.

Wisdom is not knowledge and much less mere information.  It is truth about life which for most of us takes a lifetime to comprehend.  We can find it most compactly in Jesus.  If we are going to reach life’s true objectives, we should heed all that he tells us and follow always in his way.

Friday, September 21, 2018

Feast of Saint Matthew, apostle and evangelist

(Ephesians 4:1-7.11-13; Matthew 9:9-13)

A young pastor in Chicago speaks of the theology of space.  He sees his community as addressing violence wherever it happens. He reasons that the Church building should reflect an outreach to those often involved in violence. So he has opened in the middle of the church by moving the pews to the side.  Now the youth who often cause violence can gather in church for different activities seven days a week.  The pastor shows the same zeal to call sinners as Jesus does in today’s gospel.

What does Jesus see in Matthew?  No doubt, the tax collector has financial ability.  But Jesus needs preachers who will be loyal to him and then be ready to endure hardship on his behalf.  Perhaps he notices on Matthew’s face dissatisfaction with his compromised profession.  As a fine judge of character, he may see a reluctance to handle money and a need to uplift others.  In any case, he has assessed Matthew correctly.  As soon as he issues his call, Matthew leaves behind his professional accoutrements to follow.

Jesus calls every one of us to serve.  Certainly, we are not all to be apostles.  But, as the Letter to the Ephesians says, everyone is invited “for the work of ministry.”  Let us not hesitate to respond.  Like Matthew let us readily put our things aside to follow Jesus.

Thursday, September 20, 2018

Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gon, priest and martyr; Paul Chong Ha-sang, martyr; and companions, martyrs

(I Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 7:36-50)

The Charismatic Renewal has received more than its rightful share of criticisms.  Pastors sometimes want to suppress it or to keep it from gaining a foothold.  They find its participants too emotional and insufficiently submissive to prayer norms and customs.  Yet the movement is perhaps the most effective resource for evangelization in the Church today.  Detractors might consider the message of today’s gospel before launching criticisms.

Of course, the narrative says nothing about charismatic prayer.  Rather, it tells the story of an emotional woman showing gratitude to Jesus.   She likely heard him preach of God’s mercy and came to the house of Simon, the Pharisee, to show her appreciation.  She lavishes affection on Jesus which would appear extreme except, perhaps, at a Charismatic prayer meeting.  To Simon she is giving added evidence of harlotry, but Jesus recognizes a show of genuine contrition.  He forgives her all her sins while pointing out to Simon his complacencies. 

We should see the Pharisees in the gospel as warnings that we do not criticize the ways of others to worship God.  What may seem odd or eccentric to us may please the Lord as much as our rosaries and penances.  Charismatics especially deserve our continual consideration as they both praise God regularly and bring others to the community.  Truth be told, they are more likely than most to participate in join services to the needy.

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Wednesday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(I Corinthians 12:31-13:13; Luke 7:31-35)

Pope Benedict XVI wrote as helpful a reflection on love as one can hope to fine.  His encyclical Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love) asks a critical question: Are there different kinds of love, or is it a single reality? If there are different kinds, then some kinds would have a higher quality than others.  In classical terms agape, normally considered as selfless love, would be better than eros or desire.  Quite unexpectedly, Benedict holds that love is singular, that agape is but a purified form of eros. Paul’s great elegy on love, comprising today’s first reading, should be read with Benedict’s insight in mind.

The passage consistently uses agape, yet it is the reading of choice at wedding ceremonies.  Its context bespeaks union, but its words relate consideration and care for the other.  It implies that love is the greatest of the virtues because it is most God-like.  While it does not deny one’s own desires, it seeks first the good of the other. 

St. Therese of Lisieux was surely correct when she recognized that through love anyone could achieve the highest of human desires – sanctity and eternal life.  Whether we are married, religious, or single if we dedicate ourselves to loving others we will not only brings others happiness but also find it ourselves.