Friday, February 8, 2019

Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Hebrews 13:1-8; Mark 6:14-29)

Sometimes a prayer is uttered for prison reform.  The person who makes it has a finger on a festering sore in the United States.  There are over two million people imprisoned here.  This country also has the largest per capita number of prisoners in the world.  Most of the imprisoned are not convicted of the crimes for which they were originally jailed.  Rather plea bargaining is typically done whereby the district attorney offers the apprehended person a reduced sentence if the person pleads guilty.  This happens whether or not the person has done anything wrong.  The exhortation in Hebrews today to be mindful of the imprisoned sounds especially cogent here.

The other exhortations of the reading can be taken as a remedy for the appalling number of prisoners.  Whether or not people have perpetrated the crimes for which they are imprisoned, there are a large number of crimes committed.  At the root of these crimes are often found “love of money,” the abandonment of marriage vows, and forgetting the moral lessons taught in youth.  Addressing these sources should draw society closer together.  Everyone then should develop a sense of responsibility for the good of all.

As Hebrews repeatedly reminds us, we must keep our eyes on Jesus.  We want to love him, to imitate him, and to teach him.  Whether people believe in him or not, he will draw our society together in care for one another.  He certainly will bring fulfilment beyond money, sex, and illusory teachings.

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Thursday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(I Kings 2:1-4.10-12; Mark 6:7-13)

St. Dominic founded the Order of Preachers as a response to a missionary necessity.  Many people, especially in southern France, were attracted to Catharism, a religion that taught the dualism of matter and spirit.  What is spiritual, the Catharists believed, is good and what is material is evil.  Food, drink, even sex between married partners were to be avoided.  Truth and goodness were to be embraced.  For idealistic people this kind of reform will have some appeal. 

Monks galloping on horses from well-endowed estates had little success in checking the Catharist distortion.  Their near betrayal of poverty seemed only to confirm what the dualists were teaching.  Dominic dreamed of a different tact.  He would form a group of men who would beg for the food they ate and go on foot – two by two -- to preach the truth to the people.  Actually much of Dominic’s program is based on today’s gospel.  Jesus sends his disciples out with the same scarcity of physical resources – “no food, no sack, no money in their belts.”  However, they go forth with spiritual power to cast out demons and to cure the sick.  They return, as shall be read in Saturday’s mass, with astounding success.

These stories should challenge us to re-examine our lives.  We should ask if our possessions might not give a counter-message concerning what we treasure most.  More than that, the stories should move us to seek spiritual values.  Truth, beauty, and goodness should take precedence over material goods and to in our lives.  Finally, we should especially prize telling others about God’s love.

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs

(Hebrews 12:4-7.11-15; Mark 6:1-6)

In a book of prayers Mother Teresa asks for what appears to be strange things.  “Jesus, deliver me from the desire to be approved,” she says.  Then she goes on, “Deliver me from the fear of being ridiculed.”  “Why would she not want to be approved?” we might ask.  And, “Who would ridicule Mother Teresa?”  But Mother Teresa was a prophet.  She frequently said things of God that people did not want to hear.  She was like Jesus in today’s gospel reading. 

At first, all the people praise Jesus.  They think of him as “’Joseph’s son,’” a local lad who has done well.  They turn on him when Jesus makes them realize that he is God’s prophet.  If he is to do in Nazareth what he has done in Capernaum, the people will have to repent and believe in God’s love.  They will have to recognize that God is not a local deity but the Lord of the universe.  Jesus cannot do marvelous works for them just because they think they know him.  With that the people become so furious that they are ready to stone Jesus to death.  Because his hour has not come, he is able to escape from their clutches.

We too must realize that Jesus has come not just to help us because we are familiar with him.  No, we have to believe in him as the God of salvation who comes to help us, sure, but also to call us to repentance and to love of God and neighbor.

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Memorial of Saint Agatha, virgin and martyr

(Hebrews 12:1-4; Mark 5:21-43)

Today we celebrate St. Agatha, a Sicilian virgin and martyr.  Her story is much like that of St. Agnes, the Roman, whom we remembered last month.  It is said that Agatha had a powerful suitor who sent her to a brothel and then to be tortured when she refused him.  The similarity of the two stories may be attributed to the way early Christians took pride in their saints.  Coming from different regions, they would boast whose martyrs were the bravest or bore the gravest trials.

We can see a glimpse of this pride in today’s first reading.  The author of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds his community of its “cloud of witnesses.”  These were the men and women of Israel who sacrificed themselves for love of God.  The writer exhorts his people to follow in their ways.  He does not want them to abandon their faith to pursue pleasure or comfort.  Rather they are to make the necessary sacrifices to follow Christ to eternal life.

Because there are fewer people at mass these days, the exhortation of Hebrews has pointed relevance.  We too have a “cloud of witnesses” – certainly saints like Mother Teresa and Padre Pio but also relatives and friends.  These people kept the faith despite hardships.  Perhaps they walked a mile to mass in freezing weather.  Maybe they gave up the opportunity to marry because their suitor was divorced or because of a religious vocation.  Their lives were first testimony of God’s love for us.  Then they witnessed the hope of all Christians for eternal happiness.

Monday, February 4, 2019

Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Hebrews 11:32-40; Mark 5:1-20)

In the final scene of George Bernard Shaw’s play Saint Joan, the protagonist appears in a dream.  She has been convicted of heresy, executed, but then exonerated and made a saint.  She now proposes that she work a miracle and return to her people.  But no one in the dream thinks it a good idea.  They say that the world is not ready for saints like her.  The gospel passage today has a similar conclusion.

Jesus has just resolved one of the Gerasene territory’s biggest problems.  The man who was possessed by demons and terrorizing the people now sits as graciously as a butterfly.  You would think that the people should thank Jesus and invite him to dinner.  But they ask him to leave their area.  True, the taming of the strongman did result in the loss of a herd of pigs.  However, the reason for the people’s desire that Jesus distance himself lies deeper.  His evident holiness makes them painfully aware of their own sinfulness.  Rather than seek his mercy, they beg that he move on.

We may not directly ask Jesus to leave, but our response to Jesus’ presence may be little better.  We often refuse to acknowledge him.  We neither ask his help nor follow his example.  Instead, we often choose to worry about our problems and curse our luck if not rivals.  But he is there to cast out the demons that get us worked up.  We only have to open ourselves to him.