Friday, June 28, 2019

The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

(Ezekiel 34:11-16; Romans 5:5b-11; Luke 15:3-7)

St. John Vianney, the “Cure of Ars,” lived in France in the early part of the nineteenth century.  Conditions then and there seem to have been much like today in the United States.  Enlightenment thinking made headway among the people.  Many no longer attended Mass.  John Vianney joined a band of faithful priests in trying to reconcile the people with the Church.  He did not preach because his theology was considered weak.  But he became known as an attentive and compassionate confessor.  In time people came to Ars from all over Europe to confess their sins.  It is said that he listened to people sins with the “tenderness of Christ.”  Today, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, the Church celebrates that Christ’s tenderness.

In the gospel Jesus describes the love of God with the parable of the shepherd and the loss sheep.  Even though the shepherd has many sheep, he goes through the trouble to search one that is lost.  The rescue attempt is made in the desert where the shepherd may lose his life. But he takes the risk out of love for the lost sheep.  Jesus himself is God’s reaching out to save every man and woman.  He seeks to bring them peace and happiness. 

Having experienced Christ’s love in Penance, we want to reach out to others.  We will tell them about Christ, the Good Shepherd, and how he may be encountered in the sacraments.  We should not try to water down the teachings of the Church which have become an obstacle for many.  But we can explain its teachings follow from the gospel, are logically coherent, and have withstood the test of time.

Thursday, June 27, 2019

Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 16:1-12.15-16; Matthew 7:21-19)

Often enough great people prove themselves foolish in simple aspects of character.  Thomas Jefferson was certainly an accomplished statesman. His erudition enabled him to write the noble words of the Declaration of Independence.  His affability allowed him to negotiate effectively as America’s ambassador to France.  Yet he smudged his record by evidently keeping a slave, Sally Hemings, as his mistress.  The story told of Abram in today’s first reading contains a similar breach of character.

Abram listens to the plan of his calculating wife Sarai.  Whether he has relations with her servant Hagar out of lust or out desperation, he is acting foolishly.  He needs to trust God’s plan in creation that marriage is a faithful covenant.  Instead he attempts to “build a house on sand” as Jesus warns against in the gospel.  The result could have been predicted.  No one is satisfied.  Sarai comes to feel slighted. Hagar is eventually abandoned.  And the offspring Ismael will be raised without his father.

Jesus maps the way to greatness in the Sermon on the Mount.  We hear its last instalment in today’s gospel reading.  The Sermon exhorts self-control but, even more, self-deliverance to God’s Providence.  God will provide us what is necessary for a worthy life.  Even more importantly, He will bring us to our home in Paradise.

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 15:1-12.17-18; Matthew 7:15-20)

In order to stem the tide of divorce, some American couples have entered “covenant marriages.”  This is an agreement that the two parties will seek counseling before marriage and will limit their grounds for divorce once married.  The arrangement takes the name “covenant” from the type of relationship between Abram and the Lord witnessed in the first reading today.

The terms of the covenant require Abram to be faithful to God.  As long as he maintains that faith, he can be assured of the Lord’s fulfilling His promise.  History bears out how God has magnificently done so.  Abram has had innumerable descendants.  Today they include not only the millions of Jews throughout the world, but the billions of Christians and Muslims as well.

We have entered into a new covenant with God through Jesus Christ.  By being baptized in his name we become heirs to a new land.  We will inherit heaven with the resurrection from the dead.  But this legacy can be lost if we stop believing in him.

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 13:2.5-18; Matthew 7:6.12-14)

The movie The Fugitive received much acclaim as an action drama.  It showed a physician who is wrongly convicted of murdering his wife.  The doctor escapes police custody but is pursued by a deft marshal.  He is able to escape arrest until he uncovers the real murderer.  In the last scene the marshal takes the physician, who has not yet been officially exonerated, into custody.  Rather than handcuff him, however, he allows the doctor to freely ride to the courthouse.  The marshal’s graciousness resembles Jesus’ in a scene from Matthew’s gospel.  When he realizes a Canaanite woman has real faith, Jesus alters the warning he makes in today’s passage about giving what is holy to the dogs.

Of course, Jesus is not literally talking about dogs when he admonishes his disciples.  Dogs are heathens who do not believe in God, the all-loving Father.  Jews of the first century regularly saw Gentiles as “dogs.”  Hence, Jesus is telling his disciples to be wary about teaching them religious doctrine.  The Canaanite woman, who is a Gentile, appears later in the gospel.  She asks Jesus to exorcise the demon possessing her daughter.  Jesus responds with an unbecoming statement echoing what he says today about giving what is holy to dogs.  However, when the woman demonstrates that she believes, Jesus changes his assessment and grants her request.

Our Lord always gives good example.  If he is mistaken about someone, he does not have to save face by trying to hide his error.  Perhaps he would be more careful about the image he uses the next time he preaches about teaching Gentiles.  In any case, he would not want us to deride anyone by calling them “dogs.”  And when we misjudge someone publicly, he would want us to apologize for our mistake.

Monday, June 24, 2019

Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

(Isaiah 49:1-6; Acts 13:22-26; Lucas 1:56-66.80)

Besides Jesus, who should be named as the three most important figures in the gospels? Many would not hesitate to say Mary, the mother of Jesus.  St. Peter would also be a popular choice.  But the third place would be up for grabs.  Some might nominate St. John, the son of Zebedee and often considered to be the “Beloved Disciple.”  A few might argue that Judas was indispensable in setting the stage for the crucifixion.  However, John the Baptist is the best choice.  His role as forerunner of Jesus makes more influential that even Peter.  For this reason the Church celebrates John’s birthday today.

Today’s gospel focuses on John’s naming.  His mother insists that he will be called John.  Zechariah’s support of his wife’s choice leads to the return of his ability to speak.  The name means The Lord has shown favor.  John will live up to this omen.  Through him the Lord has shown favor to his parents who longed to have a child.  Through his ministry of preaching and baptizing many will come to repent of their sins.  And finally with his humble recognition that he is not the Messiah, the world will turn to Jesus for salvation.

We celebrate John’s birthday today, approximately the summer solstice (in the Northern Hemisphere) and six months before Christmas.  The date fits details of what is reported of the Baptist in the fourth gospel.  There Jesus calls him “a burning and shining lamp’ (John 5:35).  John himself testifies to Jesus by saying, “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30).