Sunday, October 31, 2021

 

THE THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

(Deuteronomy 6: 2-6; Hebrews 7: 23-28; Mark 12: 28-34)

My friends love me. Thank God! They want me to have a long life. They give me different foods to extend my years. One friend has given me several bottles of agave which, she says, has many life-giving properties. Another has given me a bottle of apple cider vinegar. She says that one ladle daily resists most diseases. I am grateful to these people for their care and don't doubt the efficacy of their remedies. But I prefer to trust the advice of Moses in the first reading to be sure of many years.

Moses says that the people of Israel can prolong their lives if they fear the Lord by keeping his commands. Above all, they must recognize that there is only one God, who is “the Lord.” They must not worship any other god, be it a planet, an artisan object, an emperor, or an ideology such as the primacy of money. These things are only creatures of secondary importance.

Then Moses proclaims the supreme commandment. People are to love God with all of their being. This command may leave us with questions: How can love be mandated? Isn't love a passion that we feel or not feel? And how can one love an entity that seems as remote as God in heaven? The answers to these concerns require meditation.

The second reading gives us the key to the last question. He calls Jesus the Son of God who possesses the same divine nature. Jesus shares our human nature as well. Therefore, we know him as a brother like us in everything except sin. Therefore, we should not consider God as residing beyond the clouds but closer to us than even our neighbors. The Israelites had a sense of God's presence in the temple. However, this presence was completely spiritual. They did not claim, as we do, that they have touched him with their hands.

By referring to the first reading, Jesus in the gospel instructs us how to love him. We have to love him with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength. This is a large order. Somehow we have to find ways to fulfill what he says. The heart is the seat of the emotions, among which is desiring or longing. We long for Jesus Christ when we think of what a wonderful person he is. He dared to touch lepers in order to heal them. He could, as a famous song says, walk on water and calm the stormy sea. He knew everything about the Samaritan woman without ever having met her. Who wouldn't yearn to know him?

The soul serves as the source of animation for the human person. Loving Jesus with all our soul means that we live for him. We will accomplish this task when we make it both the model and the purpose of our life. This is what San Martín de Porres did. This Black saint from the Americas had great devotion to Christ crucified. Testimonies of his life include stories of him prostrating before the crucified with outstretched arms in the shape of a cross. More to the point, Martin like Jesús always showed mercy to the poor, the sick, and the hungry.

The mind makes it possible for us to think. Loving Jesus with all our mind requires that we study to know him better. Mainly, this is a “lectio divina”, the meditation on the gospel. It also encompasses the vast literature on the Bible and the Church. With many great people, the more we know of them, the less we appreciate them. Revelations of the private lives of John Kennedy and Martin Luther King, for example, have tainted their character. But not so with Jesus. The more we know him, the more we will love him.

We love Jesus with all our strength when we sacrifice ourselves for his sake. This does not mean so much that we waste our energy on pilgrimages, although they are good exercises. As everyone knows, Jesus identifies himself in the Gospel with "the least of his brothers." That is why we love Jesus when we care for those in need. In Dallas there is a couple from Mexico who have developed a jail ministry. Every week they visit the incarcerated sharing the love of Christ.

A famous poem says: “How do I love you? Let me count the ways ”. So the poet describes her love for her husband as high and deep, pure and passionate. Although her words are very beautiful, they only say that Jesus prescribes for our love for God. May we love him with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength!

Sunday, , October 24, 2021

 THIRTIETH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

(Jeremiah 31:7-9; Hebrews 5:1-6; Mark 10:46-52)

Not long ago a song with a religious theme gained a lot of attention. "All God’s Creatures " tells of the choir of animals praising the creator. It goes: “All God’s creatures have a place in the choir; some sing low and some sing higher.” The choir signifies the Church that encompasses men and women from different walks of life. For the past three Sundays we have heard in the gospel Jesus calling different types of people to himself.

Two weeks ago Jesus recommended that the rich man leave his money to the poor and follow him. Last Sunday Jesus allowed the two arrogant brothers, called at the beginning of the gospel, to remain in his company despite their scandalous request. Today Jesus calls the daring blind beggar Bartimaeus to his presence. These men represent the range of people who inhabit the world. Implicitly or explicitly, everyone is called to follow the Lord.

Jesus always calls the person with love. The gospel makes it clear that Jesus looked at the rich man with love when he called him. To the brothers Jesus showed his love by calmly explaining the ways of his kingdom. Now Jesus shows mercy to the beggar when he hears him yelling his name. He has love for us as well. He knows our troubles and our obligations. He wants to help us overcome these challenges.

As good as Jesus is, we cannot fail to fall in love with him. He becomes the goal of our life. This is what happens to Bartimaeus. After receiving sight, he can do nothing but follow the Lord. The story reminds us of a movie about the seven monks who were martyred in Algeria thirty years ago. One of the monks was a doctor who had a dispensary for the townspeople in the monastery. One day a Muslim girl asked him what it is like to fall in love. The monk replied: “It is an attraction, a desire, a revival of the spirits, an intensification of life itself.” The girl then asked him if he had ever fallen in love. The monk replied that yes, a number of times. She continued questioning: "Why did you never get married?" The man explained that he found a greater love that led him to the monastery.  Of course, the love that he found was Jesus.

However, it is not necessary that love for Jesus lead us to a monastery. It can lead to a marriage with Christ as its center, or to a single life dedicated to the good of others. Our love for Christ has different forms, but each one is characterized by sacrifice and obedience to his commands.

Falling in love with Jesus changes our perspective. We rearrange our values. Instead of having wealth or importance as the goal of our life, we put Jesus first. We act like Bartimaeus. Upon healing from blindness, he does not return home to share the wonder he experienced with his family. Much less does he stop to collect the coins that he has been given. He immediately follows Jesus to Jerusalem.

Is it possible for us to fall in love with Jesus? Didn't he live two thousand years ago? How can we even know him today? No, Jesus is alive and dwells among us. We hear him at least weekly through the gospel that tells us about his love. We see him in the poor who live with both humility and integrity. Above all, we find him in the Bread of the Altar that strengthens us to overcome life’s challenges.

Friday, October 22, 2021

 Friday of the twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 7:18-25a; Luke 12:54-59)

In today’s first reading St. Paul writes as if he just heard the confessions of hundreds of contemporary men.  He might as well have in mind Internet porn as any compulsive sin of his day.  Too many men today are tormented by the temptation to look at lascivious pictures.  At the same time they feel both attracted and repulsed by the images.

The resolution of this dilemma, as Paul suggests, is “Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Not only was he a man who knew temptations like all humans so that men today might emulate his sinlessness.  More importantly, he won for us the grace to overcome selfish desires.  His grace keeps many people walking without stumbling.  And if they fall, he is there to pick them up – a million times if necessary.  He will stay with them, in Penance and especially in the Eucharist, so that they overcome their weakness.

We need Jesus to live upright lives.  We find him in the sacraments, in Scripture, in one another, and in prayer.  We should recognize him as Lord -- not one to trifle with – and follow the counsel he conveys in our conscience.

Thursday, October 21, 2021

 Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 6:19-23; Luke 12:49-53)

Old people sometimes find the wherewithal to face death peacefully.  Like Socrates, they can be satisfied with having lived a long life with friendship and wisdom.  They do not need to look forward to eternal life.  But, as today’s first reading attests, God may grant it to them anyway.

St. Paul remarks that God freely gives eternal life to those whom Christ has freed from sin.  They do not deserve heaven as if it were a reward for good behavior.  Like other animals humans were destined for death and annihilation.  But by their rebirth in the risen Christ God recognizes their fitness for salvation from death.  Those who reject the grace of Christ, on the other hand, deserve death.  As Paul eloquently sums up the situation, “…the wages of sin is death…”

God owes us nothing.  He gave us life with all its possibilities for happiness.  When we failed to appreciate this gift, He even sent His Son Jesus Christ to redeem us.  How can we not love such a gracious Lord?

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

 Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

 (Romans 6:12-18; Luke 12:39-48)

 St. Augustine once told his priests, “With you I am a Christian, for you I am a bishop. The second fills me with terror, the first, with great consolation.” The fear flowed from the responsibility he had to guide his diocese.  He knew that God would judge him harshly if he failed to discharge his duties or if he used the episcopacy for his own gain.  Certainly Augustine took note of the gospel passage we read today.

 In the passage Jesus warns his apostles that they are susceptible to a stricter judgment than others.  Because he has taught them himself, they have no reason to claim ignorance if they abuse their authority.  The bishops today are the successors of those apostles with the same responsibility of guiding the Church.  Priests do not share the fullness of the apostolic mandate, but they are likewise well-tutored in the gospels and share in episcopal authority.  Both bishops and priests can expect stiff punishment if they fail to give judicious pastoral care.

 Sometimes in hearing the Eucharistic Prayer we may wonder why the clergy are given special mention.  Some priests, you may have noticed, change the wording to include all ministers or all people.  This is a forgivable sin.  But surely it is charity that moves us to pray especially for bishops, priests, and deacons.  If they fail to fulfill their pastoral responsibilities, many will be jeopardized.