Monday, November 1, 2021

 

THE SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS

(Revelation 7: 2-4.9-14; I John 3: 1-3; Matthew 5: 1-12)

We can understand the Solemnity of All Saints in different ways.  Some will see it as a catch-all.  There have been approximately ten thousand people recognized by the Church as saints.  Only a couple hundred of these are celebrated during the liturgical year.  All Saints Day provides an opportunity to remember the rest of them in a general way.

Others understand today’s feast as a way to think of the saintly persons that they have known who will never have a cause for sainthood.  They think of their grandparents who prayed everyday, thought well of everyone, and never failed to help another person in need.  It seems more appropriate to remember this kind of person on All Saints Day than on All Souls Day.

Finally, we can think of All Saints Day to celebrate the great diversity of saints of the Church.  There are saints from every continent, race, socio-economic status, and most every nation.  The Church has completed the mandate of Christ at the end of Matthew’s gospel to “make disciples of all nations.”  Today we celebrate those Asians and Africans, Irish and Ethiopians, doctors and streetsweepers who have given testimony to the same Christ by their exemplary virtue.

Friday, October 29, 2021

 Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 9:1-5; Luke 14:1-6)

St. Paul implies in today’s first reading that unbaptized Jews are not saved from sin and death.  Why else would he wish that he could be “accursed and cut off from Christ”?  His anxiety over the fate of Jews, however, seems to have been in vain if the teaching of Vatican II is to be believed.  The Council stated, “Those also can attain to salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and moved by grace strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience.”

But Paul might still grieve over the reality that the Jews do not know Christ.  Salvation may be the pinnacle of the benefits, but knowledge of Christ helps in other ways.  Knowing Christ enables one to take comfort in the mercy he provides.  Today’s gospel gives a good example.  Jesus did not deny the man with dropsy or swelling.  Knowing Christ also brings moral guidance.  People have to stretch themselves, and therefore be strengthened, as they strive to love their enemies.  Knowing Christ should also bring one into the Church with its fellowship of love and truth.

It would be a betrayal of Christ if we, who profess faith in him, snub our neighbors who lack that faith.  Knowing him compels us to call others to him.  Whether we do so by a literal invitation or by a demonstration of his goodness, we want to share our knowledge and love of Christ. 

Thursday, October 28, 2021

 Feast of Saint Simon and Saint Jude, apostles

(Ephesians 2:19-22; Luke 6:12-16)

Coming over the Mississippi River on I-40, the first sight one sees in Memphis is St. Jude Hospital.  This research institution provides hope for children with rare diseases.  They have come from all over the world for almost sixty years for cures.  It was named “St. Jude,” the patron of hopeless causes, because the children could not be helped medically in their cities of origin.

St. Jude was an apostle of Jesus.  This is about all that can be said about him with certainty. Because he is so obscure, his name appears last in the list of apostles except for Judas Iscariot, the betrayer.  It is said that Jude preached in Mesopotamia and Persia.  Like the other apostles except John, he is also said to have died a martyr.  He is usually pictured with a medallion bearing the image of Christ. 

Hopefully, we too bear an image of Christ.  Although the image may not be on a medal, that is of secondary importance.  We want to bear the image of Christ in our words and actions.  We want to help others, choose wisely our friends, and tell the truth always.  Like Christ also, we should be chaste in our thoughts and actions.  If this sounds impossible, let us ask St. Jude to pray for us.

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

 Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 8:26-30; Luke 13:22-30)

If asked what they would like to have, the young are likely to respond with something material like a sports car or a new telephone.  These are the things they might also pray for if told that God would grant all their desires.  For this reason, St. Paul tells the Romans in the first reading, “…we do not know how to pray as we ought.”

Paul goes on to say that the Spirit takes over one’s prayer.  The Spirit will not pray for luxuries but for essentials.  The Spirit will pray that the person be equipped with the virtues so that she may “strive to enter through the narrow gate” as Jesus says in the gospel.  That is, the Spirit’s prayer asks for the grace to treat all people well and to please God in everything.

Fortunately, as we mature, we lose some of the desire for material things.  Sometimes, however, we seek what is worse – to get even with someone who offends us or to receive the prestige given to others.  Older people need the Spirit as well or their growth in holiness will be stunted.

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

 Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 8:18-25; Luke 13:18-21)

Back in the 1960s there were a number of folk songs that expressed the futility of creation.  Peter, Paul and Mary sang of the “Great Mandala” which keeps rotating through cycles of war and peace.  The Kingston Trio popularized “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” which asks when will humanity learn to end war.  In today first reading St. Paul tells Christians not to give up hope for lasting peace.  He expresses this peace as the redemption of our bodies from death.

Paul begins by noting how the world suffers.  Not just humans, he says, but all creation.  Yet Christians have the Holy Spirit which allows them to prefigure the new creation.  The palpable kindness, love, and joy that are found in Christian communities assure that full redemption is on the way.  Meanwhile, Christians carry on in hope that the day of redemption will come soon.  Alternatively, hope assures Christians that if the waiting continues, they will survive the trials.

Paul probably expected the coming of Christ and full redemption long before the two thousand years it has taken so far.  But this time – the “meantime” – has proven to be more than tolerable, even enjoyable for many of us.  It is the Spirit moving us to help one another that allows us to rejoice in the midst of suffering.