Thursday, August 4, 2022

 Memorial of Saint John Vianney, priest

(Jeremiah 31:-34; Matthew 16:13-23)

Vatican II called for a reconsideration of moral theology.  Very much a compendium of questions and answers before, the Council fathers wanted a reflection on morals “nourished more on the teaching of the Bible.”  The result, for a while at least, was surrender to the relativism that is characteristic of contemporary times.  New versions of sexual ethics permitted what the zeitgeist or spirit of the times allowed.  Pope St. John Paul II wrote an encyclical Veritatis Splendor to stop what he considered a betrayal of the Catholic moral tradition. He described natural law as written on the human heart just like Jeremiah speaks of the law in today’s first reading.

Because natural law has existed since the emergence of humanity, it is often said to be written on the human heart.  Human beings know instinctively that murder and robbery are wrong and that kindness and compassion are good.  Finer points of the law may be determined through careful observation of experience and sound reasoning.  The Ten Commandments are said to summarize natural law.  Jesus confirmed natural law and gave a few precepts that superseded it so that humans might live as children of God.  Because he is “the Son of the living God,’” as Peter declares in today’s gospel, these precepts as well as the natural law are followed by his disciples.

Jesus’ moral teachings are still being challenged.  Some moralists as well as laypersons have difficulty recognizing oral contraception and masturbation as intrinsically evil.  We might sympathize with their situations, but we must stand with Jesus and the moral tradition of his Church.

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

 Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Jeremiah 3:1-7; Matthew 15:21-28)

In today’s first reading Jeremiah foresees a united Israel after centuries of division.  Solomon’s sons separated the northern and southern kingdoms.  The lands were devastated by the invasions of first the Assyrians in the north and then the Babylonians in the south.  The gospel indicates how Jesus sees himself bringing the two parts of the ancient kingdom together.

A descendant of David of the southern kingdom but raised in Galilee of the northern kingdom Jesus directs himself to the reunification of both.  From today’s gospel he does not want to complicate his mission by going out to gentiles.  When the Canaanite woman asks a favor, he at first refuses to cross the boundary.  Then he realizes that faith in God and not accidents of geography or history is the determining factor in what makes a true Israelite.  Quite willingly, then, he ministers to the needs of the woman.

The concept of Israel with its twelve tribes has been fundamental to the work of the Church.  But the Church has never excluded anyone from the New Israel led by the twelve apostles.  Rather it has embraced all those with faith in Jesus as the Son of God.  All of us are included in the legacy.  All of us have had our sins forgiven to live in the hope of Jesus’ resurrection.

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

 Tuesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Jeremiah 30:1-2.12-15.18-22; Matthew 14:22-36)

The incredible story of Jesus walking on the sea gives rise to the claim of a miracle.  No one can walk on water unless, of course, it is frozen.  This account may work on a spiritual level without necessarily a miraculous implication.

A boat adrift at sea well symbolizes the early Church after the resurrection.  It is suffering persecution, false teachers, and other difficulties.  Seemingly Jesus is not present in its need.  But he is watching over it all the time like parents viewing their children with closed-circuit video.  Peter, the Church’s vicar, suffers the same cowardice that he literally exhibited in his denial the night Jesus was taken captive.  The people on the shore, however, appear more credulous as they bring their sick to him for healing.

Such an interpretation runs the risk of eroding belief in the gospels.  Yet it appears that there is considerable symbolizing and imagining in the formation of the gospels.  What is fundamental is not literal accuracy of all gospel accounts.  Rather it is the reality of Jesus having given his life for the redemption of humanity and God’s approval of the sacrifice with raising Jesus from the dead.  For this reason, we proclaim with the disciples of today’s passage, “’Truly, (he is) the Son of God.’” We also entrust to him our sick and hurting.

Monday, August 1, 2022

 Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Ligouri, bishop and doctor of the Church

(Jeremiah 28:1-17; Matthew 14:13-21)

St. Alphonsus Ligouri is considered the patron of moral theologians.  The Redemptorist Order, which he founded, runs the center of moral theology in Rome.  Called the Alphonsianum after him, it has trained generations of the Church’s best moralists.  Today St. Alphonsus is remembered for having steered a middle course between moral laxists and the rigorists of the eighteenth century.

In the reading from Jeremiah today, the prophet tries to find middle ground in the prediction of what will happen to Jerusalem.  The Babylonians have already invaded the city and carried away much of its ruling class as well as the treasures from Solomon’s temple.  Hananiah, a false prophet, tells the people not to worry.  According to him, Babylon will be upended, and the sacred vessels returned in a matter of a few years.  Jeremiah, a true prophet, correctly predicts that restoration will happen but only after extended suffering.

Often we are tempted to laxism in actions.  We want the things we do to be easy and fun, even when they squarely oppose our moral tradition.  Taking what is truly the middle course between laxism and rigorism, we can edify our neighbor while pleasing God.

Sunday, July 31, 2022

 EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Ecclesiastes 1:2.2:21-23; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 12:13-21)

People with a radical interpretation of how to live as Christians can bother us.  They will claim that Christians must share everything as if they were communists.  It is true that members of the primitive Church community of the Acts of the Apostles pooled resources.  They put all their money at the disposal of the apostles for distribution according to individual needs.  However, Acts reports how there were problems almost from the beginning.  St. Paul does not recommend this type of sharing.  Nor does St. James call for it even though he is strong on helping the poor.

Jesus’ disciples were very conscious of the problems money can cause. In the second reading today Paul condemns greed, which is the love of money.  In fact, he calls greed “idolatry” which makes money an idol.  This is to say that people make it the priority of priorities.  Because of greed millionaires want to become billionaires.  ¡Because of greed human traffickers caused the death of fifty-three immigrants in Texas last month! In today’s gospel Jesus gives a lesson on the subject.

A man asks Jesus’ help with his inheritance.  He recognizes in Jesus someone who is both fair and wise.  In fact, Jesus is so wise that he does not want to get involved in family affairs, which are always full of complexities.  However, he takes advantage of the request to warn the crowd about greed, a vice that draws many away from the Lord.

Jesus tells the story of the rich farmer who builds new barns to warehouse his great harvest.  Jesus does not say that the man is evil.  He does not describe him as a murderer, thief, or swindler.  For the most part he paints him as a hard worker planning and directing farm operations.  But the man has a fatal flaw.  Jesus says that he is a “’fool’” in that he never thinks of others.  The man sows and reaps, stores his produce, and plans everything only for himself!  There is not even a whisper about others.  In fact, the man speaks to himself about himself!  For this reason, God abolishes his future.

Then Jesus exhorts his listeners to be “’rich in what matters to God.’” Pope St. John Paul II would describe this virtue as “the quest for truth, beauty, goodness and communion with others for the sake of common growth.”  The saint does not condemn neither consumption nor saving one’s goods as long as the welfare of others, particularly the poor, is not neglected.  He would not deprive people of opportunities for education, travel, and recreation if they are undertaken with moderation.

Today we hear of campus ministry programs that combine service and international travel.  These projects seem a good example of spending money for constructive experiences while shunning greed.  The youth who participate in the programs travel to faraway places like Kenya in Africa or Honduras in Latin America to aid the poor.  Meanwhile they experience a new environment and are introduced to a different culture.  They return to their homes enriched by the experience and conscious of other kinds of people.  There is really no necessity to go to a foreign country for these types of edifying experiences.  But yes, one has to think about “what matters to God.”