Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Tuesday, August 15, 2023
Monday, August 14, 2023
Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, martyr
(Deuteronomy 10:12-22; Matthew 17:22-27)
St. Maximilian Kolbe was a Franciscan friar working in
Poland until he was arrested by the Gestapo.
Committed to Auschwitz, Kolbe saw an opportunity to show his love for
God when another prisoner was being sent to death for a crime that he did not
commit. Because the man had a family,
Kolbe offered himself as a substitute.
Pope St. John Paul II considered this act a genuine witness to the faith
and canonized Maximillian Kolbe as a martyr.
In today’s first reading Moses exhorts the people to likewise give
witness to their love of God. He does
not ask them to die for God but to live for him.
The Israelites are about to enter the Promised Land. They have every reason to hope that they and
their children will have all the resources they will need to live in prosperity. But Moses, conveying the will of God, wants
more than that for them. Because he wants them to fulfill their destiny of modeling
God’s justice, he exhorts them to remember God’s graciousness. He is especially concerned that they treat
other peoples fairly by reminding them, “…you were once aliens yourselves in
the land of Egypt.”
Because immigration has become a reality throughout the
world, we should underscore these words of Moses. Different customs, food, and language make sojourning
in a foreign land difficult. Immigrants
need understanding and compassion. Such
treatment shows solidarity not just across social boundaries but across
generational ones as well.
Sunday, August 13, 2023
NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
(I Kings 19:9.11-13; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:22-33)
Many parishes in cities of Europe and North America have experienced
drastic change over the last sixty years. Their majestic churches that once
held thousands of people every Sunday are now almost empty. They once had a
number of priests who once spent multiple hours each week confessing and
visiting the sick. Now the number of priests serving a parish has been reduced in
many cases to one. And often he has all that he can do covering Masses in two
or three parishes. It can be said that the contemporary church is in a
precarious situation like the one anticipated in the gospel today.
To appreciate what this reading teaches, we should
understand it as a representative of the Church in the second part of the first
century. The boat of the disciples tossed by the waves symbolizes the Church threatened
by various challenges in apostolic times. In Israel Christians experienced
growing rejection particularly after the destruction of the Temple in
Jerusalem. They were ejected from the synagogues where before they had prayed
with the Jews who did not believe in Christ.
It is true that the apostles had been successful elsewhere. But it is
also true that the ancient Christian communities had to deal new problems. False doctrines, impatience with the delay of
Jesus' return, and persecution sometimes severe put the gospel in danger.
The reading shows Jesus coming to rescue the Church in
distress. He mysteriously arrives to calm the disruptive elements of nature and
to assure his followers of his support. We see something vaguely similar
happening today at events like World Youth Day. In Lisbon the Spirit of Christ
boosted the faith of millions, both those who participated in the events and
those who followed them through the media. The presence of the pope, Jesus’
vicar, particularly lifted the spirits of the people. Although he is old, Pope
Francis has a heart as hopeful as that of the twenty-year-old.
We must think of the story of Peter walking on the water as
an image of the faithful following Jesus. All goes well for Peter when he keeps
his eyes fixed on Jesus. But once he takes his eyes off him, he finds himself
sinking into the deep waters. Today we must maintain hope in the promises Jesus
made to us and trust in his support. With him can navigate today's biggest
problems. We are not going to lose our way to salvation despite the harassment
of governments, the disaffection of members, even the betrayals on the part of
the clergy. But once we abandon Jesus as our goal and support, we are already
defeated. To stay solidly on the route we must teach his doctrine, practice his
charity, and pray to the Father in his name.
Changes characterize history. Now we live amidst technological changes that challenge our souls. Can artificial insemination change our understanding of procreation as a physical union between a man and a woman with God's help? Can artificial intelligence change our view of the human being as the image of God? These developments are not inevitable as long as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
Friday, August 11, 2023
Memorial of Saint Clare, virgin
(Deuteronomy 4:32-40; Matthew 16:24-28)
The famous quote in this morning’s newspaper read: “Everyone
says that they want to live to old age, but no one wants to say that they are
old.” People not only want to live a
long time but also to enjoy the sweet things of life. However, according to Jesus, they can go
about it in the wrong way.
In today’s gospel Jesus states clearly, “Whoever wishes to
save his life will lose it.” By “saving his life” he means living for oneself. Jesus recognizes that a good life requires
one to make sacrifices of love for others.
He describes this kind of love with the prism of his own
experience. One must take up his or her cross
as he will do shortly.
Our increasingly secular society may not notice our making
sacrifices of love. Yet we must not
deceive ourselves. We cannot have a good
life without them. Certainly St. Clare
recognized this truth as she pledged herself to prayer and poverty along with
St. Francis of Assisi. Living a life of
sacrifice for others is a constant struggle.
Fortunately we have saints like Clare to emulate and to pray for us.
Thursday, August 10, 2023
Feast of Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr
(II Corinthians 9:6-10; John 12:24-26)
In one of his letters St. Ignatius of Antioch compares a
bishop to God the Father and priests to the Holy Spirit. He reserves a comparison to Christ for
deacons. Like Christ deacons are
ordained specifically to preach to the poor and to visit the sick and
incarcerated.
Today the Church honors St. Lawrence, one of her most
illustrious deacons. He lived in Rome
during the third century and was martyred by being burned alive in the Valerian
persecution. A famous story has him
telling his executioners that it was time to turn him over for he was cooked
enough on one side! It has been claimed
that his martyrdom led to the conversion of the entire city.
St. Lawrence makes us proud to be called by Christ. He tended to the needs of the poor
and remained cheerful under severe duress.
Most of all, Lawrence was faithful to the Lord Jesus until the end.