Friday, September 15, 2023

 Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

 (I Corinthians 11:17-26.33; John 19:25-27)

Reading the passion of Jesus in John, we don’t find any tears.  It is hard not to imagine a mother weeping for a dying son, but that is not how this gospel depicts the scene.  In truth the account does not mention what Mary and the others are doing.  It focuses on Jesus as the one who even in death directs all the action. 

Jesus presents his beloved disciple to his mother and his mother to him.  This is the Church’s beginning.  Indeed, the scene can be truthfully called “another Pentecost.”   In just a moment the gospel will specify that Jesus hands over his Spirit.  There is none there to receive it but these two and the two other women who love Jesus dearly.

We have joined this communion of love.  Whether or not there were tears at the cross, there are moments of sorrow in our lives.  Because we know that our sins have hurt others, we “weep with those who weep.”  More than that, we rejoice with those rejoicing Jesus’ victory over evil because he is delivering us from our sins.  He is making us like himself so that when we die, we will know his glory.

Thursday, September 14, 2023

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

(Numbers 21:4b-9; Philippians 2:6-11; John 3:16-17)

Like a stop sign, a cross is to call people’s attention.  Before it a person is to pause and reflect.  Jesus died on a cross.  Although he was innocent, he was killed on a cross out of human sin.  The cross begs the person in front of it to consider standing with Jesus or passing him by. 

Those who stand with Jesus believe in him.  Like the man in Mark’s gospel who asks what must he do to inherit eternal life, those who stand with Jesus must be prepared to sacrifice all for his sake.  In any case, they must put aside selfish instincts so that they may love others from the heart.  Those who pass Jesus by will love mostly themselves and anyone else who satisfies their needs.

If the cross is like a red light, it is also like a green light.  Accepting its challenge to love all as Christ did, it signals us forward to the glory of his eternal life.

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

(Colossians 3:1-11; Luke 6:20-26)

As forthright as today’s first reading, St. John Chrysostom chastised wasteful luxury and promoted evangelical poverty.  An eloquent preacher, John was named the Patriarch of Constantinople, the most prestigious position of the eastern Church.  From the pulpit of his cathedral, he criticized the empress for extravagance and lack of charity. With his jurisdiction he curtailed the authority of the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army.  John paid the high price of exile for instituting reform.  He died in a forced march from one place of banishment to another farther away.

John Chrysostom’s reform measure finds easy reference in the New Testament.  Today’s reading from Colossians tells Christians to put behind them “immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry.”  In the gospel Jesus laments the rich and the self-satisfied.  By implication, he means that if they do not share their resources, they will suffer downfall.

As much as he reminds us of the pitfalls of material excess, John Chrysostom links us to eastern Christianity.  His story tells us that Christianity is world-wide and that we are not alone when we defend our faith in an increasingly secular world.

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Tuesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(Colossians 2:6-15; Luke 6:12-19)

The twelve men Jesus chooses as his apostles probably feel honored.  Evidently, Jesus sees in them a special quality that makes them fit for preaching the kingdom.  They will stand out among his other disciples and have a closer relationship with their master.

Perhaps, however, as Jesus provides more details about the costs of close discipleship, they will wonder what they have gotten themselves into.  He will explain that preaching the Kingdom in his wake will make them hated and subject to murderous plots.  They may come to feel like many American draftees in the 1960s being sent to fight in the jungles of Vietnam.

All the apostles except for John are thought to have suffered martyrdom.  For this reason alone their names merit honor.  They have become our heroes who gave their lives for more than even their country.  They gave them for Christ, the incarnation of the Kingdom of God.

Monday, September 11, 2023

Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(Colossians 1:24-2:3; Luke 6:6-11)

To no one’s surprise God is the great mystery facing humankind.  (For lack of a better word, we will say) He cannot be known with any definition by the human mind.  He is infinite, that is beyond limits or, in other words, undefinable.  However, the Church holds that God has revealed part of the mystery in Jesus Christ.  Christ shows that God loves humans immensely to the point of giving His own Son for their salvation.

Today’s first reading reveals another aspect of the mystery of God.  Paul, or perhaps one of the apostle’s disciples, writes that members of Christ’s Body, the Church, may share in the manifestation of God’s love.  The writer believes that he does when he wears himself out preaching and ministering.

We can do the same, and Christian spirituality is based on this insight.  Our prayers, sacrifices, and acts of mercy have salvific implications.  God uses us to show His love for the world.  When we offer a prayer to God rather than complain of an inconvenience, we contribute to the salvation of humankind.