Friday, November 17, 2023

Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious

(Wisdom 13:1-9; Luke 17:26-37)

The first reading and the gospel are not intentionally coordinated in Ordinary Time.  However, today they make an interesting combo.  The first reading speaks of the beginning of God’s creation while the gospel refers to the fulfilment of salvation history.  Believers accept both accounts with faith.

It is possible to deduce the existence of God from creation as Wisdom claims.  However, to say that God is benevolent because creation is so full of wonder requires faith in divine revelation.  People who experience trauma from earthquakes or, indeed, from human inhumanity will have difficulty accepting a good God.

The coming of the Son of man, that is Jesus Christ, puzzles people today as much as those of gospel times.  Jesus’ contemporaries ask when and where it will take place.  We are just as interested in how it will happen.  Some today, finding the whole idea fantastical, have given up hope for it taking place at all.  However, we keep the faith knowing that both individuals and society are stronger with the expectation of judgment and reward in the end.

Thursday, October 16, 2023

Thursday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(Wisdom 7:22b-8:1; Luke 17:20-25)

It is often said that the biblical Kingdom of God is better rendered Reign of God.  The reason given is that the concept indicates a dynamism more than a territory.  Something similar may be said about heaven.  Although people may point to the sky when they say the word, heaven is more a condition of love than a physical locale.  In today’s gospel, Jesus stretches the idea of Kingdom of God even more.

Jesus tells the Pharisees that the Kingdom of God is neither a place nor a thing.  He adds that it is “among” them.  He may be referring to a relationship with himself.  The Kingdom of God is friendship with Jesus himself.  He provides all the security and support, the joy and the affection that makes life worth living.  Since he will rise from the dead, the Kingdom of God will likewise never know a sunset.

Jesus extends his hand to form a relationship with us daily.  He is present to us physically in the Eucharist where we actually take him into ourselves.  The experience does not diminish him, but it does expand us.  Having his love and support, we can become as gracious and happy as he.  We become bearers of the Kingdom to others.

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

(Optional) Memorial of Saint Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

(Wisdom 6:1-11; Luke 17:11-19)

Ironically St. Albert the Great’s name has been obscured by that of St. Thomas Aquinas whom Albert taught and defended.  Albert, like Thomas, had an expansive mind which mastered all the trends in philosophy and theology of his time.  More than his disciple, he understood physical nature through experimentation. 

Not only was Albert a genius, he was also a trusted leader.  He was elected provincial in his religious order (the Dominicans) and then made a bishop.  He resigned both positions, however, in order to teach, research, and write.  He proved to be generous as well when he left his work to defend his student Thomas against the charge of heresy.

St. Albert is the patron of scientists.  He serves as a model of those who hold that faith and science do not and cannot conflict.  Indeed, they serve each other.  Faith assures scientists that there is a transcendent meaning in their ceaseless search for truth.  Science reminds the faithful that God’s Providence is far more magnificent than even the Bible conveys.

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Tuesday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(Wisdom 2:23-3:9; Luke 17:7-10)

Twenty years ago defenders of the faith were answering the criticisms of the so-called “New Atheists.”  They had to dispel charges that religion is superstition and that if there were a God, he could not be good with all the evil found in the world.  The defense had a huge base from which to respond.  There may have been a new generation of atheists, but their critiques have been proposed and answered from nearly the origin of humanity.

The Book of Wisdom proposes answers to the atheists of twenty-two hundred years ago.  Today’s reading responds to the unbeliever’s charge that death ends a life.  It proclaims that for those who believe death is only the end of bodily existence.  Their spirits live on to become part of the dynamic of good with which God moves the world. 

We can acquaint ourselves with the arguments proposed by the new atheists without being overpowered by them.  We should read faith’s defenders like C.S. Lewis or Bishop Robert Barron who counter the criticisms with powerful arguments.  Even more importantly, we need to contemplate Jesus in the gospels.  There he is so wondrously presented by the evangelists that our fears and doubts are quieted.

Monday, November 13, 2023

Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, virgin

(Wisdom 1:1-7; Luke 17:1-6)

Mark Twain turned around a proverb by saying, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time.”  However, true that is, today’s first reading from the Book of Wisdom assures us that you cannot fool God.  He knows the heart of every person and judges who is worthy of wisdom.

Wisdom is apparently in short supply today.  Our society revels in facts.  Google can produce a million of them in less than a second.  But facts are a far cry from wisdom.  Different sources make this point.  “Where is the knowledge among all these facts?  Where is the wisdom among all this knowledge?”  Wisdom reflects on knowledge to reveal what is truly life-giving, what is truly worth knowing.

Jesus, of course, is the exemplar of wisdom.  Today’s gospel provides a good example.  He tells us that when we are offended, our first response should not be to forgive but to correct.  Of course, we should try to do so in a friendly way.  Then, if our offender seeks forgiveness, we should readily forgive the person.  We are wise never to hold a grudge and always to forgive those who recognize their faults.