Friday, October 31, 2025

 

Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

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

Yuval Noah Harari is a Jewish historian living in Israel but known internationally for his sober account of the future.  Not long ago he spoke of how Israel and Judaism were fighting a war for their soul.  Harari explained that after the fall of the Temple in 70 A.D. the rabbis assembled to shape a new concept of Judaism based on collaboration and compromise in the quest of peace.  Now, he said, Israel is more determined to become a superpower with a will to dominate other nations.

Harari’s statement rhymes with St. Paul’s assessment of Judaism in today’s first reading.  He lists the grandeur of the Jewish tradition: “adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises”.  Paul also mentions that from this transcendent tradition came the Savior, Jesus Christ.

What Harari sees happening in Israel, we might see occurring in our society. Take Halloween for example.  In recent years our society has altered the meaning of this holiday in a similar way to how Harari describes the recent turn of perspective in Israel.  We no longer think of Halloween as All Saints Eve when the unpurified dead have a free day to roam the world seeking relief.  Now images of violent death and ruthless warriors prevail.  The Christian tradition at the base of virtually all Western societies is no less built on a vision of peace than the Jewish tradition.  For this reason, we should pray and work that a worldview of dominance through violence never takes root in our society.

Thursday, October 30, 2025

 

Thursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 8:31b-39; Luke 13:31-35)

Today’s gospel, the proximity to All Souls Day, and, for those living in the Northern Hemisphere, the season of autumn suggest a reflection on death.  In the reading Jesus indicates that he has reflected seriously on his death.  He does not flinch in fear when the Pharisees tell him that Herod wants to kill him. Rather, he proceeds to Jerusalem to meet the death of his destiny.

Death is the last act of human life.  To make it advantageous requires a realization, a decision, and a choice.  We must realize that its inevitability is not centuries in the future but relatively soon.  Even youth should realize the need to prepare now for death’s arrival.  Now is the time to decide what we want to live for. Do we want to limit the meaning of our lives to ourselves?  Or do we want our lives to impact others?  Jesus, of course, was aware that he would die for the sake of all humanity.  Finally, we need to choose how we are to live in accordance with our decision.  The choice is multi-faceted.  It includes the work we do, the kind of family we have (traditional family, religious community, or possibly a school or other type of institution), who will be our intimate friends, etcetera.  If we have decided to live for ourselves, these choices are not difficult.  We will strive to maximize pleasure, power, and prestige.  But if we have decided to live for others, we will deliberate on the choices carefully.

If we have chosen to follow Jesus to Jerusalem, we too will suffer martyrdom.  It will be difficult but not likely gruesome or lonely.  We will find ourselves among good people whose friendship will give us comfort and hope.  Most importantly, in the end our spirits will be opened to the reception of eternal life.

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

 

Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

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

It was Sunday evening when a young woman was waiting tables.  She was singing to herself but was not timid about sharing her heart with clientele.  She said that she had been to church that morning where evidently her pastor referred to the Book of Revelation.  The woman said that she wanted to be among the 144,000 people whom Revelation says are sealed for salvation.

Although Revelation also mentions an uncountable multitude standing before the heavenly throne, some still believe that in all history only a relatively few number of people reach salvation. In today’s gospel Jesus does not abuse the crowds of this idea. He explicates that people who “ate and drank” with him – we can think of Catholics who come to Mass and Communion here – are not necessarily heaven-bound.  He adds that inheritors of the Kingdom include those from faraway places.

In the gospels Jesus continually says that we must practice charity to the needy if we are to be saved.  We have to wash one another’s feet, feed the hungry, show compassion on the poor if we hope to have a seat in the banquet hall of the saved.

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

 

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles

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

In today’s reading from Ephesians, St. Paul (or his disciple) tells the people that they are no longer “sojourners.”  This description contrasts with the first Letter of Peter which calls Christians “aliens and sojourners.”  The difference should not be taken as a contradiction.  Rather it represents different ways biblical authors view the Christian life.

In one sense followers of Christ are sojourners living like pilgrims in route to heaven.  They love God and neighbor in accordance with the Savior’s command.  When they gather for prayer, they find themselves in the company of others with a similar goal and similar ways of living.  In another sense, however, Christians live among unbelievers in the world with whom they share a minimum of values.  They must take care not to be influenced by the vices of these neighbors.

Certainly, Saints Simon and Jude were fellow travelers.  The celebration of their feasts seems to be placed toward the end of the liturgical year because like so many faithful Christians little is known of their lives.  Jude may be the most popular of the apostles, but it is not certain what he accomplished and where he died.  Simon’s life is also obscure.  He was called a “zealot”, but no one knows exactly why.  They too gathered with believers in prayer and found themselves among hostile people at whose hands they were martyred.

Monday, October 27, 2025

 

Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 8:12-17; Luke 13:10-17)

It’s a sin against the first commandment to put one’s trust in another god, but does this mean that I cannot keep a tiger tooth for good luck?  It’s a sin against the second commandment to take the Lord’s name in vain, but does this mean that I sin by saying “Oh God” when I see something awesome?  It’s a sin not to honor one’s father and mother, but what am I to do when they tell me that they do not want to hear from me again?  These questionable situations are similar to what Jesus faces in today’s gospel.

Apparently nothing in the Mosaic Law forbids healing on the Sabbath.  However, certain Pharisees at the time of Jesus interpreted such an act as violating Sabbath observance.   Following such an interpretation, the leader of the synagogue chastises the crowd for seeking cures from Jesus.  Knowing that the leader’s criticism is an unsubstantiated interpretation, Jesus corrects him.  He sees the Father’s activity among His people as essentially liberating.  He knows that God’s hand freed the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and constantly liberates the people from ignorance with the Law.  So Jesus is only imitating his Father by freeing the woman from a particularly gruesome malady.

It would be unfair to say that Jesus is rationalizing his action.  Again, the Law does not expressly forbid Sabbath healing.  However, he is appealing to the people’s sense of justice and prudence in interpreting the Law.  Always, he indicates, we have to use our intelligence aided by the virtues to determine what the Lawgiver demands or prohibits with any given statute.