Friday, September 25, 2026

 

Friday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

(Ecclesiastes 3:1-11; Luke 9: 18-22)

St. Augustine says at the end of his quest for the transcendent God:

"Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you.”

Augustine investigated every field of inquiry – philosophy, science, literature, the fine arts -- for hints of the Creator.  He finally discovered what the Book of Ecclesiastes calls, “the timeless” in his own heart. God puts Himself there to allow every man and woman to know right from wrong and truth from falsity.  More than that, God’s presence invites humans to share with Him a relationship of love.

God beckons us to inquire, discern, and perhaps seek help from the wise and holy to love Him.  It is a rich experience.  We not only come to know God as an intimate friend but also ourselves and others in helpful ways.

 

 

Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

(Ecclesiastes 1:2-11; Luke 9:7-9)

In the original Greek of today’s gospel passage, as well as the translation used for Mass, Jesus’ name is never mentioned.  Yet he causes King Herod to wonder.  Jewish leaders in Jerusalem have likewise taken notice of Jesus.  “What is he really like?” all seem to ask.

People ask similar questions today as well.  Who is the one whose birth divides history?  What is it about him that has sent millions of followers to teach and heal in his name?   And how could he be at the root of human rights and his name universally associated with blissful peace?

We may feel uplifted by these questions.  But we might be disturbed by them as well. Called “Christian” after his title “Christ,” we must live up to all that the word implies to have integrity.  That is, we must practice his self-sacrificing love with everyone we meet. 

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

 

Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, priest

 (Proverbs 30:5-9; Luke 9:1-6)

Today’s readings provide an explanation of the first beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” Proverbs asserts that rich people, trusting in their wealth, are likely to deny God as the source of their well-being.  The gospel illustrates Jesus’ awareness of God’s graciousness as he sends his apostles on mission.  He tells them to take with them no more than the clothes on their backs. His directive implies that God will provide for all their needs.

 To be poor is one thing and to live in misery is another.  The poor have bread to eat but little more.  The miserable live in dire need. They lack what is essential to live, be it food, peace of mind, or whatever.  They may steal, as the proverb indicates, or commit another kind of atrocity which only multiplies their troubles.

 Most of us have a good deal more than enough.  Yet many forget to thank God for what they have as they grasp for more.  If we do that, we become pitiable like the scrounging miserable. We will roam with unsettled hearts worrying without cause.

 

Tuesday, September 22, 2026

 

Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

(Proverbs 21:1-6.10-13; Luke 8:19-21)

During World War II a man spotted a GI lying on the sidewalk outside a bar after midnight.  Approaching the soldier, he asked if he needed help.  But the drunken soldier could not reply.   The man took the wallet from the soldier’s pocket, noted his address on the identification, removed ten dollars, and called for a taxi.  Then he placed a note in the wallet saying that the money was used for transportation, put the wallet back in the soldier’s pocket, and sent him home. 

The man went out of his way to help another in dire need.  As a matter of fact, the man did not believe in God and would have objected if it were said that he “acted like a Christian.”  He only did what he thought was “right and just” as today’s reading from the Book of Proverbs says.   

Christians have no monopoly on righteous deeds.  Yet we see such acts as that of the man who rescued the soldier as “Christian.” They exemplify what Jesus says in today’s gospel: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

Monday, September 21, 2026

 

Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist

(Ephesians 4:1-7.11-13; Matthew 9:9-13)

Caravaggio’s “The Calling of Saint Matthew” is one of the most celebrated paintings in Rome.  It hangs in the Church of Saint Louis of France.  The painting shows Jesus pointing to Matthew at his post in the custom’s house in Capernaum.  While Jesus is dressed in the clothes of the first century, Matthew sports attire of a sixteenth century gentleman.  Very significantly, Jesus’ hand is postured like God’s hand in Michelangelo’s masterpiece of the creation of man on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  There is no doubt that Caravaggio intended this.

Caravaggio is preaching to his viewers that like Jesus calls Matthew to follow him in the first century, they are being called at the turn of the seventeenth century.  Like Jesus’ disciples and the Pharisees, they must learn the critical lesson of the prophet Hosea and today’s gospel: “’I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’”

And so, Jesus is calling and teaching us today.  It would be contrary to Jesus’ mission to say that God does not want us to offer sacrifice, but perfectly in line with the mission to emphasize mercy as the end or purpose of sacrifice.  If our sacrifices do not make us more like Jesus in his care of the poor and unevangelized, they may be shams, and we deficient in our following of Christ.