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Wednesday of the twenty sixth week in Ordinary Time
II
Saint for Today: Click here to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are reading this reflection. Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice to return to this reflection.
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Scripture today: Job 9: 1-12.14-16; Psalm 87; Luke 9: 57-62
As they were walking along
the road, a man said to Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus
replied, "Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has
no place to lay his head." He said to another man, "Follow me." But he replied,
"Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the
dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Still
another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say
good-by to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts a hand to the plow
and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." (Luke 9: 57-62)
Once again, as with so
many passages in the Gospels, we are brought before the great fact of the
Kingdom of God. Our Lord directs one of the men who come to him to “go and
proclaim the kingdom of God.” To another he speaks of what “service in the
kingdom of God” entails. The Kingdom of God in 
the
Scriptures and as proclaimed by our Lord is the rule and lordship of God,
but not just in some vague and general sense. God had a definite plan as
to the nature of his promised rule. Our Lord was sent by the Father to establish
this promised Kingdom in which God would ultimately be all in all. Entering
God’s Kingdom and accepting his rule means becoming subject to God on God’s
terms. In the concrete it means following the person and teaching of Jesus
because God’s rule is found in him. Speaking even more precisely, the following
of Jesus is, in God’s plan, to be done in and through membership of his
Church. All of this our Lord progressively revealed to his Apostles and
disciples. In our Gospel passage today our Lord speaks of the following
of him and sharing in his mission. This, of course, is distinctive of the
Christian religion. The Christian religion is not just a moral code. Its
moral code derives from the person and teaching of Jesus - not as a code
which he arbitrarily determines, but which he teaches as founded in God
and reality. But the inspiration for following it and the certitude one
gains as to its truth is derived from one’s love for and following of the
person of Jesus. Christianity is the love for and following of a person,
the person of Jesus, and sharing in his mission. This is what our Lord expects
of the persons to whom he speaks in today’s Gospel passage, and what comes
through in his words is our Lord’s warnings against attachments to things
that can take one away from total attachment to him. Let us consider what
he says.
The first person says
to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have
holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
That is to say, he must be prepared, if necessary, to lack even a sufficient
abode. Another whom he invited to follow him said, "Lord, first let me go
and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead,
but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." That is to say, following him
could even mean the sacrifice of many family ties and affections, a point
repeated to a third person. To him he said, "No one who puts a hand to the
plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." (Luke 9: 57-62). What interferes with great
love is the presence of other loves. What is to be said of a husband and
family man who entertains the love of another woman? It is utterly reprehensible
and must gradually destroy his entire relationship with his wife and family.
He must root out of his life that other attachment and become entirely attached
to his wife and family. Or again, what is to be said of a husband and family
man who really loves his work more than his wire and family? It is reprehensible
and must be altered. That attachment is a disorder and must be set aright.
So too in our entire relationship with God and Christ. Man is made to know,
love and serve God with all his heart. For the Christian who knows that
Jesus is God, this means that he is to love Jesus with all his heart and
soul, and this love is to be expressed in his total acceptance of and adherence
to his teachings, and the obedient living according to them in everyday
life. This requires that we rid ourselves of all attachments that will interfere
with this primary love. This takes work. It will mean denying ourselves
those things to which we are attached to the detriment of our love for Jesus.
This is surely the message of today’s Gospel for the average Christian.
Let us place ourselves
in today’s Gospel scene and observe how total is the calling that our Lord
extends to his disciples. He calls on them to give him everything. What
this means for each depends on the particular vocation and circumstances
of each. But let us pray for the grace to respond as our Lord requests.
(E.J.Tyler)
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The Way of the Cross. Here indeed you have a sturdy and fruitful devotion! Spend a few moments each Friday going over those fourteen points of our Lord's Passion and Death. I assure you that you will gain strength for the whole of the week.
(The Way, no.556)
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Thursday of the twenty sixth week in Ordinary Time II
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Scripture today:
Job 19: 21-27; Psalm 26; Luke 10: 1-12
After this the Lord appointed
seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town
and place where he was about
to go. He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest
field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse
or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. "When you enter
a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' If the head of the house loves
peace, your peace will rest on that house; if not, it will return to you.
Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for workers deserve
their wages. Do not move around from house to house. "When you enter a town
and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there
and tell them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But when you enter
a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust
of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this:
The kingdom of God has come near.' I tell you, it will be more bearable
on that day for Sodom than for that town.
(Luke 10: 1-12)
The
Nobody
It has often been noted that in Islamic thought one of the signs that Allah had
blessed Islam from the very beginning was its military success. There is no
doubt that the astonishing military victories of Islam constitute an historical
phenomenon. Mahomet employed arms in the cause of Allah and he was successful
beyond expectation. His enemies were resisted and routed and he went on from
strength to strength, as did his successors. 
Of course, the non‑Muslim would balk at this being a divine sanction because
there have been various remarkable military successes in history. Many of them
have involved defeats for Islam itself. Be that as it may, let us notice how
different were the ways of Christ as presented in our Gospel passage today.
From the beginning our Lord intended to establish a Kingdom, far more promptly
than did Mahomet whose idea of great expansion came to him in time. Christ
immediately and from the beginning proclaimed a Kingdom: the Kingdom that had
been long foretold. Moreover, he quickly gathered about him disciples who would
share in his mission of extending his Kingdom. In our Gospel today we see him
sending out seventy‑two in pairs to announce its proximity. They were to carry
no arms. They were to go like lambs among wolves. “Go! I am sending you out
like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not
greet anyone on the road. When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this
house.’ If the head of the house loves peace, your peace will rest on that
house; if not, it will return to you” (Luke 10: 1‑12).
They were to go in all their poverty and limitations and were to announce the
coming of a Kingdom. In due course, they would draw others into that Kingdom.
The point here is that the disciples were to do all this in all their
ordinariness, all their natural limitations. It would involve three centuries
of persecution, but victory would come.
This means in effect that the ordinary person in all his ordinariness is
integral to the advancement of the Kingdom of God, which is nothing other than
the person of Christ and union with him. The entire world is called to the
knowledge and love of Christ and to the implementation of his teaching. The
Kingdom of God will reach its fullness when God is all in all through the
acceptance of and union with Christ. This will depend immensely on the ordinary
person, without arms, without, we might say, purse or bag or sandals. It will
depend on the little person, the person who feels he has so little to offer the
great cause of God and Christ. I speak of the seeming Nobody, the kind of
persons our Lord generally selected to make up his band of Apostles and
disciples. God does not need armies, horses and chariots. St Paul appealed to
Christ to take away his thorn of the flesh for it was impeding his work for
him. But the reply of Christ was, my power works in human weakness. It is by
each member of Christ’s faithful fulfilling his daily responsibilities towards
others, especially those in need, that the Kingdom of God will be advanced. His
temptation will be to think that his puny daily efforts are of little value,
especially when he sees that this is the attitude of others around him. But it
is not so. Let him think of that scene in the Gospel in which our Lord was
seated in the Treasury of the Temple watching the rich put in their
contributions. They put in a great deal. Then he saw a poor widow who put in a
mere two small coins. He called his disciples to him and said that the poor
widow had put in more than all the others because she had given all she had to
live on, while they had given simply what they had over — what they did not
need. This ought give consolation to the little person, the average member of
Christ’s Faithful who shares in the mission of Christ and the Church. His life
and his labours rank high in the estimation of the Master.
Let us, whoever we are, see ourselves in the seventy‑two whom our Lord sent out ahead of him. He sends us out every day to serve and to represent him. We are, we may think, Nobodies. Perhaps we are, but that does not matter. We are chosen by the Lord to be members of his body by faith and Baptism. We are graced with a share in his mission. We shall do this if we do all we should do well and out of love for him.
(E.J.Tyler)
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Christmas devotion. — I don't smile when I see you making cardboard mountains around the crib and placing simple clay figures near the manger. — You have never seemed more a man to me than now, when you seem to be a child.
(The Way, no.557)
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Friday of the twenty sixth week in Ordinary Time II
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Scripture today:
Job 38: 1.12-21; 40:3-5; Psalm 138; Luke 10: 13-16
Jesus said: Woe to you, Korazin!
Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had
been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting
in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon
at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to
the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. He who listens to you listens
to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him
who sent me. (Luke 10: 13-16)
Repentance
It has
been observed that one of the notable characteristics of the Church in the very
modern era is its reluctance to condemn. It is part and parcel of an emphasis
on dialogue as the principal means of evangelization. In his first Encyclical
Ecclesiam Suam, Pope Paul VI proposed dialogue as the key to
evangelization in the modern world.
However, there are those who see absolutely no role for condemnation in the
action of the Church. Hence Pope Paul VI himself was widely rejected for his
firm condemnation of artificial methods of birth control in his Encyclical
Humanae Vitae in 1968. But it was perhaps his finest hour and one of the
most striking moments in the action of the papacy that century. He rose to the
occasion of prophetically witnessing to the truth despite, we might say, the
opposition of the age. He suffered accordingly. Archbishop Fulton Sheen told
him he would be crucified for it. His future canonization which is proceeding
will vindicate his holy life, of which his Encyclical was a manifestation. I
mention this as an introduction to our Gospel passage today in which we see our
Lord condemning the towns of Korazin and Bethsaida, and his own town of
residence, Caphernaum. And how firmly he condemned them! He told them that they
were heading for hell. “It will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the
judgment than for you”, he said to Korazin and Bethsaida. “And you, Capernaum,”
he continued, “will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the
depths.” And what was the cause his condemnation of them? They refused to
repent. “Jesus said: Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the
miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they
would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.” Our passage today
(Luke 10: 13‑16) reminds us of how
fundamental is repentance in the Christian and human life. The refusal to
repent is deeply sinful, and it will lead to hell. We must repent of our sins
if we hope to attain heaven.
At the very beginning of our Lord’s public ministry he preached repentance.
Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand, he said. He condemned the Pharisees
for their lack of repentance, telling them that sinners would enter the Kingdom
of heaven before they. On one occasion he told the parable of the Pharisee and
the Publican who were both praying in the Temple. We might say it was a parable
about the difference between a respectable and admired man and a sinner. The
Pharisee stood there portraying to God what he thought to be his good deeds and
the Publican stood at the back beating his breast and murmuring, O God be
merciful to me a sinner. He was repentant. The Pharisee lacked all
repentance. At the very end, when our Lord was dying on the cross, there were
two criminals dying on each side of him. The one was repentant and the other
was not. The one said to the other that they deserved what was being done to
them, whereas Jesus had done nothing wrong. Then he turned to Jesus and said,
Remember me when you come into your Kingdom. Our Lord turned to him and said
that that very day he would be with him in Paradise. He was repentant, and he
loved God. We remember the occasion when our Lord was invited into the house of
a leading Pharisee. During the meal there entered a woman who had the
reputation of being a sinner. She came to Jesus and knelt at his feet, washing
them with her tears and drying them with her hair. Our Lord forgave her sins,
and held her example up before the unrepentant Pharisees. She had repented of
her sins, whereas they had not. Christ asks of us that we repent. Our
difficulty is that we, we of the modern age, tend to think that we have not
sinned, or that we have sinned little, or that sins do not matter. In that
particular respect we tend to be like the Pharisees. We need to recover a sense
of sin and this is a grace to be prayed for. It ought be prayed for every day
when we make an examination of our conscience. Let us resolve to repent.
This spirit of repentance ought be growing every day of our lives. Our greatest act of repentance ought be at the hour of our death, when we ought ask the pardon of God in the spirit of the Publican. But if we have had little repentance in our life, it will be difficult to gain it at the end. Let us pray for the grace to repent, especially of the numerous minor offences against God during every day. Repentance is a major virtue, and ought be practised and sought throughout one’s life.
(E.J.Tyler)
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The holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you will be amazed at the results;
(The Way, no.558)
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Saturday of the twenty sixth week in Ordinary Time II
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Scripture today: Job 42: 1-3.5-6.12-16; Psalm 118; Luke 10: 17-24
The seventy-two returned with
joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." He
replied, "I saw Satan fall like
lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and
scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm
you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice
that your names are written in heaven." At that time Jesus, full of joy
through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and
revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the
Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the
Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." Then he turned to
his disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you
see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you
see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."
(Luke 10: 17-24)
Written
in heaven
Our Lord had sent out seventy‑two of his disciples to go ahead of him,
exercising certain of his powers to show the truth of their preaching. They
were to announce that he was soon to come and that the Kingdom of Heaven was on
its way.
It was the hey‑day of our Lord’s public ministry and these disciples were just
as astonished as anyone at the powers they found they could exercise in Jesus’
name. They returned to our Lord “with joy”, telling him that “even the demons
submit to us in your name.” The word “even” (kai, and, as well) implies
that their powers were great, so great that the demons also were subject to
them. They came back extolling our Lord’s power, of which they had been granted
a share. They would have cured the sick and done, in their eyes, astonishing
things for those in need. Our Lord acknowledged that he had given them this
power. “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you
authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of
the enemy; nothing will harm you.” But he immediately went on to tell them that
it was not this that they ought rejoice in. Their cause of joy ought be that
they were especially chosen and cherished by God. “However,” he said, “do not
rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written
in heaven.” They were, in other words, his disciples, and this was their special
gift and consolation. Then our Lord continued with a prayer to his heavenly
Father, thanking him for the gift of discipleship he had given to these little
and ordinary ones. “Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise
you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from
the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for
this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by my
Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the
Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him’”
(Luke 10: 17‑24).
Let us apply this great lesson to ourselves. We may not be able to point to
great things we have done in life. We may not be able to boast of being widely
acknowledged for our gifts and influence. But what every disciple of Christ has
is the knowledge and the love of him who is the treasure of the world. Our Lord
concludes his words in our Gospel passage today by turning to his disciples and
saying to them privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I
tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see
it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” Every member of Christ’s
faithful, every person who is united to Christ by faith and baptism possesses
life’s greatest treasure, which is his Person. His Person and teaching,
together with his supernatural gifts, is available in his body the Church. No
matter what comes to us in life, be it success or failure, good times or bad,
sickness or health, this is our consolation and our strength. It means that
every circumstance in which we find ourselves can be made the occasion of a
greater personal sanctification because in that circumstance Christ our treasure
with whom we are united is present. He is there. More than this, it is
especially in the circumstances causing suffering that he is present and by his
grace sanctifying us, because in that situation of suffering we are united to
him who suffered and died on the cross. By means of suffering he redeemed the
world, and whenever we too suffer, by means of our union with him we contribute
to the redemption and sanctification of the world. He is the transforming
treasure of our lives. Accordingly, we ought base our lives not on hoped‑for
successes, or any other attainment, but on the fact that because we are in
Christ our names are written in heaven. It is in this that we ought rejoice,
and we can rejoice in it in all circumstances, be they good or bad. For this
reason St Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.” It is
indeed in this that our Lord himself rejoices in our Gospel passage today.
Every day our ambition ought be to grow in our vocation of being a disciple of Jesus. We ought rise every morning renewing this intention, of doing all for the greater glory of God, in union and friendship with Jesus. Christ is our consolation and our joy, and with him every circumstance of our lives becomes something very, very positive.
(E.J.Tyler)
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Saint Joseph, father of Christ, is also your father and your lord. Ask him to help you.
(The Way, no.559)
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Twenty seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time A
Prayers this week:
O Lord, you have given
everything its place in the world, and no one can make it otherwise. For
it is your creation, the heavens and the earth and the stars: you are the
Lord of all. (Esther
13: 9-11)
Father,
your love for us surpasses all our hopes and desires. Forgive our failings,
keep us in your peace and lead us in the way of salvation. We ask this through
our Lord Jesus Christ your Son in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for
ever and ever.
Saint for Today: Click here to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are reading this reflection. Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice to return to this reflection.
Click on centre arrow below to play the video:
Scripture today:
Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 79; Philippians 4: 6-9; Matthew
21: 33-43
Jesus said: "Listen to
another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a
wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented
the vineyard to some farmers
and moved to another place.
When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to
collect his fruit. "The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed
another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than
the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all,
he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said. "But when
the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come,
let's kill him and take his inheritance.' So they took him and threw him
out of the vineyard and killed him. "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard
comes, what will he do to those tenants?" "He will bring those wretches to
a wretched end," they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants,
who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time." Jesus said to them,
"Have you never read in the Scriptures: " 'The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvellous
in our eyes' "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken
away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who
falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but anyone on whom it falls
will be crushed." (Matthew 21: 33-43)
The Vineyard
Our
Gospel passage today tells of the landowner who planted a vineyard, and rented
it out to tenants while he himself moved away. The image of the vineyard
hearkens back to the vineyard referred to by the prophets. That vineyard was
planted by God and was his own chosen people from whom he expected his produce,
a produce of love and fidelity to him.
We remember the complaint of God that he looked for grapes from his vineyard,
and all he received were sour and bad grapes. What more could I have done for
my vineyard that I have not done? he asked through his prophet. In our parable
today the focus is on the tenants, on those with the responsibility to care for
the vineyard so as to provide the master with his produce. The tenants in
effect refused God his position as master of the vineyard, appropriating that
position for themselves. It came to a crux with the arrival of the master’s
son. Him they killed. Let us notice our Lord’s comment at the end. “Therefore
I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a
people who will produce its fruit” (Matthew 21: 33‑43).
The great treasure of the vineyard and its divinely intended purpose is the
kingdom of God. With the coming of the Son of God made man, the vineyard of God
in the Old Testament has become the vineyard which consists of Jesus, son of
David, son of Abraham, and all those who are in him. With its roots in the Old,
the vineyard now embraces the New. The Old Testament has found its fulfilment
in the New, and the New is Christ and those who are in him. Our Lord at the
Last Supper told his disciples that he is the Vine, and we who are in him are
the branches. Our vocation is to bear fruit in him. All are called to become
branches of the vine. What, then, is the kingdom of God that our Lord refers to
in his parable of the vineyard? Essentially the kingdom of God is the living
presence of God as Lord. In its essence it is the lordship and rule of God
which is found in Jesus and in union with him.
This presence of God as Lord in the person of Jesus is the great gift of God to
humanity. He is found in his new vineyard, the Church, which our Lord founded
on the Apostles, with Peter at their head. The Church, as St Paul explains in
his letters, is Christ’s body and we are his members. As just mentioned, at the
Last Supper our Lord used the image of a vine. He is the Vine and we are the
branches. That is to say, he is the heart and head of the Church and the source
of her life. The Church is Christ her head present among men, together with all
those who are in him by faith and baptism. For this reason, in Christ the
Kingdom of God is present within the Church. The Church is the bearer of the
Kingdom of God and her mission is to enable all men to find Christ in her. But
the Church has been sent by Christ to evangelize the world, and so the Kingdom
of God extends in the world to the extent that the world is brought to recognize
Christ as Lord. This Kingdom increases in the world through the sanctification
of people by the Holy Spirit and through their commitment to the service of
justice and peace in the spirit of the Beatitudes. So then, the world is called
to accept Christ as Lord, Lord of all and Lord of every aspect of human life.
This means that those who are in Christ are called to bear witness to him in
their everyday life in the world, gradually drawing others to the acceptance of
him and of his teaching so that society becomes more and more shaped according
to the mind of God. This is the special mission of the lay Christian, to bring
the person of Jesus and the acceptance of his teaching to the heart of daily
life in the world. For this reason our Lord told his disciples just before he
entered into heaven that they were to go to the whole world and make disciples
of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit. In this way the Kingdom of God in the world grows. The end
of this is the final coming of the Kingdom of God through Christ’s return in
glory.
Let us take to heart that part of the prayer our Lord taught us: Your Kingdom come. We ought pray daily that God will be accepted as Lord more and more in every aspect of life. This means bringing the knowledge and the love of Christ to the world. That Jesus Christ may reign! That ought be the ambition of every member of Christ’s Faithful and it constitutes the mission of every lay Christian in the world.
(E.J.Tyler)
Further reading: The Catechism of the Catholic Church,
no. 2816-2821
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Saint Joseph, our father and lord, is a teacher of the interior life. Place yourself under his patronage and you'll feel the effectiveness of his power.
(The Way, no.560)
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Monday of the twenty seventh week in Ordinary Time II
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Scripture today:
Galatians 1: 6-12; Psalm 110; Luke 10: 25-37
On one occasion an expert
in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do
to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How
do you read it?" He answered, "
'Love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with
all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' " "You have answered
correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." But he wanted to
justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbour?" In reply
Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell
into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and
went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the
same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too,
a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other
side. But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when
he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds,
pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought
him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii
and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return,
I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' "Which of these
three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of
robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." (Luke
10: 25-37)
Our
neighbour
It would be an interesting study to investigate the place of the poor in the
religions of mankind. All would know, almost instinctively, that authentic
religion is incompatible with deliberately inflicting injuries on others.
Behind this instinct is the sense that there is something absolute in moral
obligation.
What we know to be morally obligatory is not subject to nor the expression of
the arbitrary whim of God or any other authority. God is good and acts
according to his nature which is good. He therefore, being himself good,
commands not according to will or whim but according to what is good. Devotion
to God requires a moral life for God is moral, and at the forefront of a moral
life is respect for the rights of others. They must not be unjustly harmed.
That having been granted, this is a step removed from an active concern for the
poor. For instance, it is notable how the great religions of the East have a
strong impulse for contemplating the Absolute. In the past, the East has been
characterised by a religious longing for the numinous. Whether the “numinous”
of Eastern religions is truly personal, and whether it transcends the world is a
further question. Classic Buddhism does not accept the fact of a loving
Creator. Nevertheless, its religious and spiritual character is obvious. It is
a powerful bulwark against materialism and secularism, suggesting that a
philosophy of Marxism as in China today is un‑Eastern. Confucius and the Dalai
Lama are characteristic of the genius of the East, whereas the Maoist communist
with his intellectual ancestry in Germany and Britain, is not. However, we may
ask what impulse is there in Eastern religions for a betterment of the poor, and
more specifically for an active love and concern for the poor person? The same
question could be asked of the traditional primal religions such as those of
Africa, Australia, America and Oceania. Poverty can take numerous forms, but I
am not sure that it can be said of the religions of man that they produce in
their adherents a concern for the poor person and an awareness that the neglect
of the poor is contrary to true religion.
One of the distinctive features of Revealed Religion — the religion revealed to
Abraham, Moses and the prophets and then revealed definitively and in its
fullness by Jesus Christ — is its insistence on concern for the poor. Our
Gospel today (Luke 10: 25‑37) shows how love
for one’s neighbour was an essential part of the religion of the Old Testament.
As our Lord explained to his questioner, it was the second of the two
commandments on which hung the Law and the Prophets. But as the lawyer shows by
his second question, this concern for the poor could still be ambiguous. Is it
just our friend, relative, countryman, or co-religionist? Our Lord is
unambiguous in his reply. One’s neighbour whom we are commanded to love is
above all the person in need. He is the man who has fallen among robbers and
lies on the road half‑dead. The religious people pass him by and do nothing to
assist him, while the despised Samaritan fulfils the commandment of God. In our
Lord’s description of the Last Judgment in Matthew chapter 25, the judgment of
each person will pivot around his treatment of the least poor person. In that
Judgment, our Lord identifies himself with the poor. Whatever you did to the
least of these brothers of mine, you did to me, he will say. Then he will say
to those who attended to the poor, Come, you who are blessed, to the place
prepared for you. To those who neglected the poor person he will say, Depart
from me, you cursed. In the story of the Rich Man and the Poor Man Lazarus, the
Rich Man dies and is buried in hell because he neglected the Poor Man who lay at
his very gate. And so it is that the Church has held up for the veneration and
inspiration of the faithful many saints who have been distinguished for their
constant commitment to the poor, seeing in them the face of Christ. Blessed
(Mother) Teresa of Calcutta is an especially famous example. Blessed Alberto
Hurtado (died 1952 in Chile) is another. St Vincent de Paul is another. The
message of the Church on this is very clear.
If we can see that there is in our hearts not much love and concern for the poor person, if we can see that we find the poor a nuisance, then we ought humbly recognize this before God and ask his pardon and grace. Let us ask his grace to grow in a Christ‑like love for the poor, so that we become less and less like the priest and Levite in the Gospel parable today, and more and more like the Good Samaritan. Let us think of our Lord’s parable, and his final words, Go and do the same yourself. If we do this, life everlasting will be ours.
(E.J.Tyler)
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Speaking of Saint Joseph in the book of her life, Saint Teresa says: 'Whoever fails to find a Master to teach him how to pray, should choose this glorious Saint, and he will not go astray.' — This advice comes from an experienced soul. Follow it.
(The Way, no.561)
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Tuesday of the twenty seventh week in Ordinary Time II
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Scripture today:
Galatians 1: 13-24; Psalm 138; Luke 10: 38-42
As Jesus and his disciples were
on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her
home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening
to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that
had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my
sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha,
Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things,
but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better,
and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke
10: 38-42)
Martha
There is
an old expression, “reading between the lines.” If we read between the lines I
think we can see the Martha of the Gospels occupying in some sense a place of
some prominence in the early Church. I say that because of the attention she
seems to receive in a few passages in the Gospels.
We remember the chapter in the Gospel of St John that is given over to the
raising of Lazarus from the dead. It is very clear that Martha, Mary and
Lazarus were very close to our Lord and on terms of special intimacy with him.
In that chapter Martha is especially prominent. Her profession of faith in our
Lord is magnificent, uttering in his presence what the Gospel of St John
intended to teach about Jesus. That Gospel was written — as we read at the end
of it — to show that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God, the one who
was to come into the world. Believing this, one will find life in his name. In
our Gospel passage today (Luke 10: 38‑42),
which is from the Gospel of St Luke, Martha again is prominent. It is
interesting that Lazarus is not mentioned. Martha and Mary are present, and it
is Martha who welcomes our Lord to their home. While Mary is mentioned as
sitting at our Lord’s feet listening to what he is saying, nevertheless the
attention is on Martha. We are told at the beginning of the passage that Jesus
and his disciples were on their way when they arrived at the village of Martha.
She welcomed our Lord and she was busily preparing — perhaps not only for our
Lord himself but also for his disciples. She had a good bit of preparing to
do. The focus remains on her as she complains to our Lord about her sister who
is perhaps characteristically leaving all the initiative to her sister while she
herself sits before our Lord. So Martha complains and our Lord, undoubtedly
with a smile, tells her that not much is needed, and truth to tell, all that is
needed is to hear his word and to put it into practice. That is what Mary had
chosen to do — to listen to his word. He could not tell her to do otherwise.
Every year the Church celebrates the feast of St Martha. There is no
celebration of the feast of St Lazarus nor is there a celebration of St Mary the
sister of Martha, though it was once thought that Mary was St Mary Magdalene.
This does not mean that Mary and Lazarus were not hidden saints for their great
intimacy with our Lord is clear from the Gospels. But the Church certainly
holds up St Martha for our veneration and imitation. Our Gospel passage today
(Luke 10: 38‑42) shows Martha as an active
disciple of our Lord welcoming him, and serving him in very practical ways. In
this she is an example to us all. We are all called to welcome Christ into our
life and to serve him daily in the fulfilment of our practical duties. We could
see this as especially applying to our attitude to the poor. In them we serve
Christ and so, in welcoming the poor and in serving them in very practical ways,
we are doing the same to Jesus. Our passage also points out our Lord’s teaching
that, in the life of the Christian who busily serves others in his name, the
direct contemplation of him is to be first and foremost. What Mary was doing,
seated before the Lord and giving her full attention to his word, must be
regarded as the principal but not the only thing in the life of the Christian.
Our Lord’s correction of Martha in this matter — which may have been told to
Luke by her — was duly recorded by St Luke for the benefit of all Christ’s
disciples. They must make time throughout life and indeed every day to be doing
what Mary was doing in this scene. Our action must be combined with a life of
contemplation of the Master. So let us ask ourselves if there is enough of this
in our life. Every day we must be busy serving the Lord but every day we must
also be found doing what Mary was doing. So then, how much time are we spending
in prayer with the eyes of our soul gazing on Jesus in faith, and with our ears
attuned to his word as it comes to us in the Scriptures and in the Church’s
teaching?
Let us develop the habit of a solid pattern of prayer in our daily life. As soon as we arise our thoughts ought prayerfully go to Jesus, establishing ourselves yet again firmly in his friendship. We must not in our daily work forget the Lord of the work. Let us work out a plan of life, then, a plan that will involve plenty of work for the Lord and times of prayer and reading of his word that will make it possible for us to sanctify the work that he wants us to do.
(E.J.Tyler)
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Have confidence in your guardian Angel. Treat him as a lifelong friend — that is what he is — and he will render you a thousand services in the ordinary affairs of each day.
(The Way, no.562)
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Wednesday of the twenty seventh week in Ordinary Time II
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Scripture today: Galatians 2: 1-2.7-14;
Psalm 116; Luke 11: 1-4
One day Jesus was praying in a certain
place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to
pray, just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say:
" 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily
bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.' " (Luke
11: 1-4)
The
Lord’s Prayer
There are a couple of versions of the Lord’s Prayer in the Gospels, and Luke’s
version is the simplest and briefest. Perhaps our Lord taught his Prayer on
different occasions and even to different audiences, and so there may have been
briefer versions on certain occasions.
Alternatively, it may just reflect different memories and traditions in the
infant Church. But it is brief, especially so if we compare it with many other
prayers in the Old and New Testaments. Compare it with, say, the prayer of
Zachary or the prayer of Mary in the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel, both of
which are inspired by the Holy Spirit. Luke’s version of our Lord’s Prayer is
much briefer. It surely implies that Christian prayer is built on a few great
components and is prayer for any and all disciples of Christ. Let us notice one
thing, that the Lord’s Prayer is made up of petitions. This shows how important
the prayer of petition is in the sight of God. It indicates that the life of
the individual and the course of the world depends very much on the prayer of
petition. St Alphonsus once said that the reason why we do not receive more
benefits from God is that we do not ask for them. The first petition of the
Lord’s prayer is that God will be hallowed, respected, honoured. We pray that
his name will be hallowed in the hearts of men and in the nations of the world.
This is especially relevant in our day when secularism reigns over popular
culture. Life is lived as if God did not exist, even if at the same time most
people might happen to think that he does exist. Life is not guided by the
conviction that a moral and all‑holy God is present to all that man does. His
name is not hallowed by much of mankind. Entire regimes are conducted without
reference to God. So we pray daily that this will change. Hallowed be your
name! Then we pray that God’s kingdom will come. That is to say, in praying
that God’s name will be hallowed, we go on to ask that his rule and his lordship
will be accepted. May his will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. So
our first petition is that God will reign over the hearts of men and over the
life of society. If this happens, all will be well.
Having placed God’s interests at the forefront of our petition to him and
knowing that if his interests are respected then all is in safe keeping, we then
ask that God attend our own legitimate interests. “Give us each day our daily
bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation” (Luke 11: 1‑4).
Our “daily bread” refers to all we need to sustain our life, be it physical or
spiritual. We surely ought include in this what our Lord himself taught to be
our bread of life, namely himself. Christ is our daily bread. As he says in
the Gospel of St John, I am the bread of life. If anyone eats of me he will
live forever. We eat of the person of Christ by giving him our faith entirely
and by living daily by his word. Most especially we eat of him by partaking of
the Eucharist. The Eucharist is our bread of life and it is the greatest of
God’s gifts because it is the gift of his Son. We ought pray to God asking the
grace to see Jesus Christ as our true bread, the true nourishment we need. Very
importantly in the Lord’s Prayer there is a petition for God’s forgiveness. I
know one person who some time back discovered that he had for quite some time
been instinctively making his prayer a prayer for pardon. Time and again he
found himself saying involuntarily, “I am sorry, Lord! Lord, I am sorry!” Think
of the praise our Lord gave to the Publican in his story of the Pharisee and the
Publican praying in the Temple. All the Publican could do was stand down the
back of the Temple out of sight, with his head bowed and saying to God “Lord, be
merciful to me, a sinner.” Let the prayer for pardon from God fill our days and
lead us frequently to the Sacrament of Penance. But then, as our Lord’s Prayer
reminds us, in asking for pardon, we must give it to others. We must forgive
those who trespass against us. This is the truly difficult thing, so let us
pray for the grace to forgive others just as God has forgiven us.
Finally, we ask God to keep us from being led into temptation, especially temptation to which we are likely to succumb. We ought pray to be kept free from deliberate sin. Sin is the worst of evils, and so its avoidance is a great favour we ought ask God for. Let us then resolve to give ourselves over to a life of prayer, prayer at formal times, yes, but also prayer in the midst of our daily work. Let us cherish the Lord’s Prayer, make it the inspiration of our lives, and our prayer at the last.
(E.J.Tyler)
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Win over the guardian Angel of that person whom you wish to draw to your apostolate. He is always a great 'accomplice'.
(The Way, no.563)
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Thursday of the twenty seventh week in Ordinary Time II
Saint for Today: Click here to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are reading this reflection. Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice to return to this reflection.
Click on centre arrow below to play the video:
Scripture today: Galatians 3: 1-5; Psalm Luke 1; Luke 11: 5-13
Jesus said to his disciples, Suppose one of
you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me
three
loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and
I have nothing to set before him.' Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother
me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get
up and give you anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give
him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he
will get up and give him as much as he needs. So I say to you: Ask and it will
be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to
you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks,
the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will
give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If
you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how
much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
(Luke 11: 5-13)
Prayer
One of the most obvious features of modern Western culture and of those
cultures influenced by the West is its secularity, understood as the absence
of God. Contemporary Western culture is not a vehicle of nor does it favour
an open acceptance of the being of God.
It is not that it positively denies the existence of God — it is not
atheistic as such — rather it sets aside the God proposition and relegates
it to the realm of private opinion. God is not an objective fact because
objective facts are tangible and measurable, and so life can be and should
be lived as if God does not exist. Whether he exists or not, life has to be
lived on its own material and natural terms and not in terms of a supposed
order that is immaterial and supernatural. The modern starting point is
that of naturalism: which is to say, that what exists is limited to the
“natural.” Observable nature is all that there is. It is the one,
incontestable Fact. The supernatural is dubious and problematic. I have
often been struck by, on the one hand the number of young people who show
signs of a deep religious faith and whose religious future is so full of
promise, and on the other hand by the (many more, I think) young people
whose starting point is naturalism. It amounts to a doubt as to the unseen
being of God and the things of God, and, therefore an instinctive suspicion
in respect to religion. Such young people have picked up this doubt and
suspicion from their culture. There are cultures that are not of this
kind. At this point, the Filipino culture, which while in many respects is
Western, is not one of naturalism. The typical Filipino family is
instinctively open to religion and to the being of God. But when that
Filipino family migrates to a country such as to Australia, the danger is
that the children can silently embrace the secularist assumptions of
Australia. Let this introduce our Gospel passage of today. In it our Lord
gives not only emphatic assurances of the reality of the unseen world of
God, but that God is one reality we can rely on. He is the true Fact, and
it is foolish to live as if he does not exist. We can turn to him and
depend on him to make a tremendous difference to life.
The person who thinks that God is just a thought, an image, or a term in
conversation, will scarcely be likely to pray to him. Of course, reversals
in life can prompt such a one to appeal to God, but the naturalism and
secularity of so many persons results in their rarely praying. They think
that if there is a God, he makes no difference. Life has to be lived as if
he is not present and active. Hence our Lord’s words in today’s Gospel
(Luke 11: 5‑13) are full of relevance. Our
Lord makes this riveting promise. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be
given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to
you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who
knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for
a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give
him a scorpion?” Our Lord promises that our prayers will be answered. There
are, however, a couple of things that must be said about this. To begin
with, pervading our Lord’s words is the point that the God to whom we
address our prayers is all‑wise and all‑loving. Which of you fathers, if
your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? The direct
implication is that God is a father to us. Therefore, using our Lord’s
words in a slightly different way, if we — without realizing it, perhaps —
were to ask him for a snake, so to say, would he give it to us? Or, so to
say, a scorpion, would he give it to us? No. God knows what is best for us
and if we ask him for something that he sees will do us harm, he will not
grant it. But he loves us tenderly and so he will answer our prayers in the
way he knows is best for us. There is a further point. Throughout the
Gospels our Lord is seen to be working miracles, in response to a prayer of
faith. Our Lord expects and wants to see faith in those he means to help.
Do you believe I can do this for you? we find him continually asking. So in
our petitions to God we ought approach him with faith. This faith will lead
us to persevere in our prayers for some worthy object, while all the time
accepting humbly the will of God.
Let us especially ask for those things which God has revealed as being for our truest good. The greatest of these goods is the gift of the Holy Spirit. God wants to redeem and sanctify us. This is the entire purpose of life and all the other things for which we can and ought pray for, should relate to that one important thing. For this we need the gift of the Holy Spirit our Sanctifier. Let us then pray to the Father that he send us the gift and grace of the Holy Spirit. As our Lord says in today’s passage, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11: 5‑13).
(E.J.Tyler)
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If you remembered the presence of your own Angel and the angels of your neighbours, you would avoid many of the foolish things which slip into your conversations.
(The Way, no.564)
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Friday of the twenty seventh week in Ordinary Time II
Saint for Today: Click here to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are reading this reflection. Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice to return to this reflection.
Click on centre arrow below to play the video:
Scripture today: Galatians 3: 7-14; Psalm 110; Luke 11: 15-26
When Jesus had cast out a devil, some of
them said, By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving
out demons. Others
tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. Jesus knew their thoughts and said
to them: Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided
against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his
kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by
Beelzebub. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers
drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by
the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. When a strong man,
fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone
stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armour in which the man
trusted and divides up the spoils. He who is not with me is against me, and he
who does not gather with me, scatters. When an evil spirit comes out of a man,
it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I
will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house swept
clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked
than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man
is worse than the first. (Luke 11: 15-26)
Satan
On June 29, 1972 Pope Paul VI made his famous remark that the smoke of Satan had
entered aspects of the life of the Church. He was referring to the dissent from
Church teaching and discipline on the part of many within the Church, and he was
saying that Satan was assisting in this dissent.
The Pope — whose cause for canonization is proceeding — went on to give a very
good address on Satan. What was also interesting was the media response and
reporting of this address of the Pope. Even though it is decades ago I remember
how the ABC reported it on the television news. The news reader read it out as
if it was something of a joke. The joke was that Satan was taken to be real.
Occasionally I have seen public advertisements with pictorial representations of
Satan as a figure of fun, and even a bit loveable. He is a kind of imp. Let us
never underestimate the dark and murderous character of the being the Scriptures
and Christ call Satan. Christ describes him as a liar and a murderer from the
beginning. Most criminals have some redeeming feature, but Satan has absolutely
none. He is wholly sunk in sin and hates God with all his profoundly corrupted
being. He is beyond all hope and is totally committed to sin and the tearing
down of anything that may give glory to God. He is God’s creature and is held
constantly in being by the hand of God, and yet he hates God with all his
heart. Our Lord tells us that the first of all the commandments is to love God
with all our being and the second is like it, to love our neighbour as ourself.
Satan is the complete opposite to this and by implacable personal choice. His
fate is sealed. He is doomed to the depths of Hell for all eternity, but he
will go down attempting to drag as many as he can with him, and all out of
hatred for God. His final sentence will be terrible. We are reminded of Satan
and his demonic assistants by our Gospel passage today.
What image do we have, or rather what conception do we have, of the ultimate
dynamics of the universe? Is it, say, of a universe that age by age is simply
developing and continuing in its life and action, and of being nothing more than
what can be seen? Our Lord makes it clear in his interchange with his opponents
that there is much more going on than this, much more than what can simply be
seen. Ultimately what is going on is a battle between two kingdoms, each of
which at its core is unseen. Each kingdom desires sovereignty over mankind.
There is the kingdom of God and there is the kingdom of Satan. That there are
these two kingdoms is obvious from our Lord’s words today. “Any kingdom divided
against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If
Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because
you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub” (Luke
11: 15‑26). So Satan leads a kingdom. He is the head of a
household. Moreover, it is on a war footing against the kingdom of God, whose
Lord and King is Jesus Christ. This is what is going on in the universe, and
whatever we do will have implications for this unseen contest. If we are not
alert to what is really going on — which is this battle between God and Satan —
then our actions are vulnerable. We can be ensnared by the Enemy of God. We
must be alert and take our stand every day with the One who is good, and who
will have the victory at the end. By his death on the cross Christ has gained
the victory. The victory over the hearts of men and the victory of good over
evil has already been won by Christ’s dying on the cross. What remains to be
done from generation to generation till the end is to help each man and woman
take their place with Christ so that his victory will be made theirs. As our
Lord says, he is the stronger one and he has and will overcome the one who,
because of the Fall, has had possession.
Let us resolve to be vigilant. We must all remain on a war footing. As St Peter writes in his Letter, the Devil goes about like a lion looking for his prey. There will be no mercy should he entrap us, and the trap is our own deliberate sin. Satan wants this one thing from us, that we sin. Anything that will tempt us to sin, especially to sin mortally, Satan will encourage. He wants no glory to be given to God, and God’s greatest glory is the avoidance of sin and the acquisition of personal holiness. Let us then take our stand with Jesus and reject all that seems to come from Satan.
(E.J.Tyler)
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You are amazed that your guardian Angel has done you such obvious favours. And you should not be amazed: that's why our Lord has placed him beside you.
(The Way, no.565)
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Saturday of the twenty seventh week in Ordinary Time II
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Scripture today:
Galatians 3: 22-29; Psalm 104; Luke 11: 27-28
As Jesus was saying these things, a
woman in the crowd called out, Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and
nursed you. He replied, Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and
obey it. (Luke 11: 27-28)
Christ
and his mother
Let us place ourselves in the Gospel scene among the crowd, watching Jesus as he
speaks. Jesus pauses and during the pause a woman nearby in the crowd, filled
with admiration for the man before them, cries out how blessed was the mother
who had such a son. There are two objects of praise here.
In the first place, Christ is praised. In the second, his mother is praised.
This woman in the crowd gave voice to the Church’s praise and thanks down the
centuries ever since. Christ is inextricably linked with his mother, and both
are praised, Christ of course first, and then in him his mother, by far the
first and greatest of his disciples. Let us, together with that woman in the
crowd, contemplate the person of Jesus. True man as he is, there he is before
us, talking to the crowd. Think of the wonder of the situation! That man is
God, God the Son become man and standing there telling us what we must do to
gain eternal life. In him we see God face to face, not in his divine nature
(which of course he has, but veiled), but in his human nature rendering him
entirely visible. In his human nature, God the Son has certain physical
features. He is of a certain height, he has a certain accent, a certain timbre
to his voice, he thinks in a certain way and he expresses himself in a certain
fashion. He is God who is thoroughly incarnate. He is a man who is utterly
sinless and who loves his heavenly Father with his whole soul. The woman in the
crowd would not, perhaps, have realized that Jesus was divine, but it was very
evident to her how wonderful a man he was. Like her we ought contemplate his
person, and do so every day, raising our minds and hearts in praise of him in
our prayer. As we do this, we ought, like her, also raise our hearts in praise
of his blessed mother. The angel Gabriel did this when he met her. So did her
kinswoman Elizabeth soon after. We read of this in this same Gospel of St
Luke. Mary is full of grace, the Lord is with her. Blessed is she among women,
and blessed is the fruit of her womb, Jesus.
Our Lord heard the praise of himself, but in his humility did not bask in it.
Nor did he bask in the praise of his own mother, whom he loved so much. Rather
he immediately pointed to the true reason for praise. Both he and his mother
were entirely worthy of this praise, he for the splendour of his divine person
in both his human and divine natures, and she his mother for the splendour of
her dignity as mother and for her gifts and holiness of life. But the true
reason for praise for anyone, our Lord replies, is that he hears the word of God
and puts it into practice. He himself is the foremost exemplar of this. He is
the Son of God, but consider the plan of God which he was in the process of
fulfilling. He was in the world to save the world from sin and to bring it the
gift of redemption and sanctification. It would mean very soon his taking on
his own shoulders the sins of all mankind and making up for all of man’s sins.
This was almost an inconceivably vast work and he fulfilled it through scarcely
imaginable sufferings. Our Lord heard the word and the will of his heavenly
Father and put it into practice. I always do what pleases him, he said on
another occasion, and the Father himself said from the cloud during Christ’s
Transfiguration that in Jesus he was well pleased. His food was to do the will
of the One who sent him, as Jesus said elsewhere. Christ himself is our first
and perfect model of what he himself speaks of in the Gospel of today
(Luke 11: 27‑28). But in this our Lord has a
perfect disciple, his own mother. As Mary’s kinswoman Elizabeth said of her,
blessed is she who believed what was promised her by the Lord. Mary is the
woman of perfect faith and perfect obedience. Totally human, by the grace of
God she heard the word of God and perfectly put it into practice. Closely
following in the footsteps of her divine Son she is our mother and model in
hearing the word of God and putting it into practice. For this reason, above
all, she is blessed among women.
Let us every day keep our eyes on Jesus, and also let us keep our eyes on his most perfect disciple, the one who was closest to him in loving intimacy, Mary his mother. He is to be praised as God incarnate, and so is she to be praised as God’s perfect creature by his grace. Blessed is the womb that bore you, the woman cried out. Indeed. Now, he has given her to us to be our mother also, and as our mother she is our model. She will help us to hear the word of God and put it into practice, and thus be blessed in God’s sight.
(E.J.Tyler)
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You say that in such surroundings there are many occasions of going astray? That's true, but is there not also the presence of the guardian Angels?...
(The Way, no.566)
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Twenty eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time A
Prayers
this week: If you, O Lord, laid bare our
guilt, who could endure it? But you are forgiving, God of Israel. (Ps 129:3-4)
Lord, our help and guide, make your love the foundation of our lives. May our
love for you express itself in our eagerness to do good for others. We
ask this
through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.
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Scripture today: Isaiah 25: 6-10; Psalm 22; Philippians 4: 12-14.19-20; Matthew 22: 1-14
Jesus spoke to them again in parables,
saying: The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for
his son. He
sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to
tell them to come, but they refused to come. Then he sent some more servants and
said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen
and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the
wedding banquet.' But they paid no attention and went off — one to his field,
another to his business. The rest seized his servants, ill-treated them and
killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those
murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding
banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street
corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' So the servants went out
into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad,
and the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see
the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.
'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man
was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and
throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth.' For many are invited, but few are chosen.
(Matthew 22: 1-14)
Covetousness
Each
of our Lord’s parables throws light on most aspects of the Christian life,
and so it is with our Gospel parable of today. Consider those who were
invited to the wedding. We read that the king sent servants out to notify
those who had been invited to the wedding that all was ready for them to
come.
But they were not interested. We read that “They paid no attention and went
off — one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his
servants, ill‑treated them and killed them”
(Matthew 22: 1‑14). Their hearts were set on other things. Let
us take this general point as a springboard for reflection on one form that
this attachment of the heart to things other than God can take. I refer to
what Scripture and the Church’s spiritual tradition refer to as
covetousness. The tenth commandment of God forbids that we covet our
neighbour’s goods. It forbids having the intention to gain what belongs to
another. Of course, one would hope that a person who practises his
Christian faith would never formally intend to take what rightfully belongs
to another. But greed and envy can be present in a person’s heart despite
what he may actually do or formally intend. It is the desire of the heart
for the goods that one’s neighbour enjoys that is so spiritually
debilitating. We see that others have material goods and we think that our
worth as persons rises or falls in proportion to the abundance of our
possessions. We are saddened at the seeming good fortune of others we know
or hear of. We think that it reflects poorly on ourselves. We are envious
of their better home, their better car, and in general of their better
fortune in life. They have had it good, we have not had it good — so we
think. We wish we had what they now have, and we are sad that this is not
possible. This attachment to created things which covetousness involves
weakens the capacity of the heart to respond to the call of God to come to
the wedding — the wedding of the parable being a life of union with Jesus
here, reaching its fullness hereafter.
As life goes on this fault of covetousness can take more subtle forms.
While the sight of one’s neighbour’s material good fortune can cause sadness
when it is compared with our own more limited material means, there are
other ways of being covetous. One can be saddened by the greater success of
others in their work and in their influence and performance. They seem more
successful in gaining friends and in their achievements. Their career has
been more prosperous. They even seem to be better people. These are the
kinds of thoughts that can insinuate themselves into the mind and
imagination. One begrudges others the good things they have, above and
beyond their material goods. One wishes it were different. One wishes that
one had been better endowed and more fortunate in the good things of life,
be they material, spiritual or otherwise. So one is sad. One is
disappointed in life and not fulfilled. One is envious. A person who
consents to these thoughts has failed to recognize that his seeming poverty
in some respect is an opportunity rather than a burden and an affliction.
His poverty — of which he is very aware because of his comparing himself
with others — offers a chance to be rid of illusions and to seek one’s true
wealth in God and in Christ. This is one reason why the Church has
sanctioned with such constant praise the vocation to a consecrated religious
life of poverty, obedience and celibacy. All the legitimate goods of life —
possessions, independence and family — are able to substitute to a greater
or lesser extent for God in one’s heart, and the sadness a person feels at
the more abundant goods enjoyed by another shows this. Let us try to
understand that covetousness takes many and subtle forms and it is a vice
that will sap and undermine our relationship with God. The command of God
warning against it is not only a protection of the rights of others but it
is a protection of our own spiritual life, which is always debilitated by
the envy and sadness which covetousness gives rise to.
Let us guard against all covetousness and envy. Let us resolve to place our hopes in Christ, in God and his holy will. Especially let us accept our poverty in whatever sphere we see it to exist, knowing that our true riches lie in union with Christ and in following his way. Therein will lie our success and our riches, and if we have that, we have all.
(E.J.Tyler)
Further reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church,
no.2535-2543
(Covetousness versus the desires of the Spirit)
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If you call upon your guardian Angel at the moment of trial, he will protect you from the devil and will bring you holy inspirations.
(The Way, no.567)
Click here for spiritual reading (some classic spiritual authors)
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Monday of the twenty eighth week in Ordinary Time II
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Scripture today:
Galatians 4: 22-24.26-27.31-5:1; Psalm 112; Luke 11: 29-32
As
the crowds increased, Jesus said, This is a wicked generation. It asks for a
miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as
Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this
generation. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of
this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to
listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. The men of
Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for
they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.
(Luke 11: 29-32)
Jesus
Take any one of the great philosophers of history — let us say, Aristotle. Pick
up, say, The Basic Works of Aristotle (ed. Richard McKeon, Random, NY,
1941) and look at his “Organon,” his “Metaphysica” or, say, his “Ethica.” Now,
as we work our way through any one of these outstanding works, are we
contemplating Aristotle himself?
Of course not. He is teaching us philosophy and is not pointing to himself. He
is not the object of the course he is giving. Take one of the great founders of
religions in history — let us say, Mahomet. Pick up the Koran and ask,
in reading this volume am I being asked to contemplate Mahomet himself? Of
course not. Mahomet presents himself as a messenger. He claims to point to
Allah from whom, he believes, he has received a revelation. The object of our
contemplation and considerations is other than Mahomet himself, except insofar
as Mahomet presents himself as exemplifying what he claims Allah expects of
man. But now, the case is entirely different with the Christian religion. In
the Christian religion the object of our contemplation is the person of Jesus
Christ. It is not just a matter of following his teachings as coming from God.
He is not just yet another prophet who points to God as the one who has revealed
to him certain things. He points to himself and says, believe me, love me,
follow me, die for me, and on the basis of my person and my authority accept
entirely my teaching which is my divine revelation. Christ, and not just his
teaching, is the heart and the soul of the Christian religion. The Christian
does not merely follow Christ’s teaching (and, of course, he must follow
Christ’s teaching) but rather he loves and follows the person of Christ as he
would God. This is because Jesus is God, God the Son become man. In his book
Jesus of Nazareth Pope Benedict XVI reports a dialogue Rabbi Neusner
conducts about Jesus. Neusner asks, What does Jesus bring? Neusner gives the
answer. It is Himself (p.105). Jesus’ I, his own person, is central to his
message.
In our Gospel passage today our Lord seriously faults very many who see and hear him. They want signs and wonders and will not accept the one they have before them. “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.” (Luke 11: 29‑32) In him, there is here a greater than Jonah and a greater than Solomon. All Jonah did was preach repentance and the Ninevites repented for they could see that Jonah was a prophet preaching the message from God. Look at me, our Lord continues, can you not see that I am greater than Jonah? It is the same with Solomon and his wisdom. The Queen of the South could see the wisdom of Solomon, and there is a far greater than Solomon here. Our Lord is saying, I am greater than all. We are reminded of the words of the Angel Gabriel to Mary announcing her motherhood of the Messiah. He said that the child would be great, and would be called Son of the Most High. He will be great. So then, the Christian life involves the contemplation of the very person of Jesus. We must abide with him, with the eyes of our soul gazing steadily and with love on his person. Love for him must be enkindled in our hearts, and this love is what must inspire our obedience to his commands. If you love me, our Lord said, you will do what I command you. If we are to love him we must abide in faith with him, gazing on him especially as he is portrayed in the Gospels.
Let us resolve to come to know the person of Jesus Christ and to be filled with a love for his person. This is the heart and soul of the Christian religion. Out of this flows Christian practice, which is to say a life lived according to the teachings of Jesus. The Christian religion is not just a philosophy or way of life. It is a personal relationship with another person and that other person is Jesus. He is the only way to the Father, and indeed, to see him is to see the Father. We are called to live with him and for him and thus to die with him and for him. Let this be our life’s goal.
(E.J.Tyler)
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How joyfully the holy guardian Angels must have obeyed that soul who said to them: 'Holy Angels, I call on you, like the Spouse of the Song of Songs, ut nuntietis ei quia amore langueo, to tell him that I languish with love.'
(The Way, no.568)
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Tuesday of the twenty eighth week in Ordinary Time II
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Scripture today: Galatians 5: 1-6; Psalm 118; Luke 11: 37-41
When
Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went
in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not
first wash before the meal, was surprised. Then the Lord said to him, Now then,
you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of
greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside
make the inside also? But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and
everything will be clean for you. (Luke 11:
37-41)
Interior religion
Let us notice the circumstances of our Lord’s words in today’s Gospel
passage. Our Lord had been speaking to growing crowds (verse 29) and the
chapter gives his extensive teaching. We read that he had just finished
speaking and a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home.
Inasmuch as the Pharisees were among our Lord’s leading opponents, this
detail is very revealing. It shows that our Lord’s entire manner in the
face of this opposition was such as not in any way to inhibit a Pharisee
from even inviting him to his home. Our Lord’s kindness was manifest. When
this Pharisee invited our Lord to his home to dine, our Lord accepted the
invitation immediately. He wished to save all, including the Pharisees. At
the same time, once in the house of the Pharisee he did not hesitate to
correct him when the occasion called for it, which it soon did. The
occasion was that by the time our Lord had reclined at table, the Pharisee
had already been surprised at him, for our Lord had failed to “wash before
the meal.” This washing was ostentatious and excessive, being performed as a
point of religious observance. It was a tradition that in no way was
imposed by the Law of God, and our Lord, of course, simply disregarded it.
Perhaps by his manner the Pharisee made it obvious, not only to Jesus but to
others, that he was surprised at Jesus. Immediately seeing the response of
the Pharisee to his disregard of such practices, our Lord proceeded to
correct the Pharisee. I prefer to imagine our Lord speaking to him with a
smile. I imagine him smiling, gazing at the Pharisee, and perhaps slowly
shaking his head at his guest, as it were, as he told him that he and his
class were foolish. “You foolish people!” we read our Lord saying in the
passage. You fiddle about with rules such as this while missing the
important things. He spoke firmly yet kindly, and perhaps with an air that
showed how ridiculous the attitude of the Pharisee was. I imagine this
particular Pharisee not to have been malicious. He did invite our Lord to
his home. But he was blind and foolish and could not see past the rules
insisted on by his own set.
There are other details later in the scene that are not included in our reading today. Other Pharisees and lawyers are present also, and so it is clear that our Lord is addressing them too. Our Lord’s forthright words, we are told, occasioned fierce resentment on the part of the scribes and Pharisees which, after he had left the house, showed itself in their attacks and efforts to catch him out. Let the entire scene, then, symbolize what we must avoid. We are called to be disciples of Christ, listening to his word and putting it into practice. Well then, let us consider briefly his word as it is given to us in this short passage. As an aside, may I observe that some texts of the Gospels appear to summarize a more extended flow of thought, and the summary can involve a certain obscurity when in the actual situation our Lord’s words may have expressed an obvious meaning. In our Gospel passage today our Lord says “Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you” (Luke 11: 37‑41). A slightly different rendering, as in the Jerusalem Bible, is “give alms from what you have and then indeed everything will be clean for you.” In any case two things are immediately apparent. Our Lord is saying that the Pharisees are almost wholly bent on a religion which looks to externals and forgets the religion of the heart. They fuss about with external cleanliness while inside the dish — the dish being themselves — all is unclean. But then our Lord, as shown in the first version of our text, speaks of the interior of the dish as also being an image of what could be given to the poor. That is to say, their heart and the religion that they practise lacks all concern for the poor. They are interiorly unclean in that they are greedy and lacking in concern for those in need. If only they would draw from inside their dish, which is to say their own inner selves, and give alms to the poor they would be clean within. They would then be truly clean.
Let us take our stand with Jesus and look to him constantly as our teacher and redeemer. He tells us to shape our hearts according to his own. Our religion involves a transformation of the heart and that will include a profound concern for the poor. Our heart and our life ought be like the dish that contains good things, and from it we ought help those in need. In this Christ is our model. He who was rich became poor for our sakes so that we might be rich. Let us follow him closely, making him our model for our entire life, both interior and exterior.
(E.J.Tyler)
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I know you will
be glad to have this prayer to the holy guardian Angels of our Tabernacles:
O Angelic Spirits that guard our Tabernacles, wherein lies the adorable treasure of the holy Eucharist, defend it from profanation and preserve it for our love
(The Way, no.569)
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Wednesday of the twenty eighth week in Ordinary Time II
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Scripture today:
Galatians 5: 18-25; Psalm 1; Luke 11: 42-46
Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees,
Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all
other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You
should have practised the latter without leaving the former undone. Woe to you
Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and
greetings in the market-places. Woe to you, because you are like unmarked
graves, which men walk over without knowing it. One of the experts in the law
answered him, Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also. Jesus
replied, And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down
with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger
to help them. (Luke 11: 42-46)
Sanctity
In our Gospel passage today our Lord openly and to their faces condemns the
Pharisees and the lawyers. Let us consider to whom his words are directed. To
begin with, they are directed at the official leaders and guides of religion.
One very revealing aspect of the religions of man is the moral quality of those
who lead and teach religion in a society.
They have been good and they have been corrupt. This applies to the Christ’s
Church and we see it in microcosm within the Twelve themselves. They are made
up of very human persons with a genuine love for Jesus but with dangerous
faults. Simon, for all his protestations of undying loyalty to Jesus, went on
to deny him three times during his Passion. Presumably Judas Iscariot began his
discipleship as one who enthusiastically followed our Lord and loved to be with
him. After all, our Lord chose him from among his disciples to be one of the
Twelve, and Christ could not have made a mistake. He was divine, and his choice
related directly to his mission for mankind. But Judas went on to defect
completely from Jesus and to betray him. So it has been down the ages. There
have been saints and sinners among the leaders of Christ’s Church. The presence
of sinners in no way affects the truth of the Church nor does it affect the fact
that in and through her Christ himself is to be found. The presence of Christ
within his Church is not dependent on the holiness of his ministers. But the
warning of Christ directed to the scribes and Pharisees in today’s Gospel is a
standing reminder to all leaders of religion and in particular to the leaders
and pastors of the Christian religion that they must strive for sanctity.
Indeed, all the Church’s members must strive for sanctity. Being a pastor does
not in any way guarantee sanctity. It must be diligently worked at in the
knowledge that God will give his grace, that grace necessary for a person to
live according to his state of life. Let all of Christ’s faithful, including
the Church’s pastors, continually take stock in view of their common call to
holiness. In this respect, it is a wonderful thing that there have been so many
saints to give the lead.
Christ directed his severe correction at the religious leaders of the people. But let us consider not only those whom he criticized but that for which he criticized them. We read our Lord saying, “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practised the latter without leaving the former undone” (Luke 11: 42‑46). So the scribes and Pharisees made their religion consist of the meticulous fulfilment of various rules with little concern for actually growing in a personal love for God and in a true justice towards neighbour. Their fulfilment of religious rules, rules of secondary importance, was self‑centred. They did what they did with little true love. How different were some others of the children of Abraham! We remember when the newly‑born Christ was brought to the Temple and the holy Simeon and the saintly Anna met them. These two were outstanding religious people, true children of Abraham. This is to say nothing of the Child’s exceedingly holy parents, Mary and his foster‑father Joseph. We remember our Lord saying of Nathanael, here comes a true Israelite, one incapable of deceit. Our Lord referred to John the Baptist as being greater than any other born of woman. All this is to say that love filled the hearts of certain Israelites, while our Lord condemned many of the scribes and Pharisees as neglecting love. They also neglected justice, justice towards God and, presumably, towards neighbour. They were proud. As our Lord said, “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the market‑places. Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it.” The lawyers too bore down the people with numerous obligations that had not been divinely sanctioned. In this they did not reflect the God who in his revelation had shown himself to be full of kindness and compassion.
Our Lord’s condemnation is a warning to all his disciples whatever be their vocation within Christ’s Church. All are called to holiness, and this involves a humble recognition of sin and failure. Let us then begin again. Let us take our cue from the numerous saints who have gone before us and who serve as our models and intercessors now in heaven. Every day let us then rise from sleep to begin the day’s work with the following words in our minds, Lord, now I begin!
(E.J.Tyler)
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Drink at the
clear fountain of the Acts of the Apostles. In the twelfth chapter, Peter, freed
from prison by the ministry of Angels, comes to the house of the mother of Mark.
Those inside will not believe the girl, who says that Peter is at the door.
Angelus ejus est! It must be his Angel!' they said.
See on what intimate terms the early Christians were with their guardian Angels.
And you?
(The Way, no.570)
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Thursday of the twenty eighth week in Ordinary Time II
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Scripture today: Ephesians 1: 1-10; Psalm 97; Luke 11: 47-54
Jesus said, Woe to you, because you
build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them. So
you testify that you
approve
of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their
tombs. Because of this, God in his wisdom said, 'I will send them prophets and
apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.' Therefore
this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that
has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the
blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I
tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all. Woe to you
experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You
yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering. When
Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him
fiercely and to besiege him with questions, waiting to catch him in something he
might say. (Luke 11: 47-54)
Harm
Let us notice the heart of what our Lord is saying in our Gospel passage today.
He issues a sombre warning: Woe to you! You are doing what your forefathers
did, who killed and persecuted the prophets. Woe to you, therefore. He
continues: “Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood
of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from
the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar
and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible
for it all” (Luke 11: 47‑54). I remember
watching an interview on television with the great actor, Charlton Heston. He
said he thought that a great modern problem was the lack of acceptance of
responsibility for actions taken. Our Lord tells his audience, the Pharisees
and the teachers of the law, that they will be held responsible for the harm
they have done and were doing, and in particular for their rejection of him and
his teaching. Let us take this serious point, and make a few practical
applications. What is it to “harm” a person? The meaning should be obvious,
but, strangely, there is so much harm done to helpless and defenceless persons
which is not regarded as being harmful. Let us take one of the most striking
examples of harm being perpetrated on defenceless persons: abortion. Every year
there are untold thousands, hundreds of thousands, of abortions every year in
the world. Even in a religious country such as the United States, there are
prodigious numbers of abortions going on every year and it is legal. The same
applies to Australia. Defenceless and vulnerable human life is being destroyed
because it involves a cost — sometimes a very great cost — to convenience. This
situation is allowed for by law due to the free decisions of legislators and
judiciaries. It is a horror to God our creator, who himself gives life at the
moment of every conception. His own child is destroyed. Our Lord’s words are
ominous: “Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.”
But there is more. So much of the cutting edge of genetic and embryonic cell research involves the destruction and harm of the newly conceived human embryo. Not only is it utterly unnecessary in view of the discoveries of the potential in adult stem cells, but it is profoundly unethical in the sight of God. The defenceless and the vulnerable — the most defenceless and the most vulnerable — are attacked and destroyed for the sake of presumed benefits to others stronger than they. We must remember our Lord’s description of the General Judgment in the 25th chapter of St Matthew’s Gospel. The divine Judge will say to those on his right, come you who are blessed, for whatever you did to the least of these my brothers you did to me. He will then say to those on his left, depart from me, for whatever you did to the least of these you did to me. It is as serious as that. God cannot but look with a holy wrath on the active destruction of his little ones by those who should know better. The opprobrium endured by those heads of executive and legislators who actively resist and even undo this institutionalized harm might be great, but they will be rewarded by God for their defence of life. The terrible thing is that these things are not named nor regarded for what they are: sins of the first order. Now, here is a magnificent field of apostolate for the lay Christian in the world. The world has to be brought to the light of Christ. The Christian must love the world as did Christ who died that the world might be saved. The world is to be won over to the truth for it is the truth that saves. Our Lord said on another occasion when speaking to his enemies that they would die in their sins. This is what the Christian who, filled with love for the world, must make sure does not happen to the world of his time. The truth must be proclaimed, defended and argued for. The argument must eventually be won, remembering what our Lord said, that we shall be held responsible for what we do.
Let the words of Christ as given in our Gospel today ring in our minds. “Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all. Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.” The Christian, with joy in his heart and a smile on his face, has the calling to bring Christ and his teaching to the world. Therein is found life, life here and life hereafter.
(E.J.Tyler)
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The holy souls
in purgatory. Out of charity, out of justice, and out of excusable selfishness —
they have such power with God! — remember them often in your sacrifices and in
your prayers.
May you be able to say when you speak of them, 'My good friends the souls in purgatory.'
(The Way, no.571)
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