Feast of the archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael
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Tuesday of the twenty fourth week in Ordinary Time
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Scripture today:
1 Corinthians 12:12-14.27-31; Psalm 99; Luke 7:
11-17
Soon afterward, Jesus went to
a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him.
As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out — the
only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town
was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said,
"Don't cry." Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him
on, and the bearers stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!"
The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared
among us," they said. "God has come to help his people." This news about
Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. (Luke 7: 11-17)
Loving
power
Place yourself in the scene of our Gospel passage and consider the pathos and
wonder of it. What is more final than death? It is the end. We are at the gate
of the town of Nain. Coming through the gate is a funeral procession with the
body of the deceased being borne along on the bier.
The dead man was the only son of his mother, who was herself a widow. She is
sunk in grief and loss. She had lost her husband and all she had was her son.
Now he was taken from her. Consider the profound emptiness of her life as she
now experienced it. There was nothing left except loneliness and difficulty.
She saw no light ahead, no prospects and her only joy, her son, was gone. The
crowd shared in her sorrow, and accompanied the funeral as it made its way out
of the city to the cemetery. At this very point our Lord and his disciples
appeared, approaching the town with a large crowd in tow. He sees in an instant
what is happening and understands entirely the darkness and suffering that has
enveloped the poor woman, undoubtedly being supported by her friends and, if she
had any, her relatives. Our Lord approaches the procession and, full of
compassion for this mother before him, knows what he will do. He goes gently to
the woman as the procession slowly continues. He says to her, Do not weep!
Consider the look of compassion in his eyes. Let us remember that it is God the
Son who is saying this to her and who is gazing at her. Then he serenely turns
to the body being carried, touches the bier in a gesture to pause, which they do
so. Then calmly with absolute assurance he gazes at the body and says “Young
man, I tell you, arise!” We read that the young man simply sat up and started
talking. There is no mention of a delay as if coming gradually out of sleep,
and of words slowly coming to him as if recovering from something. His eyes
opening and colour immediately returning to his face, there and then he would
have raised himself effortlessly on one elbow and taken a sitting position. He
was not helped up. He simply sat up and immediately began to speak. It would
have been absolutely astounding.
The immediacy of the effect of Christ’s words would have struck the entire crowd
— the crowd following him and the crowd following the procession — with awe and
amazement. Imagine the young man standing before his astonished mother,
speaking to her and our Lord smiling nearby, himself full of joy at seeing the
happiness flooding the soul of the woman. News of the event spread throughout
Judea and the surrounding country for there were numerous witnesses, and perhaps
it lingered long after in the memory of the people. We can imagine that young
man living out possibly a long life with his mother having him by her side for
the rest of her days. He would have been the wonder of the town for the rest of
his life. She may have died with her son by her side comforting her. He then
would have accompanied her funeral procession to the cemetery where he himself
would have been buried, were it not for the intervention of Jesus of Nazareth
many years before. Did he ever attain to Christian faith? We do not know, but
in his case our Lord displayed divine power and divine love. When people think
of the divine, they think of power and goodness, power and love. We read that
“They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared
among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people”
(Luke 7: 11‑17). This same Jesus lives now in
his Church and is immediately accessible there by all. He lives in his Church
which is his body, he comes to meet us in the Sacraments and he speaks to us in
his word, the word and teaching of the Church. He sees our sorrows and is
filled with compassion for each of us. He wishes us to place before him our
needs and if he does not answer them in the way we would like, there is a reason
for it. He did not save John the Baptist from perishing at the hands of Herod,
nor did he save himself as he was taunted to do while hanging from the cross.
There was a very good reason for it. So let us then always trust him.
This Jesus who raised the young man of Nain from the dead, this Jesus who raised
others from the dead, this Jesus who calmed the storms, who walked on the sea,
who cured the afflicted from their ailments, this Jesus is the Saviour of the
whole world. He takes away the sin of the world, and he is the only way to the
Father. No one attains to the Father except through him. Let us then throw in
our lot with Jesus and follow him faithfully in all the details of our everyday
life.
Piety has its own good manners. Learn them. It's a shame to see those 'pious'
people who don't know how to attend Mass — even though they go daily, — nor
how to bless themselves (they throw their hands about in the weirdest fashion),
nor how to bend the knee before the Tabernacle (their ridiculous genuflections
seem a mockery), nor how to bow their heads reverently before a picture of
our Lady.
Wednesday of the twenty fourth week in Ordinary Time
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Scripture today:
1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13; Psalm 32; Luke 7: 31-35
The Lord said, What description
can I find for the men of this generation? What are they like? They are like
children sitting in the market-place and calling out to each other: 'We played
the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not
cry.' For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and
you say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you
say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'
But wisdom is proved right by all her children.(Luke 7: 31-35)
Nothing
suits
In our Gospel passage today our Lord says that nothing seems to satisfy “the men
of this generation.” No matter what God does, nothing seems to satisfy. He has
sent John the Baptist, of whom our Lord said that no one born of woman was
greater than he, and there were complaints about him.
John came “neither eating bread nor drinking wine,” a paragon of self‑denial,
and they said of him that “he has a demon.” His way of life, so different,
repels us, they thought. He was rejected and so the fruits of his mission fell
short of what it may otherwise have achieved. Then he sent his own beloved Son
who had a very different external manner of life, one that did not markedly
separate him off in way of life from the generality of persons. Still, this did
not suit. While John was a demon, Jesus himself was a glutton. We remember how
the disciples of John came to Jesus and asked why the disciples of John and
those of the Pharisees fasted, but his did not. Our Lord’s incomparable
spiritual life did not manifest itself in a very different external manner of
living from that of the ordinary person. For instance, he dined with the
Pharisees, something John the Baptist did not do. He mixed and dined with
publicans and sinners, and invited himself into the home of Zacchaeus a leading
tax collector and dined with him. He participated in the wedding feast of Cana,
as did his mother. He enjoyed the hospitality of Martha and Mary. But all this
did not suit. So we are brought to the mystery of the Son of God made man, the
embodiment of the full and infinite godhead, being unacceptable to his
creatures. It is the grand mystery of reality that the incarnate God left so
many cold. He came unto his own, as St John expresses it, and his own did not
receive him. It is the story of sin and its effects. Sin is coldness towards
God and rejection of his Person as manifested in his will.
As we think of our Lord’s words describing the response of so many to him and to
the prophets before him, we are led to contemplate his person. Jesus is
thoroughly man, one of us, the son of David, son of Mary. He is a Hebrew who
lived at a certain time in a certain place. He was absolutely part of human
history and entirely immersed in it. At the same time he is God. This is a
stark and wondrous statement that the Creator of this vast and seemingly
unending universe, the components of which we are constantly discovering, became
a man like us. Many looking out on the universe consider it so unbelievably
vast and intricate that it is preposterous to assert that it all came from and
continues to be dependent on a single personal Source. But so it is. The
entire universe, so extraordinary in its immensity and variety of being, has one
Origin and Cause. It is entirely dependent in every feature of its reality on
this personal Cause. This one God, who lacks any limit in his being and who
continually gives being to all else that is, became a man. He is the Jesus
whose history is portrayed in the Gospels. How extraordinary it is that his
Person did not captivate all who met him! It captivated many, but there were
many whom it did not. It is the mystery of sin. As we read our Lord’s words in
today’s Gospel (Luke 7: 31‑35), which speaks
of the lack of response to John the Baptist and to himself, let us resolve to
make Jesus the object of our heart. For this to happen we must contemplate him
daily. We must place ourselves in his company especially with the aid of the
Gospels. In a spirit of prayer let us gaze on him, allowing his Person to
penetrate the hardness of our heart. In this way will love grow. The purpose
of life is to know, love and serve God here on earth. This we do in loving and
serving the person of Jesus Christ, and by doing this we shall see and enjoy him
forever in heaven.
Every day let us be with Jesus, the Gospels in hand. Let us allow him to speak
with us, inviting us to love him with all our hearts and to serve him by a
generous and daily sharing in his mission. That mission is to bring as many as
possible to the knowledge and love of him. Essentially, this is the Kingdom of
God he came to establish. In this lies man’s salvation.
Don't buy those 'mass-produced' statues. I prefer a rough wrought-iron figure
of Christ to those coloured plaster Crucifixes that look as if they were
made of sugar candy.
Thursday of the twenty fourth week in Ordinary Time
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Now one of the Pharisees
invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house
and reclined at the table. When
a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating
at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as
she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with
her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume
on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself,
If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind
of woman she is — that she is a sinner. Jesus answered him, Simon, I have
something to tell you. Tell me, teacher, he said. Two men owed money to a
certain money-lender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he cancelled the debts
of both. Now which of them will love him more? Simon replied, I suppose the
one who had the bigger debt cancelled. You have judged correctly, Jesus said.
Then he turned towards the woman and said to Simon, Do you see this woman?
I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she
wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give
me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing
my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my
feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven— for she loved
much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little. Then Jesus said to
her, Your sins are forgiven. The other guests began to say among themselves,
Who is this who even forgives sins? Jesus said to the woman, Your faith has
saved you; go in peace.(Luke 7: 36-50)
Christ’s love for all The fact
that Jesus dines in the house of one of the Pharisees is itself revealing. It
is clear from the Gospels that among those who spearheaded the gathering
opposition to Jesus the Pharisees were prominent, although of course we cannot
assume that all the Pharisees were hostile to Jesus.
Nor were all the leaders of the Jews hostile to him, for at least the Pharisee
Nicodemus was not among their number. One wonders whether young Saul of Tarsus,
himself a Pharisee and after our Lord’s ascension a leading persecutor of the
infant Church, was aware of Jesus at the time and was forming a hostile attitude
towards Jesus and his disciples. In any case, many of the Pharisees were
hostile and yet here he is being invited by a Pharisee. The Pharisee respects
him as possibly a prophet and certainly as a Rabbi, though he does not accord
him the usual courtesies of water for his feet nor a kiss of greeting, and in
his thoughts he readily criticized Jesus during his encounter with the sinful
woman. But the fact that he felt easily able to invite our Lord to the dinner
in his home shows that our Lord’s manner towards individual Pharisees was
welcoming, respectful and available, and all this despite the opposition and
invective they were mounting towards him as a group. The great God become man
was humble — meek and humble of heart, as he himself would say. He accepted the
invitation and took his place reclining at the table, despite the aforementioned
lack of usual marks of consideration to guests of honour. Furthermore, the
sinful woman felt able boldly to enter the Pharisee’s house during the meal and
proceed to pour both the ointment and her own tears on the feet of Jesus as he
reclined. This also shows the degree of welcoming love that emanated from
Christ. Christ’s holiness was loving. Christ attracted both the Pharisee and
the sinful woman to him. The sinful woman, though, opened herself entirely to
his grace and person, while the Pharisee did not. In his thoughts the Pharisee
remained a haughty spectator, while the woman abased herself in tears before the
Holy One whom she was sure looked on her with love.
The scene reminds us and is a concrete exemplification of our Lord’s parable on
another occasion of the Pharisee and the Publican praying in the Temple. In the
parable the Pharisee stood there confidently, prominently and in full view of
all. In his heart he “prayed to himself” thanking God that he was not like
others such as the Publican well behind him. He fulfilled all his religious
duties, he prayed, and did so with excellence. He stood before God proudly.
The Publican on the other hand bowed before God with a single prayer, Lord be
merciful to me a sinner. Our Lord concludes his parable by saying that the
Publican went home right with God and reconciled to him, while the Pharisee did
not. In our Gospel scene today the Pharisee showed nothing whatever of the
penitence of the sinful woman. There is no sign in him of any sense of sin, no
desire to take advantage of Jesus’ presence to be further and truly reconciled
to God. The sinful woman is full of sorrow for her sins and full of love for
the holy One before her. Humbly and in full view of all, she manifests to Jesus
her love and her sorrow. She knows that by doing this, her prayer for pardon is
being taken to God. The answer to her great love comes immediately: “Your sins
are forgiven” (Luke 7: 36‑50). Jesus, the
man, himself forgives her sins. He displays not only a most sensitive
consideration for her but an astounding authority. He assumes the place of God
and at a word forgives her offences against God. At the same time he turns to
the Pharisee and points to her as the model he and all ought follow. She loved
much despite her sins. She was like the Publican in the Temple, loving much
despite her past sins and now asking for pardon. As we look on this scene,
prayerfully placing ourselves in its midst, let us wonder at the person of
Jesus. Let us think of his consideration for the Pharisee in accepting the
invitation to dine, and his love for the sinful woman in accepting her marks of
reverence and love. We are all sinners, so let us above all take to heart our
Lord’s commendation of the sinful woman who came to him seeking pardon.
The characteristic posture of the Christian ought be that of the sinful woman
before the feet of Christ and never that of the Pharisee. Every day we ought
come before him with love, knowing that though we are sinners he has loved us
first. We come before him with our sins and express our contrition for sin and
ask his pardon. This we do especially in the Sacrament of Penance but also
every day in sincere acts of contrition. Let us make the contrite woman of our
Gospel scene today a model for our Christian life.
You saw me celebrate the holy Mass on a plain altar— table and stone, without
a reredos. Both Crucifix and candlesticks were large and solid, with wax-candles
of graded height, sloping up towards the Cross. The frontal, of the liturgical
colour of the day. A sweeping chasuble. The chalice, rich, simple in line,
with a broad cup. No electric light, nor did we miss it.
And you found it difficult to leave the oratory: you felt at home there.
— Do you see how we are led to God, brought closer to him, by the rigour
of the liturgy?
Friday of the twenty fourth week in Ordinary Time
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After this, Jesus travelled
about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of
the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had
been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom
seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod's
household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support
them out of their own means.(Luke 8: 1-3)
Church
and Kingdom
There are many ways of looking at history. One can view it as the story of
individuals. One can look on it as the drama of economic development or again,
as the rise and fall of kingdoms. It is certainly fascinating to follow the
rise and fall of empires in human history, beginning from the Egyptian
kingdoms, or
the Persian, or the Greek, the great Roman empire, or whatever. Empires have
risen that have brought many good things to mankind, while others have risen
that have been nothing short of a disaster. The United States is the superpower
of our day but the lesson of history is that it will eventually decline and be
overtaken by others. It could be that India and China will be the powers of a
day to come. Well, let us look at the beginnings of another kingdom. Unlike
all others in history, this one was promised in advance by God himself. He
revealed to his chosen people that this Kingdom would come and for centuries the
people held themselves in expectation. A Messiah — a King of kings — would be
sent and he would establish the Kingdom and that Kingdom would be the rule of
God himself, no less. This Kingdom would last not for a time but forever, and
it would be a kingdom of definitive benefits for all the world. John the
Baptist appeared, a great prophet, asking all to get ready, for God’s coming was
near. Then, at least to several he pointed Jesus out as the promised One who
would take away the sin of the world. He himself was not worthy to undo his
sandal‑straps. Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. In our Gospel today
we see our Lord travelling about “from one town and village to another,
proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.” The Kingdom of God was very
near. In fact, it was present in his very person and, as he would reveal to his
disciples, its blessings would become available through his passion, death and
resurrection. It consisted in union with him and in receiving a share in his
own life and living accordingly. But now, let us notice here a striking
feature: the diversity of those whom he called and who shared in his saving
mission.
We read that “The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured
of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had
come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna;
and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own
means” (Luke 8: 1‑3). One would have
thought that anyone seeking to establish a long‑lasting Kingdom, indeed, one
that would triumph over all others and which would be eternal, would select the
most outstanding of persons to assist. It is said that very much part of the
military success of Alexander the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte was their choice
of generals. What strikes one about the choice by Christ of those who were to
associate most closely with him was their ordinariness. The Apostles consisted
of fishermen, a tax collector, probably a political partizan or two (Simon the
Zealot, and perhaps Judas Iscariot too) and others. That they were truly
religious is clear, but how like the average man they seem to have been!
Consider the women who also assisted our Lord and the Twelve. One was drawn
even from Herod’s household! There was Mary Magdalen from whom our Lord had cast
out several demons, and Susanna and several others. The point is that we could
look on the travelling band, with Jesus in their midst and at their head, as a
microcosm of the whole family of man. They were the beginning of a vast
concourse which God in his plan means to call to himself. It is a reminder of
what our Lord would ask of his disciples before ascending into heaven. 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, teaching
them to observe all the commands he had given them. Our Lord’s diverse
travelling group as described in today’s Gospel reminds us that all are called
to life in him and to a full share in his holiness. We are all called to
personal sanctity and to a generous share in his mission of bringing the whole
human race to the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. In him is to be found
salvation for man. He is the only divinely appointed way to the Father.
Let us in prayer and in spirit place ourselves in the midst of this travelling
community all united in love to Jesus. It is a picture of the Church in
miniature, the Church in embryo before receiving the gift of the Spirit of God
following Christ’s resurrection. It is a picture of the future Church of which
we are members by faith and baptism. It points to the universal call to
holiness in Christ and to redemption and sanctification of all in him. Let us
respond wholeheartedly to this divine plan.
Communion of Saints. — How shall I explain it? You know what blood-transfusions
do for the body? Well that is more or less what the Communion of Saints does
for the soul.
Saturday of the twenty fourth week in Ordinary Time
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While a large crowd was gathering
and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: A farmer went out to
sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it
was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and
when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other
seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still
other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times
more than was sown. When he said this, he called out, He who has ears to
hear, let him hear. His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said,
The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you,
but to others I speak in parables, so that, 'though seeing, they may not
see; though hearing, they may not understand.' This is the meaning of the
parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who
hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts,
so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones
who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They
believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed
that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their
way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do
not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good
heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.(Luke 8: 4-15)
What our Lord says in
today’s Gospel passage can be intriguing for some. There is our Lord’s parable
given to the large crowd and the people coming to Jesus from town after town,
and there is his
explanation
of it given to his disciples later. At least on this occasion and probably
on some other occasions our Lord spoke to the crowds in parables without
giving them any explanation. But there is a third element. It is our Lord’s
explanation not merely of the parable but of why he did not give his explanation
to the crowd. He says that “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of
God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, 'though
seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand '.” At
first glance it might seem that “the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom
of God” is being unfairly given to our Lord’s disciples and arbitrarily withheld
from the crowds lest they see and understand. It looks like some form of
predestination in which God sovereignly favours one lot of persons and sovereignly
condemns to a hapless ignorance another class of persons. In fact there has
been a long current of Christian thought that understands the ways of God
in precisely these terms. God predestines some to glory, and others are fated
to be denied this. Of course there is a truth in the notion that God favours
some with certain and greater gifts and disposes that others receive lesser
gifts. This applies to both nature and grace: some are great runners, some
are endowed with a natural wisdom, others have other gifts not granted to
the many. In grace, some have deeper gifts of prayer, of guiding others spiritually,
and so forth. But here in our passage today our Lord is clearly referring
to a reluctance on the part of his hearers to see and hear his message. Despite
their seeing and hearing, their minds were closed because of a disposition
of their will, a fundamental choice.
That is to say, they exemplify
the explanation he goes on to give of the meaning of the parable. Our Lord
himself is the farmer going out to sow, and the seed is the word of God which
he is sowing and just has been sowing. In some cases the word makes no impression.
It falls on a footpath as it were, and it is either crushed or carried away.
Other seed fell on rocky ground. This is the case of those who have no root
and in time of difficulty fall away. Other fell among thorns, while others
fell on good soil. This seed on good soil “stands for those with a noble
and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce
a crop.” (Luke 8: 4-15) Our Lord’s observation
on the crowds and why he does not provide them with an explanation indicates
to us that the reason why one person is like the footpath, another like the
rocky ground, another like the thorns and another like the good soil is their
fundamental disposition of the will. Obscurely, they are what they are in
respect to receiving the word of God because of what they have obscurely
or even clearly chosen. What then to do? We ourselves each of us must make
a decision to take our stand with Jesus and accept his word. We must also
recognize the limits to our control over ourselves in the sense that our
sinful choices in respect to Christ are sunk within our souls and to some
extent beyond our reach. We must place ourselves in the hands of Christ and
trust in his grace, asking him to reveal to us what our true starting points
are, and the grace to deal with them. Indeed, we ought ask that God himself
give us the right starting points and make of us good ground. The task of
life is to become the good soil of our Lord’s parable, such that we hear
the word of God coming from Christ and his Church, that we truly retain it
rather than letting it go because of our lack of interest, and then perseveringly
to produce a crop. We have one shot, as it were, and that shot is the short
life which God in his mercy has given to us. With that short life one great
thing is to be done. We must hear the word of God and put it into practice.
Just before ascending
to heaven Christ gave his disciples the charge to go to all the nations and
make of all his disciples. All are called to the close following of Christ.
All are called to personal holiness in him. If we are to do this we must
have a basic readiness to receive his word. Let us pray for the grace so
to be ready as to hear the word of God and put it into practice.
Basic
readiness
What our Lord says in today’s Gospel passage is intriguing. There is our Lord’s
parable given to the large crowd and the people coming to Jesus from town after
town, and there is his explanation of it given to his disciples later. At
least on this occasion and probably on some other occasions our Lord spoke to
the crowds in parables without giving them any explanation. But there is a
third element. It is our Lord’s explanation to his disciples not only of the
parable but of why he did not give his explanation to the crowd. He says that
“The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but
to others I speak in parables, so that, ‘though seeing, they may not see; though
hearing, they may not understand.’“ At first glance it might seem that “the
knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God” is being unfairly given to our
Lord’s disciples and arbitrarily withheld from the crowds lest they see and
understand. It looks like some form of predestination in which God sovereignly
favours one lot of persons and sovereignly condemns to a hapless ignorance
another class of persons. In fact there has been a long current of Christian
thought that understands the ways of God in precisely these terms. God
predestines some to glory, and others are fated to be denied this. Of course
there is a truth in the notion that God favours some with certain and greater
gifts and disposes that others receive lesser gifts. This applies to both
nature and grace: some are great runners, some are endowed with a natural
wisdom, others have other gifts not granted to the many. In grace, some have
deeper gifts of prayer, of guiding others spiritually, and so forth. But here
in our passage today we have something else. Our Lord is clearly referring to a
reluctance on the part of his hearers to see and hear his message. Despite
their seeing and hearing, their minds were closed because of a disposition of
their will, a fundamental choice.
That is to say, they exemplify the explanation he goes on to give of the meaning
of the parable. Our Lord himself is the farmer going out to sow, and the seed
is the word of God which he is sowing and just has been sowing. In some cases
the word makes no impression. It falls on a footpath as it were, and it is
either crushed or carried away. Other seed fell on rocky ground. This is the
case of those who have no root and in time of difficulty fall away. Other seed
fell among thorns, while others fell on good soil. This seed on good soil
“stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and
by persevering produce a crop” (Luke 8: 4‑15).
Our Lord’s observation on the crowds and why he does not provide them with an
explanation indicates to us that the reason why one person is like the footpath,
another like the rocky ground, another like the thorns and another like the good
soil is the fundamental disposition of their will. Obscurely, they are what
they are in respect to receiving the word of God, because of what they have
obscurely or even clearly chosen. The decisive factor, then, is the disposition
of the will, even if this is largely hidden from sight. What then to do? We,
each of us, must make a decision to take our stand with Jesus and accept his
word. We must also recognize the limits of our control over ourselves. Our
dispositions in respect to Christ are buried within our souls and to some extent
beyond our reach. We must place ourselves in the hands of Christ and trust in
his grace, asking him to reveal to us what our true starting points are, and the
grace to deal with them. Indeed, we ought ask that God himself give us the
right starting points and make of us good ground. The task of life is to become
the good soil of our Lord’s parable, such that we hear the word of God coming
from Christ and his Church, that we truly retain it rather than letting it go
because of our lack of interest, and then perseveringly to produce a crop. We
have one shot, as it were, and that shot is the short life which God in his
mercy has given to us. With that short life one great thing is to be done. We
must hear the word of God and put it into practice.
Just before ascending to heaven, Christ gave his disciples the charge to go to
all the nations and make of all his disciples. All are called to the close
following of Christ. All are called to personal holiness in him. If we are to
do this, we must have a basic readiness to receive his word. Let us pray for
the grace so to be ready as to hear the word of God and put it into practice.
Live a special Communion of Saints: and, in the moments of interior struggle
just as in the hours of professional work, each of you will feel the joy
and the strength of not being alone.
Prayers this week:
I am the Saviour of all
people, says the Lord. Whatever their troubles, I will answer their cry,
and I will always be their Lord. Father,
guide us as you guide all creation according to your law of love. May we
love one another and come to perfection in the eternal life prepared for
us. 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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Jesus said to his disciples,
The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning
to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for
the day and sent them into his vineyard. About
the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the market-place doing
nothing. He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay
you whatever is right.' So they went. He went out again about the sixth hour
and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went
out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you
been standing here all day long doing nothing?' 'Because no-one has hired
us,' they answered. He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'
When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the
workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and
going on to the first.' The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour
came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first,
they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.
When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 'These
men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made
them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the
day.' But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you.
Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to
give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the
right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am
generous?' So the last will be first, and the first will be last.(Matthew 20:1-16)
On one occasion Pope John
Paul II said that at the heart of the Catholic religion was the doctrine
of divine grace. The grace of God is his free initiative saving and sanctifying
the soul. It is his free action in the
heart and soul of man that saves and sanctifies him. Everything depends on
this divine, interior action. That is to say, at the heart of the Catholic
religion is belief in the priority of the saving action of God over and before
all that we must do. What we freely do - and must do - is entirely dependent
on this action. St John in his Letter writes that this is the love he is
speaking about, not our love for God but God’s love for us. The sovereignty
of God’s grace is at the forefront of Catholic belief and it is the consolation
of the serious Christian. It is what we can depend on and it is what takes
us to holiness and to heaven and we are reminded of it in our Gospel passage
today (Matthew 20:1-16). At the forefront
of the parable is the person and action of the Master of the vineyard and
it is he who takes the initiative. The workers are standing idle, symbolizing
the helplessness of fallen man in participating in the vineyard, which is
the saving work of Christ. The Master goes forth to the market place and
calls the workers he finds to share with him in his work. He went out early,
then at the third hour, then at the sixth, then at the ninth hour and then
at the last, the eleventh hour. At his invitation the workers go to the vineyard
and begin the work. At the end of the day, it is the Master who sovereignly
determines the degree of recompense, mercifully giving to the last who was
called the same reward as he would give to the first who was called. We can
regard these invitations as parables of God’s calls. His calls come to sinful,
wounded man and are accompanied with the divine help that empowers him to
collaborate in the work of bringing to all the redemption and sanctification
won by Christ.
Of course, we must not
allow the importance of our own efforts to pass out of sight, and some currents
of Christian thought have failed to keep what we do sufficiently in view.
Our parable today has the master of the vineyard sending his labourers to
work. They have to work. So must we. At the end of the day, which is to say
at the end of our life, we shall be paid in view of our work. We must work
in collaboration with God as his co-workers, but inasmuch as the emphasis
of the parable is on the action of the master, we are, as I have said, reminded
of the centrality of God’s grace. It is God’s grace, which is to say the action
of the Holy Spirit in our souls, that justifies us, taking away our sins
and making us holy in our inner being. It sanctifies us and makes us more
and more like God, enabling us to participate in the Trinitarian life of
God. This is effected in the first instance in our baptism, but this grace
of God continues to come to us in the other Sacraments, the Sacrament of
Confirmation, Penance, the Holy Eucharist, and the Anointing of the Sick.
It comes in an ongoing way to those who are married in Christ through the
Sacrament of Matrimony, and to those who are ordained through the Sacrament
of Holy Orders. The grace of God comes through the preaching and hearing
of the word of God and the Church’s preaching and teaching on that word.
This interior divine help and action entirely surpasses the abilities of
the intellect and the powers of human beings. It therefore escapes our experience
normally. We, though, must freely collaborate with this action of God. Moreover
this action of God which we call grace is habitual in the soul of the Christian
unless we commit mortal sin. In which case, we must seek God’s pardon through
contrition and the Sacrament of Penance, and then God will raise us up. But
besides this habitual grace, there are numerous actual graces that help in
all sorts of circumstances to be faithful to the presence of God in our souls.
There is nothing more
important than that we live in the state of grace, which is to say with God
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit abiding in our souls and acting on us with
his grace. It is sin that will weaken this divine presence and action, and
mortal sin which will destroy it. Every time we sin we ought immediately
seek the pardon of God and resolve to amend. Let us then work at union with
God as if everything depended on us, knowing all the while, though, that
everything depends on God and the free gift of his grace.
Grace In one
of his addresses, Pope John Paul II said that the doctrine of divine grace was
at the heart of the Catholic religion. The grace of God is his free initiative
saving and sanctifying the soul. It is his free action in the heart and soul
of man that saves and sanctifies him. Everything depends on this divine,
interior action.
That is to say, at the heart of the Catholic religion is belief in the priority
of the saving action of God over and before all that we must do. What we freely
do — and must do — is entirely dependent on this action. St John in his Letter
writes that this is the love he is speaking about, not our love for God but
God’s love for us. The sovereignty of God’s grace is at the forefront of
Catholic belief and it is the consolation of the serious Christian. It is what
we can depend on and it is what takes us to holiness and to heaven, and we are
reminded of this in our Gospel passage today (Matthew
20:1‑16). At the forefront of the parable is the person and action
of the Master of the vineyard and it is he who takes the initiative. The
workers are standing idle, symbolizing the helplessness and even reluctance of
fallen man in working in the vineyard, which may be taken as the saving work of
Christ. The Master goes forth to the market place and calls the workers he
finds to share with him in his work. He went out early, then at the third hour,
then at the sixth, then at the ninth hour and then at the last, the eleventh
hour. At his invitation the workers go to the vineyard and begin the work. At
the end of the day, it is the Master who sovereignly determines the degree of
recompense, mercifully giving to the last who was called the same reward that he
would give to the first who was called. We can regard these invitations as
parables of God’s calls. His calls come to sinful, wounded man and are
accompanied with the divine help that empowers him to collaborate in the
redemption and sanctification won by Christ.
While it depends on God’s free grace, of course we must keep the importance of
our own efforts constantly in view. Some currents of Christian thought have
failed to keep sufficiently in mind what we ourselves must also do. Our parable
today has the master of the vineyard sending his labourers to work. But they
have then to work. So must we. At the end of the day, which is to say at the
end of our life, we shall be paid in view of our work. We must work in
collaboration with God as his co‑workers. But inasmuch as the emphasis of the
parable is on the sovereign action of the master, we are, as I have said,
reminded of the centrality of God’s grace. What, then, can we say of God’s
grace? It is God’s grace, which is to say the action of the Holy Spirit in our
souls, that justifies us, taking away our sins and making us holy in our inner
being. It sanctifies us and makes us more and more like God, enabling us to
participate in the Trinitarian life of God. This is effected in the first
instance in our baptism, but this grace of God continues to come to us in the
other Sacraments, the Sacrament of Confirmation, Penance, the Holy Eucharist,
and the Anointing of the Sick. It comes in an ongoing way to those who are
married in Christ through the Sacrament of Matrimony, and to those who are
ordained through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. The grace of God comes through
the preaching and hearing of the word of God and the Church’s preaching and
teaching on that word. This interior divine help and action entirely surpasses
the abilities of the intellect and the powers of human beings. It therefore
normally escapes our direct experience. We, though, must freely collaborate
with this action of God through our obedience to his will. Moreover, this
action of God, which we call grace, is habitual in the soul of the Christian
unless we commit mortal sin. In this case, we must seek God’s pardon through
contrition and the Sacrament of Penance, and then God will raise us up.
Further, there are numerous actual graces that help us in all sorts of
circumstances to be faithful to the presence of God in our souls.
There is nothing more important than that we live in the state of grace, which
is to say with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit abiding in our souls and
acting on us with his grace. It is sin that will weaken this divine presence
and action, and mortal sin which will destroy it. Every time we sin we ought
immediately seek the pardon of God and resolve to amend. Let us then work at
union with God as if everything depended on us, knowing all the while, though,
that everything depends on God and the free gift of his grace.
(E.J.Tyler)
Further reading: The Catechism of the Catholic Church,
no.1996-2005
(Grace)
Monday of the twenty fifth week in Ordinary Time II
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Scripture: Proverbs 3:27-34; Responsorial Psalm: 15:2-5; Gospel:
Luke 8:16-18
No one lights a lamp and hides
it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that
those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will
not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought
out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has
will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will
be taken from him."(Luke 8:16-18)
The
shining lamp
It is unfortunately the case that the impression of the Christian religion that
many people gain, or rather choose to retain, is drawn from its most average or
even worst representatives. This in turn is due very much to what is projected
by the mass media. I remember when Pope Paul VI,
whose cause for canonization is in progress, visited Sydney at the end of 1970
he told the gathered journalists that they were world power number one. He was
endeavouring to instil in them a sense of their responsibility to portray the
truth and not a distortion. The implication of this is that the media ought
include in its portrayal of religion its best, not its worst representatives.
The best representatives of the Catholic religion are its saints. That having
been said, let us consider one fundamental feature of the Christian religion as
portrayed by its best representatives. Those who are living their faith in
Christ with generosity have a light within and that light is the light of
Christ. But what is notable about all such persons is that they go to great
length and great personal cost to let that light shine before others and to
spread it. It is for them a major priority that the light of Christ be brought
to as many as possible, and that it become more and more the light of the
world. The Christian religion has a fundamental dynamism, and it is precisely
to spread. The exception to this desire to spread is found in the person who
accepts the religion in a general sense, but does not live it by true personal
conviction. It is now many decades since (the Venerable) Pope Pius XII died.
He once said that it is of the essence of the Christian religion that its
adherents be missionary. In our Gospel passage today our Lord says, “No one
lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it
on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing
hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known
or brought out into the open.” The light of Christ must not be hidden but
manifested.
There is a second point to be made. The danger is that the average member of
Christ’s faithful often thinks that the work of manifesting and spreading the
message of Christ is to be left to the professionals — those who publicly and by
their way of life formally profess the Christian religion. The person of Christ
will never be brought to the world as long as this assumption retains its hold.
Every member of Christ’s faithful must discover anew and for himself the person
of Christ and then in his ordinary life bear witness to him and his truth. That
is part of the Christian calling. Now, one will never be able to bring Jesus to
others if one has not first accepted the person of Jesus into one’s own life and
lives according to the teaching of Christ as the Church explains it. But then
one must endeavour to introduce him to others. This begins with one’s family.
How little of this is done in families! Many Christian families live a very
secular life with Christ on the margins, and those in the family who do believe
in Christ do not bear witness to him in their own families. Of course, love for
one another must reign in the family if love for Christ is to spread and to
reign in the family. The same applies to the workplace. On the basis of
building friendships in one’s own workplace, one will be able to bring the
knowledge and love of Christ to others. What a wonderful thing it would be if
every Christian in the world were to be making it his business to bear witness
by his life, by his words and by his deeds to the person and teaching of Jesus!
In this way, gradually the lordship of Jesus would be spreading in the world.
There are so many ways to spread the light of Christ and his Church, including
within one’s own parish. So many assist in the voluntary teaching of religion
in public schools. Others serve the sick in a spiritual ministry. Others serve
the youth in spiritual outreach to youth.
In our
Gospel passage today our Lord gives a warning. Those who have the light of
Christ and who do not endeavour to bear witness to it will have that light taken
away. “Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given
more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him”
(Luke 8:16‑18). The more we endeavour to
spread the Faith the more will it be granted to increase. So then, let us
begin!
Someone else who knows of this 'pool' of supernatural riches, tells me: 'That
last letter did me a world of good: I could feel everyone's prayers behind
it... and I need their prayers very much!'
Tuesday of the twenty fifth week in Ordinary Time
II
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Scripture today:
Proverbs 21:1-6.10-13; Psalm 118; Luke 8: 19-21
Now Jesus' mother and brothers
came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd.
Someone told him, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting
to see you. He replied, My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word
and put it into practice. (Luke 8: 19-21)
Our Gospel scene describes
a packed situation in the house where Jesus was. He was inside speaking to
the crowd and “Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but were not able
to get near him because of the crowd.” They simply could not make any progress,
so tight was the density of the crowd. However
they were, in the eyes of those who knew they were there, a group of importance
for they were the very family of Jesus, consisting of his own mother and broader
circle of relatives. The very mother of Jesus was there! So word was sent
forward to Jesus that they were outside and wished to see him. The implication
carried by those who brought the message was that their connection by blood
with him constituted a prior claim on his attention. But our Lord’s reply
showed that a deeper relationship with him is open to anyone. He replied,
“My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice.”
(Luke 8: 19-21) Let us remember that
it is Luke who is writing this, and Luke has more on the mother of Jesus
than any other Gospel writer, including John to whom our Lord gave his mother
Mary as he hung dying on the cross. The first two chapters of his Gospel
which narrates the infancy of Christ and his relative John the Precursor
probably had Mary for his principal source. He presents Mary as the one who
was full of grace, the one with whom God continually abided, the one blessed
above all women, the perfect believer. It would have been far from his intention
in presenting our Gospel scene to have lessened the status of the mother
of Jesus in favour of “those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”
He is simply informing us of what Jesus taught, that those closest to him
are not simply those who were physically related to him. The one who is closest
to Jesus is the one who hears God’s word and puts it into practice. We know
from elsewhere that the one who did this to perfection was his own mother.
It is her true glory.
This means that all that
matters for true success in life is hearing the will of God and doing it.
A person may lack social status or the esteem of many. He may not be known
very much. He may not have much success in life, due to a variety of factors.
His (or her) work may be humdrum and very ordinary. He may not earn a big
salary. There may not be much in his life that he can look on with a lot
of pride for a whole variety of reasons. As far as others are concerned,
he may be just one of the crowd, like many in our Gospel passage today. But
if every day he is striving to know the word and will of God and to do it
in practice, then he is close to Jesus and very pleasing to God. Of him our
Lord will say, he is my brother and my sister and my mother. Consider Mary,
the mother of Jesus. She lived her life in hiddenness. In his account of
the infancy of Christ Mary is prominent in God’s plan, but in a way hidden
from the notice of others. In his account of the infant Church in the Acts
of the Apostles, Mary is mentioned as present at Pentecost, and the infant
Church right to her passing on from this life looked on her as the Church’s
mother and model. But she remained in the background. We might say that she
is the exemplar of the ordinary man, the person lost in the crowd who is
nevertheless called to hear the word of God and to put it faithfully into
practice. In that respect she is the model for Everyman, and in that respect
she is the mother for Everyman. She is mother and model of the Church. Our
Lord’s pride in his mother would have been above all on this basis. She had
been granted astounding gifts, unknown to those around her. She was the mother
of God the Son made man. In view of this extraordinary dignity, she was preserved
free of original sin. But more than anything, she cooperated perfectly with
these gifts and her calling. She remained faithful to God in absolutely everything,
never failing in the least respect to put the word of God into practice.
This, as far as her own divine Son was concerned, was her glory and she is
the exemplar of what our Lord speaks of in our passage.
Every day when we rise
in the morning we ought have the ambition to live as closely as possible
to the person of Jesus. Our Lord gave us the simple key to doing just this.
We are to hear his word and to put it into practice. Our daily life, no matter
how humble and obscure, is in all its details and responsibilities to be
characterized by this. If we do this, we shall be a brother to Jesus. Our
mother and our model is Mary his mother, given to us at Calvary to be our
mother also.
Jesus’
brethren
Our Gospel scene describes a packed house in which Jesus was speaking to the
crowd. We read that “Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but were not
able to get near him because of the crowd.” They simply could not make any
progress, so thick was the density of the crowd. But they were a group of
importance for they were the very family of Jesus, consisting of his own mother
and broader circle of relatives. The very mother of Jesus was there! So word
was sent forward to Jesus that they were outside and wished to see him. The
assumption of those who brought the message forward was that this family
connection naturally constituted a prior claim on him. But our Lord’s reply
showed that a deeper relationship with him is open to anyone, however important
were family bonds. He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s
word and put it into practice” (Luke 8: 19‑21).
Let us remember that it is Luke who is writing this, and Luke has more pages on
the mother of Jesus than any other Gospel writer, including the evangelist John
to whom our Lord gave his mother Mary as he hung dying on the cross. The first
two chapters of Luke’s Gospel which narrate the infancy of Christ and his
relative John the Precursor, probably had Mary for his principal source. In
those chapters he presents Mary as the one who was full of grace, the one with
whom God continually abided, the one blessed above all women, the perfect
believer. It would have been far from his intention in presenting this Gospel
scene to have lessened the status of the mother of Jesus in favour of “those who
hear God’s word and put it into practice.” He is simply informing us of what
Jesus taught, that those closest to him are not simply those who were physically
related to him. The one who is closest to Jesus is the one who hears God’s word
and puts it into practice. St Luke suggests elsewhere in his own Gospel that
the one who did this perfectly was his own mother. It is her glory.
This means that all that matters for true success in life is hearing the will of
God and doing it. A person may lack social status or the esteem of many. He
may not be known very much. Due to a variety of factors, he may not have much
success in life. His (or her) work may be humdrum and very ordinary. He may
not earn a big salary. There may not be much in his life that he can look on
with a lot of pride for a whole variety of reasons. As far as others are
concerned, he may be just one of the crowd, like many in our Gospel passage
today. But if every day he is striving to know the word and will of God and to
put it into practice, then he is close to Jesus and very pleasing to God. Of
him our Lord will say, he is my brother and my sister and my mother. Mary, the
mother of Jesus who lived her life in hiddenness, is the exemplar. In Luke’s
account of the infancy of Christ, Mary is prominent in God’s plan but she is
hidden from the notice of others. In his account of the infant Church in the
Acts of the Apostles, Mary is mentioned as present at Pentecost, and the infant
Church looked on her as its mother and model, right to her passing on from this
life. But she remained in the background. We might say that she is the
exemplar of the ordinary person, the one lost in the crowd who is nevertheless
called to hear the word of God and to put it faithfully into practice. In that
respect she is the model and the mother of Everyman. She is mother and model of
the Church. Our Lord’s pride in his mother would have been above all on this
basis. She had been granted astounding gifts, unknown to those around her. She
was the mother of God the Son made man. In view of this extraordinary dignity,
she was preserved free of original sin from conception. But more than anything,
she cooperated perfectly with these gifts and her calling. She remained
faithful to God in absolutely everything, never failing in the least respect to
put the word of God into practice. This, as far as her own divine Son was
concerned, was her glory and she is the exemplar of what our Lord speaks of in
our passage.
Every day when we rise in the morning we ought have the ambition to live as
closely as possible to the person of Jesus. Our Lord gave us the simple key to
doing just this. We are to hear his word and to put it into practice. Our
daily life, no matter how humble and obscure, is in all its details and
responsibilities to be characterized by this. If we do this, we shall be a
brother and sister to Jesus. Our mother and model is Mary his mother, given to
us at Calvary to be our mother also.
If you feel the Communion of Saints — if you live it — you will gladly be
a man of penance. And you will realize that penance is gaudium, etsi laboriosum,
joy, in spite of its hardship. And you will feel yourself 'allied' to all
the penitent souls that have been, that are, and that ever will be.
Wednesday of the twenty fifth week in Ordinary Time
II
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Scripture today: Proverbs 30: 5-9; Psalm
118; Luke 9: 1-6
When Jesus had called the Twelve
together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to
cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal
the sick. He told them: Take nothing for the journey— no staff, no bag, no
bread, no money, no extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there until
you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your
feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them. So they set
out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people
everywhere.(Luke 9: 1-6)
Time and again in the
history of the Church, times almost without number, there have been those
who have left all to bring the Gospel to those who have not heard it, or
who have not yet accepted it. Usually they have joined others of a like mind
and together they have gone forth, being approved and
commissioned
to do so by the Church. They have left social status, some wealth, good future
career prospects and have gone ahead with only the Gospel and the powers
with which Christ has endowed them through the commissioning of the Church.
For the non-believing observer it would seem that they are giving their lives
to a phantom, to a figment of the imagination. They have nothing and they
are bringing nothing of tangible benefit to others. Their lives are being
given to a non-reality, and indeed the entire thrust of the Church is being
dedicated to a non-reality. So he thinks. Let us pause as we think of this
response to the undying missionary impetus that the Church and her members
manifest. Let us place it in the context of our Gospel passage today. Our
Lord calls the Twelve, those who are the foundation stones of his Church
and the ones of whom the Church’s bishops are the successors. Our Lord sends
them out to do one thing, to preach the kingdom of God and to heal. They were
to take nothing and to live in dependence on God’s care. The only thing that
mattered was the coming and the arrival of the kingdom of God in the midst
of the people to whom they were to preach. This kingdom was God and his rule.
God was nigh and so all had to prepare themselves to receive him. Where was
the kingdom? It resided in the person of Jesus and the powers the Twelve
exercised were a sign of this, and soon this would be made clear to all.
Very soon - it would occur when Jesus had been glorified - Christ would be
proclaimed as the only one by whom men can be saved. He is the Saviour of
the world, and the kingdom of God consists in union with him by all.
This is what the Church
does now in and through her members. Let us think of the Twelve going out
and beginning what the Church has been doing ever since in a multiplicity
of ways and in varying historical circumstances. “So they set out and went
from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.”
(Luke 9: 1-6) Contrary to what the secular
mind takes for granted, the ultimate hard fact, the true reality is God and
Christ. The one reality that can be counted on is the person of Jesus and
what he has done for us. Through good times and bad, poverty or wealth, come
what may, this is what we must build our lives on. This is the word that
comes from God, that Jesus Christ is his Son and that we are to listen to
him. When we build our house on that rock, as our Lord says we are like the
man who builds his house on the sure foundation, and when the rains and floods
comes the house stands. But if we build our house on some other supposed
reality be it wealth or career or whatever - understood as goals in themselves
- then when the rains and tempests come the house will fall. The final fall
will come with death when all will be swept away. The case will be different
with those who build their lives on Christ. Then their house will withstand
death itself and they will pass on to life eternal. As St Thomas More said,
though I lose my head I’ll come to no harm. The Twelve set out to preach
and they took nothing with them, no “staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no
extra tunic.” They took no provision for shelter nor any assurance of welcome.
It was symbolic of their dependence on what they regarded as their true Reality,
the person of Jesus who was sending them forth and accompanying them with
his power as they did what he commanded. They were embarking on a life which
St Paul would later describe in these terms: For me, life is Christ. Now
I live, not I but Christ lives in me. He is the foundation of all that is
truly real unto eternity.
Let us take our stand
with Jesus and cast our lot with him. What is it to be? Is it to be the things
that will inevitably pass away, or is it to be the one who will never pass
away though he remains at this point unseen to our physical sight? I refer
to Jesus Christ, redeemer of the world, Son of God made man. He is the one
in whom we are called to live and he is the one whom by our daily life we
manifest and witness to before others.
The true
reality
Time and again in the history of the Church — times almost without number —
there have been those who have left all to bring the Gospel to those who have
not heard it, or who have not yet accepted it. Usually they have joined others
of a like mind and together they have gone forth, having been approved and
commissioned to do so by the Church. They have left social status, some wealth,
good future career prospects and have gone ahead with only the Gospel and the
powers with which Christ endowed them through the commissioning of the Church.
For the non‑believing observer it would seem that they are giving their lives to
a phantom, to a figment of the imagination. They have nothing and they are
bringing nothing of tangible benefit to others. Their lives are being given to
a non‑reality, and indeed, he thinks, the entire thrust of the Church is being
dedicated to a non‑reality. Let us pause as we think of this response to the
undying missionary impetus that the Church and her members manifest. Let us
place it in the context of our Gospel passage today. Our Lord calls the Twelve,
those who are the foundation stones of his Church and the ones of whom the
Church’s bishops are the successors. Our Lord sends them out to do one thing,
to preach the kingdom of God and to heal. They were to take nothing and to live
in dependence on God’s care. The only thing that mattered was the coming and
the arrival of the kingdom of God in the midst of the people to whom they were
to preach. This kingdom was God and his rule. God was nigh and so all had to
prepare themselves to receive him. Where was the kingdom? It resided in the
person of Jesus. The powers which the Twelve exercised were a sign of this, and
soon this would be made clear to all. Very soon — it would occur when Jesus had
been glorified — Christ would be proclaimed as the only one by whom men can be
saved. He is the Saviour of the world, and the kingdom of God consists in union
with him.
This is what the Church does now, in and through her members. Let us think of
the Twelve going out and beginning what the Church has been doing ever since, in
a multiplicity of ways and in varying historical circumstances. “So they set
out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people
everywhere” (Luke 9: 1‑6). Contrary to what
the secular mind takes for granted, the ultimate hard fact, the true reality
behind all that is passing is God and Christ. The one reality that can be
counted on is the person of Jesus and what he has done for us. Through good
times and bad, poverty or wealth, come what may, this is the rock on which we
must build our lives. The word that comes from God is that Jesus Christ is his
Son, and that we are to listen to him. When we build our house on that rock
which is Christ and his word, we are like the man who builds his house on a sure
foundation. When the rains and floods come the house stands. But if we build
our house on some other supposed reality, be it wealth or career or whatever —
understood as goals in themselves — then when the rains and tempests come the
house will fall. The final fall will come with death when all will be swept
away. The case will be different with those who build their lives on Christ.
Then their house will withstand death itself and they will pass on to life
eternal. As St Thomas More said, though I lose my head I’ll come to no harm.
The Twelve set out to preach and they took nothing with them, no “staff, no bag,
no bread, no money, no extra tunic.” They took no provision for shelter nor any
assurance of welcome. It was symbolic of their dependence on what they regarded
as their true Reality. That was the person of Jesus, who was sending them forth
and accompanying them with his power while they did what he commanded. They
were embarking on a life which St Paul would later describe in simple terms: For
me, life is Christ. Now I live, not I but Christ lives in me. Unto eternity,
he is the foundation of all that is truly real.
Let us take our stand with Jesus and cast our lot with him. What is it to be?
Is it to be the things that will inevitably pass away, or is it to be the One
who will never pass away though he remains at this point unseen to mere physical
sight? We are speaking of Jesus Christ, Redeemer of the world and Son of God
made man. He it is in whom we are called to live and whom, by our daily life,
we manifest and witness to before others.
(E.J.Tyler)
You will find it easier to do your duty if you think of how your brothers
are helping you, and of the help you fail to give them if you are not faithful.
Thursday of the twenty fifth week in Ordinary Time
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Scripture today:
Ecclesiastes 1: 2-11; Psalm 89; Luke 9: 7-9
Now Herod the tetrarch heard
about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying
that John had been raised from the dead, others that Elijah had appeared,
and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.
But Herod said, "I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?"
And he tried to see him.(Luke 9: 7-9)
Seeing
Jesus
It is clear that during our Lord’s public ministry his fame spread not only in
Judea and Galilee but to the territories immediately beyond. To a degree and
for a brief period Jesus became known beyond his own country. He was known in
the country of the Gerasenes where he had actually visited.
He was known in Tyre and the region of the Decapolis. Though his mission was
only to the House of Israel, this fame was a foretaste of what was to come when
he had entered into his glory and the infant Church was launched on its
universal mission. As we read in our Gospel passage today Herod certainly heard
about him, and we read how people with connections to Herod’s own household were
found among our Lord’s followers. Some were saying to Herod that John had risen
from the dead. Others were claiming that Jesus was one of the old prophets come
back to life. Herod became concerned and perplexed, for he had executed John.
So “he tried to see him.” What was our Lord’s response? He refused to have
anything to do with him. On one occasion he referred to Herod as “that fox.”
When they eventually did meet, it was when Pilate sent our Lord to Herod in
chains, as it were, and our Lord refused so much as to say a word to him. Why?
It was because Herod’s moral attitude excluded any appropriate relation or
communication with our Lord. This reminds us that faith in Jesus, which is the
divinely intended path to salvation, involves a proper moral disposition. It
requires a submission of the will to what is good and a desire to do what is
good. It requires a conversion, or at least a desire to turn away from sin. We
remember Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector whose later words suggest that he
had defrauded and in other ways gained his wealth in unjust ways. Our Lord drew
near to where he was waiting up in the tree in order to see Jesus more clearly.
Our Lord warmly spoke to him, and invited himself to his home to dine. Our Lord
saw that he was a true son of Abraham who wanted to serve God. In his heart of
hearts, he wanted what was good, so he aspired to see Jesus.
Whatever God may seek to do for us, in a sense he is dependent on our own moral
dispositions. That is to say, he is dependent on our willingness to accept him
and his moral requirements. Our Lord once put this point in the form of a
parable. It like a man going out to sow seed — and he himself, God the Son made
man, is that sower of the seed. Some seed fell on the footpath, some on rocky
ground, some among the thorns, and some fell on good soil. It was the good soil
that received the seed and that seed then produced its fruit, some thirty, some
sixty, and some a hundred fold. Those who are the good seed are those who hear
the word and understand and accept it with a true moral readiness to put it into
practice. Our Lord said that it is not those who say to me Lord, Lord, who will
enter the kingdom of heaven, but the man who does the will of my Father in
heaven. To receive him, a moral readiness is necessary. St John makes this
point when he wrote that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. He came to
his own and his own would not receive him. This was because, he writes, they
hated the light since their deeds were evil. Their moral disposition was not
for the good but for evil. They did not want the good. They preferred evil.
Of course this status or disposition of the heart can be present in different
persons in various degrees and it constitutes the fight against sin which ought
be going on in each person’s life till the end. But our Gospel scene today in
which Herod wanted to see Jesus (Luke 9: 7‑9)
illustrates in striking fashion the general point that the person of Christ the
Saviour is accessible to the one who genuinely desires to renounce sin, even if
he knows that he is weak and will repeatedly fail. It is summed up in the words
of our Lord’s own preaching, Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. A
change of heart is required if we are “to see Jesus.” Blessed are the pure of
heart, our Lord would say, for they shall see God.
Thinking of the case of Herod and of how he tried to see Jesus, let us remember
that in a sense the purpose of life is “to see Jesus.” But we must want “to see
Jesus” in order to be his disciple, or to be his disciple the more. Our Lord,
just before he ascended into heaven, charged his disciples to go to the whole
world and bring him to all the nations. The vocation of mankind is “to see
Jesus,” but in the sense of being his disciples. This means hearing the word
and putting it into practice. As our Lord said, it is this person who is his
mother and his sister and his brother.
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Scripture today:
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-11; Psalm 143; Luke 9: 18-22
Once when Jesus was praying
in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?" They replied,
"Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one
of the prophets of long ago has come back to life." "But what about you?"
he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "God's Messiah." Jesus strictly
warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, "The Son of Man must
suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the
teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised
to life." Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must
deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever
wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me
will save it. What good is it for you to gain the whole world, and yet lose
or forfeit your very self?(Luke 9: 18-22)
Who is
he?
Our Gospel scene today presents a central moment in our Lord’s public ministry.
His entire public ministry was concerned with his announcing the arrival of the
Kingdom of God, together with the revelation that this Kingdom was profoundly
connected with his person. Faith in him was essential to entry into the
Kingdom.
So it was essential that the message be received that not only was he the
long‑awaited Messiah, but that he was God the Son, the Second Person of the
Blessed Trinity. The redemption of mankind from sin and his sanctification as
God intended it, was only possible through God himself, and in Jesus, God had
come among us to do this work. A mere creature could not do what God planned to
do for fallen man. And so today’s Gospel scene was a critical moment in the
work of Christ prior to his Passion. Our Lord paused with his disciples and
asked them who people were saying he was. Our Lord knew what they were saying.
St John tells us in his Gospel that he did not need anyone to tell him about any
man, for he knew what was going on in their hearts. For instance, St John tells
us that at the end of his discourse on the Eucharist (chapter 6) he said that
one of the Twelve was a devil. He already knew that Judas, who had heard his
doctrine that one had to eat his flesh and drink his blood to have eternal life,
had in his heart turned away from him. So Christ knew what the crowds were
saying. He would also have read the hearts of the Twelve, including that of
Judas, but he wanted a clear act of faith and their profession of it to be
uttered openly. Simon, as head of the Twelve and their future rock, rose
magnificently to the occasion. Jesus is the Messiah. That is Luke’s account,
having heard it from eye‑witnesses and those who knew. Matthew, who was an
actual eye‑witness, provides us with more of Simon’s profession in his Gospel.
He tells us that Simon also professed to our Lord that he was the Son of the
living God. With that, our Lord then — in Matthew’s Gospel — told him that he
had been illumined by the Father and that he was blessed for it, and conferred
on him unique prerogatives in his Church. The scene was indeed a pivotal moment
in Christ’s ministry.
But then our Lord, having received this profession of faith goes on immediately
to set out both the nature of his mission as Messiah, and the nature of being
his disciple. His mission of God’s anointed King involved the opposite of what
the world expected of kings, and the victory he would attain involved an utterly
different path from the victories sought by the world. His being King meant
that “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the
chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the
third day be raised to life.” This sequence of events would constitute the heart
of his mission. For this reason Archbishop Fulton Sheen used to say that Christ
was born precisely in order to suffer and to die. This was the divine key to
his victory for mankind. His death was the greatest act of his life, a true
action of the first order, a deed whereby the world was saved by his witness to
the truth in obedience to his heavenly Father. When standing before Pontius
Pilate, our Lord said that the reason why he was born into the world was to bear
witness to the truth. The truth he bore witness to by his death was the truth
about his own person, and this is the truth that Simon bore witness to in our
Gospel passage today. Then our Lord continued, “Whoever wants to be my disciple
must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever
wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will
save it” (Luke 9: 18‑22). The daily cross
of the Christian is above all to live a life based on the truth of Jesus,
accepting his Person into one’s heart in love, and living with resolve according
to his teaching no matter what the cost. Christ is our model and leader in this
life of witness to the truth. We cannot hope to do this unless we are working
at our life of prayer, reading the Scriptures, approaching regularly and with
devotion the sacraments, and striving daily to do God’s will.
Our Gospel passage today is a magnificent passage in which we have the essence
of Christian doctrine and the essence of Christian practice. The doctrine of
the Christian religion centres around the person of Jesus. He is the Christ,
the son of the living God. Christian practice is to follow him whatever be the
cost. So then, let each of us say, Now I begin!
Let us flee from 'routine' as from the devil himself. The great means to
avoid falling into this abyss, the grave of true piety, is constant presence
of God.
Saturday of the twenty fifth week in Ordinary Time
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Scripture today:
Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:8; Psalm 89; Luke 9: 43-45
While everyone was marvelling
at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, "Listen carefully to what
I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered over to human
hands." But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them,
so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.(Luke 9: 43-45)
Suffering In just
a few sentences, our Gospel scene today presents one of the greatest mysteries
of the ways of God. Everyone was marvelling at all that Jesus did, and with
good reason. He had just effortlessly cured a boy of a terrible affliction by a
spirit that proved beyond the powers of our Lord’s own disciples.
The boy was an only son and nothing seemed to avail in his cure. But, at a
word, Christ cured him and drove out the demon. There was nothing that Jesus
could not do and his great powers were completely at the service of the
afflicted. Their exercise invited faith in him. What would one expect of such
a person as Jesus? One would naturally expect that he would go from strength to
strength in his course of doing good and in his path of increasing influence,
for what could stop him? He presented himself as the Promised One and proved it
by every indication. All could place their faith in him. St Luke tells us that
while all were marvelling at what he did, he said to his disciples, “Listen
carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be
delivered over to human hands” (Luke 9: 43‑45).
Christ’s path was to be the opposite of normal human success. He was to be
handed over in defeat to his enemies. He said this in such a way as to mean
that it was his very mission to be handed over. His disciples simply could not
comprehend it, for Jesus was showing in every way that he was master. It was
hidden from them. This incomprehension was to be expected, because from a
natural point of view reversals and suffering are scarcely to be seen as
positive things, for what is positive about them? What good can come from
reversals and failure, in themselves? They are unfortunate results which
man endures, tries to overcome and avoid in his attempts to be successful.
Jesus was intimating that suffering and seeming disaster was pregnant with
abundant success. This was beyond them. It would require a special light from
on high if Christ’s path were to be understood.
And so it is. It was not primarily by his preaching and by his miracles that
Christ redeemed the world, even though this public ministry had a place in the
work of redemption. It was above all through his passion, death and
resurrection that he effected his work as the Saviour. It was above all then
that he bore witness to the truth of his person and teaching. He freely gave
himself up into the hands of his enemies in order to bear this witness, knowing
that it would mean untold suffering. The suffering, though, was far greater
than appearances indicated, because in fact Jesus was being burdened with the
sins of all mankind. His sufferings were expiatory. Whatever could be visibly
seen or imagined of his sufferings were but the tip of the iceberg, we might
say, for Christ’s sufferings were making up for the sin of the world. Nor was
it simply that he suffered. He suffered in obedience. To use philosophical
categories, we might say that the sufferings were the matter that was being
offered up to the Father, while the obedience of Christ informed them. Christ’s
sufferings resulted from and expressed Christ’s absolute obedience to the
Father, and in this he made up for the disobedience of man and expiated for the
sins of the world. There is a further implication for the human race. The
problem for man is the evil and suffering he must endure. Why this has to be so
if there is a good God, is largely a mystery to natural reason. But so it is.
Now, if we unite ourselves to Christ in his sufferings, we shall share in the
upshot of his sufferings. That upshot is new life, the resurrection and the
redemption of mankind — even if these results are never visibly seen. So when
we think of the almost unending sea of human suffering, we ought think of the
mystery of Christ’s sufferings and look on it in that light. Human suffering
has been transformed into a source of life. The key is to suffer in union with
Christ. If we suffer with him we shall rise with him.
How this works out in actual fact is a further matter and its truth may never be
seen in its full reality. But the fact that Christ rose means that suffering
and death (which is its final upshot) has now the seed of new life within it
provided we suffer in union with Jesus. Let us pray for the grace to have
sufficient faith in Jesus to appreciate this, and sufficient love for him and
for our fellow man to bring this message to others.
Prayers this week:
O Lord, you had just cause
to judge men as you did, because we sinned against you and disobeyed your
will. But now show us your greatness of heart, and treat us with your unbounded
kindness.(Daniel 3: 31-34.30.43.42) Father,
you show your almighty power in your mercy and forgiveness. Continue to
fill us with your gifts of love. Help us to hurry toward the eternal life
you promise and come to share in the joys of your kingdom. 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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Jesus said to the chief
priests and the elders: "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons.
He went to the first and said,
'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' " 'I will not,' he answered, but
later he changed his mind and went. "Then the father went to the other son
and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. "Which
of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus
said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are
entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you
the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors
and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and
believe him.(Matthew 21: 28-32)
There are some fundamental
truths that the Christian virtually takes for granted and which he may be
surprised to learn that other religions do not hold. One such truth is that
at the end of life there is a judgment by God on each person’s deeds, and
each person will be rewarded or punished accordingly.
This
is not held by all the religions of man, so we ought be grateful to God that
he has revealed it. It gives to every stage of life and to every choice we
make a tremendous significance. Day by day we are forging our own eternity.
Having had this great truth revealed to us by Christ himself, it gives a
meaning to the recurring pattern in life of rewards and punishments for the
things we choose to do. When a person is rewarded for something commendable
he has done such as some act of bravery, generosity or real quality, or when
a person is punished for something wrong that he has chosen to do, this is
a reminder of the judgment of God that will be pronounced on all our thoughts,
words and deeds. There is a tremendous difference between the judgments of
this life and the judgment of God in the next, though. In life the judgments
of others on what we have done can be profoundly mistaken. What many people
receive from life is not in proportion to their merits. Their goodness of
life, their honest efforts, the worth of their work, all this can go unacknowledged
and unrewarded, while those of mediocre or few merits can receive rewards
they do not deserve. Those guilty of wrongdoing and deserving of punishment
can even receive the rewards due to those who have done good. This well not
be the case with those judged by God. Our Gospel today reminds us of a further
factor in merit before God. God will count sincere repentance from sin as
a form of merit. That is to say, it will be rewarded as a very good deed
opening paradise for us. As our Lord says to the chief priests and the elders,
"Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the
kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of
righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the
prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe
him.(Matthew 21: 28-32)
That is to say, our eternity
will depend on what we have merited. In general merit refers to the right
to recompense for a good deed. Of course, inasmuch as we have received everything
from God, we are not able to merit anything of ourselves, considered apart
from him. The Catholic Church teaches that by means of God’s sustaining hand,
by means of the freedom of choice he has granted us and which he sustains
within us, and by means of our union with the love of Christ who is the source
of all our merits before God, we are truly able to gain merit in his sight.
The pattern of merit and reward that we see at work constantly in life -
even if operating at times very poorly - is the pattern which is and will
be at work in our relationship with God. He will reward us for our good choices,
even though it is he who sustains us in our free choices. We shall merit
the reward God will give for what we freely do by means of his sustaining
power and grace. We merit what he enables us to merit. For this reason our
merit gained for our good works must be attributed fundamentally and in the
first place to the grace and power of God and then to our free choice. When
moved by the Holy Spirit we can merit for ourselves and for others the graces
needed for our sanctification and for the attainment of eternal life. Even
temporal goods, suitable for us, can be merited in accordance with the plan
of God. But no one can merit the initial grace which is at the origin of
our conversion and justification. So then, as St Paul puts it, we ought work
at our salvation and sanctification with trembling. That is to say, we ought
work at it as if all depended on us, while praying as if and knowing that
the beginning and all progress depends on the power and grace of God. Especially
ought we work at repentance and turning away from sin, believing constantly
in God and his mercy and goodness. The saints were convinced that their merits
were poor, but they trusted in the goodness and grace of God. This will be
our consolation at the end - not the good deeds we by his grace might well
have done, but his mercy and compassion which will reward faith in him and
obedience to his commands.
One modern saint used
constantly to say, Now I begin! He was saying that whatever be our past,
let us go to Christ, ask his forgiveness and start again with vigour, trusting
in his mercy. He will reward us, but let us leave the reward to him. Let
us just begin, always starting again in our daily effort to do his will.
If we do this then we shall merit eternal life.
Merit There
are some fundamental truths that the Christian virtually takes for granted and
which he may be surprised to learn that other religions do not hold. One such
truth is that at the end of life there is a judgment by God on each person’s
deeds, and each person will be rewarded or punished accordingly. This is not
held by all the religions of man, so we ought be grateful to God that he has
revealed it. It gives to every stage of life and to every choice we make a
tremendous significance. Day by day we are forging our own eternity. Having
had this great truth revealed to us by Christ himself, it gives meaning to the
recurring pattern in life of rewards and punishments for the things we choose to
do. When a person is rewarded for something commendable he has done such as
some act of bravery, generosity or real quality, or when a person is punished
for something wrong that he has chosen to do, this is a reminder of the judgment
of God that will be pronounced on all our thoughts, words and deeds. However,
there is a tremendous difference between the judgments of this life and the
judgment of God in the next. In life the judgments of others on what we have
done can be profoundly mistaken. What many people receive from life is not in
proportion to their merits. Their goodness of life, their honest efforts, the
worth of their work, all this can go unacknowledged and unrewarded, while those
of mediocre or few merits can receive rewards they do not deserve. Those guilty
of wrongdoing and deserving of punishment can even receive the rewards due to
those who have done good. This will not be the case with those judged by God.
Furthermore, our Gospel today reminds us of another factor in merit before God.
God will count sincere repentance from sin as a form of merit. That is to say,
it will be rewarded as a very good act which opens paradise for us. As our Lord
says to the chief priests and the elders, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors
and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came
to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but
the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you
did not repent and believe him. (Matthew 21: 28‑32)
Our eternity will depend on what we have merited. In general, merit refers to
the right to recompense for a good deed. Of course, inasmuch as we have
received everything from God, we are not able to merit anything of ourselves,
considered apart from him. The Catholic Church teaches that by means of God’s
sustaining hand, by means of the freedom of choice he has granted us and which
he sustains within us, and by means of our union with the love of Christ who is
the source of all our merits before God, we are truly able to gain merit in his
sight. The pattern of merit and reward that we see at work constantly in life —
even if operating at times very poorly — is similar to the pattern which is and
will be at work in our relationship with God. That is, God will reward us for
our good choices, even though it is he who sustains us in our free choices. We
shall merit the reward God will give for what we freely do by means of his
sustaining power and grace. We merit what he enables us to merit. For this
reason our merit gained for our good works must be attributed fundamentally and
in the first place to the grace and power of God and then to our free choice.
When moved by the Holy Spirit we can merit for ourselves and for others the
graces needed for our sanctification and for the attainment of eternal life.
Even temporal goods, suitable for us, can be merited in accordance with the plan
of God. But no one can merit the initial grace which is at the origin of our
conversion and justification. So then, as St Paul puts it, we ought work at our
salvation and sanctification with trembling. That is to say, we ought work at
it as if all depended on us, while praying as if, and knowing that, the
beginning and all progress depends on the power and grace of God. Especially
ought we work at repentance and turning away from sin, believing constantly in
God and his mercy and goodness. The saints were convinced that their merits
were poor, but they trusted in the goodness and grace of God. This will be our
consolation at the end — not the good deeds we by his grace might well have
done, but his mercy and compassion which will reward faith in him and obedience
to his commands.
One modern saint used constantly to say, Now I begin! He was saying that
whatever be our past, let us go to Christ, ask his forgiveness and start again
with vigour, trusting in his mercy. He will reward us, but let us leave the
reward to him. Let us just begin, always starting again in our daily effort to
do his will. If we do this then we shall merit eternal life.
(E.J.Tyler)
Further Reading: The Catechism of the Catholic Church,
no. 2006-2011
(Merit)
Monday of the twenty sixth week in Ordinary Time II
Saint for Today: Click
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reading this reflection.
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Scripture today:
Job 1: 6-22; Psalm 16; Luke 9: 46-50
An argument started among the
disciples of Jesus as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus, knowing
their thoughts, took a little child and made him stand beside him. Then he
said to them, Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me;
and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least
among you all— he is the greatest. Master, said John, we saw a man driving
out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of
us. Do not stop him, Jesus said, for whoever is not against you is for you.(Luke 9: 46-50)
Brethren
separated
In view of the state of Christianity as it has been for the far greater part of
its entire history, the last verse of our Gospel passage today warrants
reflection. In the Letters of John we are warned against the Antichrist,
against those who deny certain prerogatives of Christ and against those who are
not of the Christian fold.
Throughout the Letters of St Paul there are warnings against those who corrupt
the teaching of Christ and on at least one occasion he orders the
excommunication of one member of the Church. From the Church’s infancy, heresy
and schism have been major problems. We think especially of the great Arian
heresy that lasted centuries in one form or another despite the condemnation of
it by the Church’s Council of Nicaea, a heresy that has never died out but lives
on in various forms to this day. There has been the great split between the
Catholic and Orthodox Churches, and then between the Catholic and Protestant
Churches, and the numerous splits among the Protestant Churches. Condemnation
has followed condemnation, and there have even been religious wars. How
relevant is Christ’s prayer to his heavenly Father that all his disciples be
one, so that the world might believe that the Father sent him! In our Gospel
passage today, the Apostle John comes to our Lord and tells him that “we saw a
man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not
one of us.” “Do not stop him, Jesus said, for whoever is not against you is for
you” (Luke 9: 46‑50). Of course, this case
was somewhat different from that involving heresies. The person John refers to
as having driven out demons in the name of Jesus was not denying the teaching of
the Apostles about their Master. For instance, he was not denying that he was
the Messiah. He was not denying that the Kingdom of God was present which was
the proclamation of those sent out by our Lord. He was simply acting in faith
in the power of Jesus but doing so without explicit authorization. So, what are
we to make of this?
Our Lord’s response is yet another example of his directive to be charitable.
We remember how, when our Lord was passing through Samaria on his way to
Jerusalem, he and his disciples were refused entry to a Samaritan village.
Again, it was John (with his brother James) who responded. He asked our Lord if
fire could be called down from heaven on that village in punishment for their
affront to Jesus. But Jesus rebuked him and left for another venue. Our Lord
asks of his disciples that they treat others as brothers. The person in our
Gospel today (Luke 9: 46‑50) who was driving
out demons in his name was clearly acting in good faith, and had a belief in
Jesus even if it was poorly conceived. But this is not in any way to say that
Jesus wished his disciples to be indifferent to the truth of his person and
teaching. When this truth was denied by others, then they had to bear witness
to his truth unto death. When standing before Pontius Pilate, Christ said that
it was for this that he had been born, to bear witness to the truth and all
those who were of the truth listened to his voice. He warned his disciples that
they would be brought before kings and governors on account of his name, and
that would be the opportunity to bear witness before the pagans. He also said
that those who persecuted them and put them to death would do so thinking they
were doing a good deed. I referred above to the tremendous problem of disunity
that pervades the Christian world. The Catholic Church claims to be the Church
founded by Christ on the rock of Peter. Other churches and communions sincerely
and in good faith think this is mistaken and that their church is the Church
Christ envisioned. We must look on one another as brothers in Christ because of
our common faith in him and because we are in Christ by baptism. There is so
much we have in common. At the same time precisely as brothers we must dialogue
truthfully, bearing witness to the truth before one another until, due to the
grace of the Holy Spirit full and true unity in Christ obtains.
Let us love one another. Addressing his disciples our Lord said, this is my
command that you love one another as I have loved you. Let us bear this in mind
in all our dealings with those who are our brothers in faith, even though to
varying degrees they are separated from us. There is so much we have in common,
and there is much that we can jointly bear witness to before the world.
Don't omit the visit to the Blessed Sacrament. After your usual vocal prayer,
tell Jesus, really present in the Tabernacle, of the cares and worries of
your day. And you will receive light and strength for your life as a Christian.
Tuesday of the twenty sixth week in Ordinary Time
II
Saint for Today: Click
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Scripture today:
Job 3: 1-3.11-17.20-23; Psalm 87; Luke 9: 51-56
As the time approached for him
to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he
sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things
ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading
for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord,
do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" But Jesus
turned and rebuked them. Then he and his disciples went to another village.(Luke 9: 51-56)
Charity Our
Gospel scene today places us at the last stages of our Lord’s public ministry.
Luke describes it as the time approaching his being taken up into heaven.
Incidentally, it may be observed that various religions in the history of man
have “going up into heaven” as the proper end of life.
It is not absolutely unique to revealed religion that a place of reward awaits
those who live a good life. Of course their notions of “heaven” vary enormously
and they cannot be identified with the revelation Christ has made of the glory
that awaits those who are judged worthy. And so our Lord approaches the time
when he will be taken up to heaven. But the next statement is and always will
be of unique significance. As our Lord approaches his proper end which is
heaven, he “resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” What this signifies, of course,
is that he resolutely set out to embrace his Passion. If Jesus Christ is the
Archetype of Man, his perennial Exemplar, then the Passion too is the exemplar
of the path that God has revealed for man. Repeatedly our Lord made it clear to
his Apostles and closest disciples that he had to suffer and die in rejection if
he was to enter his glory. For some mysterious reason, in the plan of God this
was necessary. Soon after his birth, the aged Simeon had prophesied that the
Child would be a sign that would be contradicted and that his own mother would
have a sword pass through her very soul. She would be the first Christian to
follow him as he suffered, and would suffer with him. The path she followed
would be, in the plan of God, the path all men are called to follow, for all men
are called to be Christ’s disciples. Our Lord said, if anyone wishes to be my
disciple, let him take up his cross every day and follow me. Just before he
ascended into heaven he directed his disciples to go to the whole world and make
disciples of all the nations. So all men are called to follow Christ as he
makes his way resolutely for Jerusalem where he will suffer and die.
All men are called, but what is the attitude of the Christian to those who do
not respond, or for whatever reason will not accept Christ? Our Gospel passage
of today gives us Christ’s example. We read that as he made his way resolutely
towards Jerusalem, “he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan
village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him,
because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw
this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy
them?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Then he and his disciples went to
another village” (Luke 9: 51‑56). The
Samaritans of this village would not accept him. We may presume that in their
case it was not a matter of rejecting his claims or his teaching because they
would scarcely have known it. It was largely ignorance and prejudice. They
were not willing to cooperate with those who put Jerusalem and its religion
before Samaria and its religion. Now, what was the reaction of Christ’s
disciples to this affront? James and John (who went on to be the pillars
of the infant Church, St Paul tells us) were consumed with indignation at the
insult to our Lord, and wanted fire to be sent from heaven to destroy them. Our
Lord’s response was utterly different. It was gentle, charitable and
accommodating. He rebuked his disciples for their attitude and went with them
to another village. The event reminds us that Christ is the Model and the
Saviour of mankind and shows the path to glory. That path consists in the
following of him, especially in his Passion. But many will not respond, will
not understand, will not in any way even know. To them the disciple of Christ
must be charitable, gentle and accommodating. He must be as Christ was in his
response to the Samaritans. We remember how in one of his stories our Lord held
up a Good Samaritan as the model of that charity towards those in need that
leads to eternal life.
Our Gospel scene today presents us with the person of Jesus resolutely on his
way to Jerusalem where he would sacrifice his life for the redemption of man.
It was the supreme gift of love. At the same time his response to the
inhospitable Samaritans is full of the same love that filled his Sacred Heart.
Let us contemplate the heart of Christ and endeavour, with the aid God’s grace,
to model our hearts on his.
How truly lovable is the sacred Humanity of our God! You 'crept' into the
most holy Wound of your Lord's right hand, and you asked me: 'If one of Christ's
Wounds cleans, heals, soothes, strengthens, kindles and enraptures..., what
will the five not do as they lie open on the wood?'
Saint Matthew,
Apostle and Evangelist (September 21)
St
Matthew Son of Alphaeus, Matthew was a publican,
that is, a tax collector for the Romans. His profession was despised by the
Jews. Nevertheless, our Lord called him to be an apostle. Matthew's vocation
reminds us that sanctity is not restricted only to certain states in life. All
professions, all our work and all our other endeavours should be sanctified. We
do not know details of his evangelization or of his martyrdom which by most
accounts took place in Persia or Ethiopia. Tradition unanimously acknowledges
him as the author of the first Gospel, written in Aramaic, and afterwards
translated into Greek. St. Matthew's name appears with those of the other
apostles in the Roman Canon.
Click on centre arrow
Scripture today: Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13;
Psalm 19:2-5; Matthew 9:9-13
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax
collector's booth. Follow me, he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and
sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this,
they asked his disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and
'sinners'? On hearing this, Jesus said, It is not the healthy who need a doctor,
but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'
For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.
(Matthew 9: 9-13)
Little calls Till
the end of the world, St Matthew’s Gospel will be drawing people to faith in
Jesus Christ, and will be leading to sanctity those who have this faith. St
Matthew scarcely features in the Gospel — he is mentioned at the time of his
call. He hosts the great dinner in his house which gathers in the presence of
our
Lord his fellow tax collectors and sinners, enabling them to make direct
acquaintance with our Lord. Beyond that, there is scarcely a mention. He is
usually paired with Thomas — perhaps he was associated with him in some way. We
do not know for certain the field of his labours subsequent to Pentecost and the
expansion of the infant Church. His glory is his Gospel. But over and above
all, he was one of the Twelve. He takes care to mention his previous profession
— dishonourable in the sight of very many Jews. Matthew is “the tax collector.”
Undoubtedly he looked on his own case in a fashion similar to the way St Paul
viewed his. It was a marvel of grace to Paul that Christ called him — a
persecutor of the Christians — to be an Apostle. It was a marvel of grace to
Matthew that Christ called him — a tax collector — to be an Apostle. Perhaps
our Lord saw in Matthew, sitting at his tax desk, a heart similar to that of the
tax collector in his parable of the Pharisee and the Publican in the Temple.
The Publican beat his breast praying, O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Matthew, humble and contrite in his heart, yearning for the mercy of God, heard
the call of Christ and immediately got up to follow him. From tax collector to
Apostle! Every vocation from God is an act of mercy for which we must be
profoundly grateful. But let us notice an important detail. The momentous
event of the call was expressed in a very ordinary circumstance. There were
only two words uttered: “Follow me” (Matthew 9: 9‑13).
It was a simple event, a passing moment that could have occurred without
consequence. There was no fanfare, no ceremony. It was something that suddenly
came, and could have passed as suddenly, with the chance gone forever. A look,
two words, a momentary pause: everything hung in the balance of the moment.
Christ gazed, waited a few seconds, and Matthew rose to follow.
Turning to another Gospel, that of St John, let us notice what happened in the
case of others of the Twelve. We read in the Gospel of St John that John the
Baptist saw Jesus walking. Presumably he was walking away, leaving the scene of
the Baptist for where he was dwelling. John said to two of his disciples, There
is the Lamb of God! That was all. It was a simple statement, and the two
disciples began forthwith to follow Jesus. Had the two hesitated, they may not
have decided to follow Jesus. Had John not made that remark, they would not
have been led to leave him. They set out in silence, with the figure of the Man
walking ahead of them. He stopped, turned, and asked them, what are you
seeking? It was a question full of meaning, applicable to both the ordinary and
the momentous. Come and see, he told them. What if he had not said that? These
were the first two who showed an interest in him since his arrival at the scene
of John’s baptisms. He simply invited them to come and see where he stayed,
and it was done. They stayed with him and came to see and believe that he was
the longed-for Messiah. But it all happened as a result of a simple, almost
ordinary exchange of a few words. They were ready for the presence of God and
his grace, and they rose to the occasion immediately. Let us follow our scene a
little further. We read that one of the two went to his brother Simon, and
brought him to Jesus. It was a simple event, but it changed entirely the course
of Simon’s life, and arguably affected the history of mankind to come. Simon
became the visible rock of the Church, the seed and locale of the Kingdom of
God. The day before he left the district to return to Judaea, Jesus found
Philip, and simply said to him what he would later say to Matthew, “Follow me!”
and Philip did what Matthew would do, he followed him. Two words! It was a
simple event on which hung so much. In our everyday life Christ is passing by,
and an enormous Reality invites us to rise and to come.
The moments that are pregnant with significance every single day of our lives
are the moments of duty. Every little duty is a call from the Master who says,
Follow me! Duty is the anchor of daily life and the door to holiness. Duty is
precious in its possibilities. It is thrilling in the consequences of its yes,
and awesome in the consequences of its no. Duty! Man’s vocation is to do his
duty, and to do it with love for the One from whom it ultimately derives. Every
duty is a call from the One who is our divine Friend, and in the duty we have
the means of growing in his love and doing what we can, in union with him, to
save the world.
Feast of the
archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael (September 29)
(September 29) Michael ("Who is like God?")
is the archangel who fought Satan. He is the protector of all humanity and
reminds us of the real existence of the devil and of demonic activity. For
protection from the snares of the devil, it is good to have recourse to St.
Michael. Gabriel
("Strength of God") announced to Zechariah the birth of John the Baptist; and to
Mary, the birth of Jesus. His greeting to the Virgin, "Hail, full of grace," is
one of the most familiar and frequent prayers of the Church. Raphael ("Medicine
of God") is the archangel who took care of Tobias on his journey. Every person
on his or her pilgrimage through this life also has a guardian angel with a
mission similar to that of Raphael. This feast is sometimes called "Michaelmas."
Click on centre arrow
Scripture readings: Daniel
7:9-10.13-14 or Apocalypse 12:7-12; Psalm 137;
John 1: 47-51
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he
said of him, Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false. How do
you know me? Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, I saw you while you were still
under the fig-tree before Philip called you. Then Nathanael declared, Rabbi, you
are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel. Jesus said, You believe because
I told you I saw you under the fig-tree. You shall see greater things than that.
He then added, I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels
of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.
(John 1: 47-51)
The
Angels
Among the many impressions we gain of Jesus in the Gospels is that he is full of
Holy Scripture. In John’s Gospel from which our passage today is drawn, the
first of our Lord’s recorded words are those directed to his Apostles. He
invites the two disciples of John who ask where he is staying, to come and see.
He tells Simon that he will be called Cephas. He says to Philip, Follow me. A
longer set of words is directed to Nathanael whom Philip brings to Jesus. After
giving Nathanael high praise, he tells him that “you shall see heaven open, and
the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man”
(John 1: 47-51). Our Lord shows that he is
full of the Scriptures, for the allusion to the great event in the Book of
Genesis is clear (28:11-22). Jacob, the father of the twelve patriarchs, had
just had his dream at Bethel, the sacred shrine. In the dream a stairway
appeared. Perhaps it was like a long ascending ramp, not unlike a Babylonian
temple tower with its top in the sky. In Genesis 11, men had built the Tower of
Babel with its top in the sky, but it came to grief because men did it in
independence of God. This stairway of Jacob’s dream, though, was reaching to
the heavens and getting there, for angels were going up and coming down on it.
God was establishing a direct connection with Jacob and his descendants. God
then appears to Jacob, guaranteeing that he will be with him and will fulfil his
promises to him. In a sense, heaven was now opened, and as a result the angels
were coming up and down on God’s stairway. Our Lord’s words to Nathanael
foretell that he, Nathanael, will see the angels of God ascending and descending
on the Son of Man. So there will be a new stairway, a new access made. Heaven
will be opened up to man, and Nathanael will see the angels coming up and going
down as a result. The sending and the coming of the angels is symbolic of the
ready access to God and to heaven which Christ will bring about. Nathanael will
see Christ do all this and will see the results. The angels are part and parcel
of man’s communion with God, wrought by Jesus Christ.
Scripture often speaks on the Angels. There is a whole book of the Old
Testament given over to the care and guidance of Tobias by the Angel Raphael.
Michael is mentioned twice in the Book of Daniel. In the New Testament, Jude
mentions him in his Letter, and the Book of Revelation depicts him defeating
Satan. He, then, is the pre-eminent defender of God’s people against the
demonic world. The Angel Gabriel is also mentioned in the Book of Daniel.
Most especially, he came to Mary and to Elizabeth with the grand announcements
of the Precursor and of the Messiah. St Paul refers to the Archangel at the
final coming of Christ, in 1 Thessalonians 4. Our Lord often refers to the
Angels, and as mentioned, he speaks of them at the outset in this Gospel scene
with Nathanael. Our Feast Day today directs our attention to the three
specially named Angels in the Scriptures, traditionally called Archangels
because of the importance of their missions. They were God’s envoys, his
messengers. The point, though, is that due to the Passion and Death of Jesus
Christ, heaven has been opened for sinful man. There is now a profound
communion existing between the fallen, struggling world and the glorious realm
of heaven. This is because God dwells with us. The doors are flung open, and
the angels of God too, come and go on God’s errands. These powerful and
beautiful spiritual beings, persons who are in immediate contact with God and
who see him face to face, are our companions. The staircase that our Lord
refers to remains, and the angels ascend and descend. This vast visible world,
the limits of which we scarcely yet imagine, is enfolded within a much vaster
and more powerful unseen world, that of God and heaven. The angels and
archangels come and go. They are with us always by God’s commissioning. Every
one of us has his heavenly friend to help us on our way of following Jesus
Christ. Where Jesus is, the stairway to heaven stands, and the angels ascend
and descend. If they are with us as our friends, then we ought cultivate their
friendship and, in God, ask for their aid by their prayers and unseen
intervention.
Scripture shows the intervention of the Angels and Archangels for the benefit
and protection of man. Well then, let us invoke their aid and depend on their
help. God means them to be our helpers. O Angel of God, my Guardian dear, to
whom God’s love commits me here. Ever this day be at my side, to light and
guard, to rule and guide, Amen. Let that be our daily prayer.
(E.J.Tyler)
Further reading: The Catechism of the Catholic Church,
no.328-336 (The Angels)
Soon afterward, Jesus went to
a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him.
As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out — the
only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town
was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said,
"Don't cry." Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him
on, and the bearers stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!"
The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared
among us," they said. "God has come to help his people." This news about
Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. (Luke 7: 11-17)
The dead man was the only son of his mother, who was herself a widow. She is
sunk in grief and loss. She had lost her husband and all she had was her son.
Now he was taken from her. Consider the profound emptiness of her life as she
now experienced it. There was nothing left except loneliness and difficulty.
She saw no light ahead, no prospects and her only joy, her son, was gone. The
crowd shared in her sorrow, and accompanied the funeral as it made its way out
of the city to the cemetery. At this very point our Lord and his disciples
appeared, approaching the town with a large crowd in tow. He sees in an instant
what is happening and understands entirely the darkness and suffering that has
enveloped the poor woman, undoubtedly being supported by her friends and, if she
had any, her relatives. Our Lord approaches the procession and, full of
compassion for this mother before him, knows what he will do. He goes gently to
the woman as the procession slowly continues. He says to her, Do not weep!
Consider the look of compassion in his eyes. Let us remember that it is God the
Son who is saying this to her and who is gazing at her. Then he serenely turns
to the body being carried, touches the bier in a gesture to pause, which they do
so. Then calmly with absolute assurance he gazes at the body and says “Young
man, I tell you, arise!” We read that the young man simply sat up and started
talking. There is no mention of a delay as if coming gradually out of sleep,
and of words slowly coming to him as if recovering from something. His eyes
opening and colour immediately returning to his face, there and then he would
have raised himself effortlessly on one elbow and taken a sitting position. He
was not helped up. He simply sat up and immediately began to speak. It would
have been absolutely astounding.
Piety has its own good manners. Learn them. It's a shame to see those 'pious'
people who don't know how to attend Mass — even though they go daily, — nor
how to bless themselves (they throw their hands about in the weirdest fashion),
nor how to bend the knee before the Tabernacle (their ridiculous genuflections
seem a mockery), nor how to bow their heads reverently before a picture of
our Lady.
St
Matthew Son of Alphaeus, Matthew was a publican,
that is, a tax collector for the Romans. His profession was despised by the
Jews. Nevertheless, our Lord called him to be an apostle. Matthew's vocation
reminds us that sanctity is not restricted only to certain states in life. All
professions, all our work and all our other endeavours should be sanctified. We
do not know details of his evangelization or of his martyrdom which by most
accounts took place in Persia or Ethiopia. Tradition unanimously acknowledges
him as the author of the first Gospel, written in Aramaic, and afterwards
translated into Greek. St. Matthew's name appears with those of the other
apostles in the Roman Canon.