Follow and be Worthy

July 14 2008
Memorial of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

By Beth DeCristofaro

Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. (Isaiah 1:16-17)

To the upright I will show the saving power of God. (Psalm 50:23)

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward..." (Matthew 10: 37-41)

Piety

Holy God, Loving and Merciful One,
We come to you in the darkness of our world:
the weight of our cares and our responsibilities,
of our struggles and confusion,
lies heavy on us.
Yet, in our hope we know our paths lead to you,
that your Holy Spirit is within us,
and that Jesus has gone before us as our way.
Because he bore the cross of all the world,
we gather now to follow him,
to receive from him the peace the world cannot give,
the joy that no one can take from us,
and the energies of new life.
Opening Prayer, STATIONS OF THE CROSS, A ‘Way of the Cross’ by Fr Anthony Kelly, CSsR., for World Youth Day 2008. http://www.wyd2008.org/index.php/en/wyd08_events/journey_of_the_cross_icon/resources

Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/071408.shtml

In 20-20 hindsight, we look at the Israelites and see stubbornness, pride and, perhaps even a bit of stupidity. Why can’t they just live life in the joy that their God has chosen them above all others? Why do they continue to choose other gods and turn their back on God’s laws? However, in 2,000 years will our descendants look at us and wonder the same? Isaiah warns the Israelites that miming worship, interspersed with devotion to other gods and shirking the actions of charity and justice are not acceptable. Yet he also adds the hope that Zion shall be redeemed by judgment, and her repentant ones by justice (Isaiah 1:27). God does not give up on them.

Jesus’ words seem harsh yet he is echoing a similar charge: God first in all things. C.S. Lewis put it so clearly: “You don’t have a soul, you are a soul. You have a body.” God wants us all to act out of our soul which is closest to God; by which we touch God and are touched by God. Our bodies are simply bound and hampered by physiological and psychological limitations. The soul, fortified by the Holy Spirit, is eternal. Blessed Kateri seemed to have some notion of this as she spent much of her time, over the objections of family and tribe, in the presence of the Eucharist.

Action

Pope Benedict has arrived in Australia and young people from around the world are joining him for World Youth Day. They seek to nourish their souls in worship and community. Many of these young people have worked to raise money for the trip. Perhaps Blessed Kateri would have joined them if, being very poor, she had access to scholarships. Keep them in your prayers this week.

Reach out and engage a young person. Listen to her/him. Don’t lecture or proselytize - young people get lots of that. Instead, evangelize by listening to what interests her/him. What turns her/him on? Where does she/he see God at work in the world and in her/his life? Or does she/he see God at all? Pray for her/him and ask Blessed Kateri to reinforce and guide the young person through the example of her dedication to the Eucharist.