July 13, 2009
Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Then a new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, came to power in Egypt. He said to his subjects, "Look how numerous and powerful the Israelite people are growing, more so than we ourselves! Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase; otherwise, in time of war they too may join our enemies to fight against us, and so leave our country." Exodus 1:8-10
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword.” Matthew 10:34
Piety
"Come, let us climb the LORD'S mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths." For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD! Isaiah 2:3-5
Study
We can get into quite a fix if we try to interpret Jesus’ words literally. For example, we can read Matthew 5:29-30 and realize that Jesus did not want us cutting off our hands at some doc-in-the-box clinic. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
Today is another prime example. People equate Jesus with being the “prince of peace.” That was his Pentecost greeting to the disciples in the locked upper room. So how do we make heads or tails out of today’s reading?
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword.” Matthew 10:34
First, let’s view the statement in its full context, not by isolating it from the entire message Jesus delivered to us through Matthew.
For I have come to set a man 'against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's enemies will be those of his household.' "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. Matthew 10:35-38
The primary message is love – love of Christ. Nothing is to come ahead of that love. Not the love of a parent to a child. Not the love of a child to the parent. Nothing.
These words foretell the harsh treatment that will await the disciples when they truly follow Jesus. Old friends will go away. Even family members will betray them. The only truth is to pick up the cross of capital punishment and follow Jesus. Not just listen to him. But follow his example and path right up Calvary.
According to David Rensberger in his essay on the BUT WHAT ABOUT…? The “Hard Sayings” for Jesus About Nonviolence, “Household conflict, then, resulting from placing loyalty to Christ and to the God he represents above family loyalties, is one way in which Jesus' disciples encounter the cross and lose what is most precious to them, only to find it again more truly.”
So this passage is about where our loyalty is directed or should be directed. The same kind of loyalty the king of Egypt worries about with the children of Israel. He worries that they will outnumber the Egyptians and turn against them in times of war. So, he tries to suppress them with hard work and slavery.
We continue to learn that our Father behaves just the opposite of the Egyptian monarch. Rather than fear us, he gives us our freedom to pursue whatever we desire. And then he plants among us something we will all want to desire when we have a proper relationship to God and to His son.
These disciples, according to Rensberger, are not above their teacher. They should expect to experience the same rejection and punishment that Jesus feels. “The ‘sword’ that Jesus brings is not a sword for his followers to wield but one for them to suffer, as even family members reject them and their newfound commitment.”
He concludes: The fact that Jesus called his disciples to be peacemakers does not automatically guarantee that they will succeed. They are liable to be targets of hostility themselves. The peace that they seek to make may well be denied to them. But at no point does Jesus authorize them to take up arms in retaliation, least of all in carrying out the mission he has given them.
Instead, the vision of Isaiah 2:4 continues to prevail. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.
Action
Today, as you consider the role of peace in the Bible, pray the Oblates of Saint Benedict prayer and think of a place upon the earth where you want peace to grow. Honduras, Haiti, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, your office, Congress, your family.
Help us to become people of prayer and peace. Though scattered far and wide, help us to be together in the spirit of your love. Give us hearts wide enough to embrace each other as well as those whose lives we touch. Enable us to listen and to learn from each other and those around us each day. May we be models in our homes, neighborhoods, and communities of wise stewardship, dignified human labor, sacred leisure, and reverence for all living things. Above all, O God, may our presence among others be a constant witness of justice, compassion, and hope to all. Amen.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
He Chose Us in Him
July 12, 2009
Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Rev. Joseph McCloskey, S.J.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. Ephesians 1:3-6
He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them." So they went off and preached repentance. Mark 6:10-12
Piety
Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Rev. Joseph McCloskey, S.J.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. Ephesians 1:3-6
He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them." So they went off and preached repentance. Mark 6:10-12
Piety
In Christ we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. We are chosen in Christ. Christ is the fullness of spirituality. All our goodness has its ultimate meaning in Christ. Our goodness captures the essence of what life is about. Christ is the fulfillment of the meaning of every gift we have. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. In him we have our being. We are created in the image and the likeness of Christ and he gives us the fullness of self discovery when we find ourselves in him. We are chosen in Christ to be holy and without blemish. It is by Christ that we belong to the Father. It is our being in Christ that makes us brothers and sisters and heirs of heaven. Christ is the richness of our lives and it is in Christ that we find salvation. The plan of God for us sums up all things in Christ. Our very belief in Christ is sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. Thus we are God’s possession and our lives are able to give God glory. Before the foundation of the world we have been chosen in Christ to know the forever of God’s glory in our life in Christ.
Study
Our holiness grows in its connection with the life of Christ. We study the Sacraments of the Church to discover how we belong to Christ in how Christ shares his life with us in the Sacramental life of the Church. He gives us in the Sacraments as the hands on touch of the divine in our lives by how his humanness continues in us by each of the Sacraments. The humanness of the Risen Christ is our foothold in heaven. Christ by the Resurrection is in heaven. But He lives in us by our participation in the Sacramental life of the Church. Christ walks the earth in how we share the message of the love of God both through our example and our words. The Sacraments make this possible. The Church is the People of God. The people of God are the Mystical Body of Christ. All the ways we can embrace the fullness of Christ in our lives by the sacraments and the word of Christ in us are how God has blessed us and goes on blessing us in Christ.
Action
The paradox of Christianity is the simplicity of the fact that the only way we can hold unto Christ in our lives is by sharing him. We are all sent in our very Baptism and Confirmation to be the living word of Christ. We have the responsibility to take Christ whither we would go and to live Christ by our lives and our words. We live Christ by making our lives a daily sermon. We share Christ by bringing him into each contact with each other. Wherever there is love, God is there. Whoever receives us in the name of Christ, receives Christ as the one who sends us into life with his name. We can never be poor when we go out in the name of Christ because we are rich with Christ. Our lives can never be without meaning when we are willing to be Christ to each other. We need to come to realize that our spiritual journey makes it possible to live in Christ and to be able to say with Paul. “Now I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Our happiness will never end because the love of Christ is forever. God sums up all things in Christ. This is the hope that belongs to our call.
To Achieve His Present End
July 11, 2009
Memorial of Saint Benedict, abbot
But Joseph replied to them: "Have no fear. Can I take the place of God? Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve his present end, the survival of many people. Therefore have no fear. I will provide for you and for your children." By thus speaking kindly to them, he reassured them. Genesis 50:19-21
"Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Matthew 10:26-28
On this the feast day for the Benedictine order as well as for our Pope, our Tripod brings in some key passages from the prologue to the Rule of St. Benedict which also (I pray) help and inspire us to fulfill our spiritual journey of piety, study and action.
HAPPY ST BENEDICT'S DAY TO ALL!
Piety
Listen carefully to my instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is advice from one who loves you; welcome it, and faithfully put it into practice. The labor of obedience will bring you back to one from whom you had drifted through the sloth of disobedience. This message of mine is for you, then, if you are ready to give up your own will, once and for all, and armed with the strong and noble weapons of obedience to do battle for Jesus, the Christ.
First of all, every time you begin a good work, you must pray to God most earnestly to bring it to perfection. In God's goodness, we are already counted as God's own, and therefore we should never grieve God by our evil actions. With the good gifts which are in us, we must obey God at all times that God may never become the angry parent who disinherits us, nor the dreaded one, enraged by our sins, who punishes us forever as worthless servants for refusing to follow the way to glory.
Study
Let us get up then, at long last, for the Scriptures rouse us when they say: "It is high time for us to arise from sleep (Rom. 13:11)." Let us open our eyes to the light that comes from God, and our ears to the voice from the heavens that every day calls out this charge: "If you hear God's voice today, do not harden your hearts (Ps. 95:8)." And again: "You that have ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches (Rev. 2:7)." And what does the Spirit say? "Come and listen to me; I will teach you the fear of God (Ps. 34:12)." "Run while you have the light" of life, "that the darkness" of death "may not overtake you (Jn. 12:35)."
Benedict, long before anyone thought of Cursillo, focused his students and companions on two core principles – “Ora” (prayer) and “Labora” (work). When the monks would break from work, at meals eaten in silence, one would read aloud. After Vigils (prayer at night) they would study scripture, the psalter and “explanations of scripture by reputable and orthodox writers.”
The traditional hospitality of the monks at Belmont was marked by, among other acts, always inviting the visitor to join them for meals when passing through or visiting the college. When you reach the dining room, rather than hearing the low hum of many table discussions over lunch or dinner, the room was united in holy silence while another monk read aloud from a selected book.
Further on in the Prologue, Benedict echoes the reassurance of the readings from Genesis and Matthew to us today. He does not want us to shy away from his road to salvation. The road is not one to be explored by wandering but through a disciplined yet flexible program of prayer, work and study -- the precursor and model to our Cursillo school of leaders.
We intend to establish a school for God's service. In drawing up its regulations, we hope to set down nothing harsh, nothing burdensome. The good of all concerned, however, may prompt us to a little strictness in order to amend faults and to safeguard love. Do not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads to salvation. It is bound to be narrow at the outset. But as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God's commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love. Never swerving from God's instructions, then, but faithfully observing God's teaching in the monastery until death, we shall through patience share in the sufferings of Christ that we may deserve also to share in God’s eternal presence. Amen.
Action
If we wish to dwell in God's tent, we will never arrive unless we run there by doing good deeds. But let us ask with the prophet: "Who will dwell in your tent, O God; who will find rest upon your holy mountain (Ps. 15:1)?" After this question, then, let us listen well to what God says in reply, for we are shown the way to God's tent. "Those who walk without blemish and are just in all dealings; who speak truth from the heart and have not practiced deceit; who have not wronged another in any way, nor listened to slanders against a neighbor (Ps. 15:2-3)."
Doing “good works” for others in the monastery and in the community also is central to the Benedictine life.
In Chapter 4 of the rule, Benedict continues to outline the tools for good works which differ from those we pursue every day:
Your way of acting should be different from the world's way; the love of Christ must come before all else. You are not to act in anger or nurse a grudge. Rid your heart of all deceit. Never give a hollow greeting of peace or turn away when someone needs your love. Bind yourself to no oath lest it prove false, but speak the truth with heart and tongue. "Do not repay one bad turn with another (1 Thes. 5:15; 1 Pt. 3:9)." Do not injure anyone, but bear injuries patiently. "Love your enemies (Mt. 5:44; Lk. 6:27)." If people curse you, do not curse them back but bless them instead. "Endure persecution for the sake of justice (Mt. 5:10)."
Maybe the National Cursillo office should add St. Benedict as another patron saint of Cursillo. As an added advantage, all of our friends who were not able to meet the high standards for entrance at Benedictine colleges like Belmont Abbey and instead had to attend such other minor universities such as those founded by the Jesuits or the Holy Cross fathers in some desolate, cold cornfield (you know who you are Ken, Mike, Sam, et. al) may now enjoy the benefits of the Benedictines beyond the brandy.
Memorial of Saint Benedict, abbot
But Joseph replied to them: "Have no fear. Can I take the place of God? Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve his present end, the survival of many people. Therefore have no fear. I will provide for you and for your children." By thus speaking kindly to them, he reassured them. Genesis 50:19-21
"Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Matthew 10:26-28
On this the feast day for the Benedictine order as well as for our Pope, our Tripod brings in some key passages from the prologue to the Rule of St. Benedict which also (I pray) help and inspire us to fulfill our spiritual journey of piety, study and action.
HAPPY ST BENEDICT'S DAY TO ALL!
Piety
Listen carefully to my instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is advice from one who loves you; welcome it, and faithfully put it into practice. The labor of obedience will bring you back to one from whom you had drifted through the sloth of disobedience. This message of mine is for you, then, if you are ready to give up your own will, once and for all, and armed with the strong and noble weapons of obedience to do battle for Jesus, the Christ.
First of all, every time you begin a good work, you must pray to God most earnestly to bring it to perfection. In God's goodness, we are already counted as God's own, and therefore we should never grieve God by our evil actions. With the good gifts which are in us, we must obey God at all times that God may never become the angry parent who disinherits us, nor the dreaded one, enraged by our sins, who punishes us forever as worthless servants for refusing to follow the way to glory.
Study
Let us get up then, at long last, for the Scriptures rouse us when they say: "It is high time for us to arise from sleep (Rom. 13:11)." Let us open our eyes to the light that comes from God, and our ears to the voice from the heavens that every day calls out this charge: "If you hear God's voice today, do not harden your hearts (Ps. 95:8)." And again: "You that have ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches (Rev. 2:7)." And what does the Spirit say? "Come and listen to me; I will teach you the fear of God (Ps. 34:12)." "Run while you have the light" of life, "that the darkness" of death "may not overtake you (Jn. 12:35)."
Benedict, long before anyone thought of Cursillo, focused his students and companions on two core principles – “Ora” (prayer) and “Labora” (work). When the monks would break from work, at meals eaten in silence, one would read aloud. After Vigils (prayer at night) they would study scripture, the psalter and “explanations of scripture by reputable and orthodox writers.”
The traditional hospitality of the monks at Belmont was marked by, among other acts, always inviting the visitor to join them for meals when passing through or visiting the college. When you reach the dining room, rather than hearing the low hum of many table discussions over lunch or dinner, the room was united in holy silence while another monk read aloud from a selected book.
Further on in the Prologue, Benedict echoes the reassurance of the readings from Genesis and Matthew to us today. He does not want us to shy away from his road to salvation. The road is not one to be explored by wandering but through a disciplined yet flexible program of prayer, work and study -- the precursor and model to our Cursillo school of leaders.
We intend to establish a school for God's service. In drawing up its regulations, we hope to set down nothing harsh, nothing burdensome. The good of all concerned, however, may prompt us to a little strictness in order to amend faults and to safeguard love. Do not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads to salvation. It is bound to be narrow at the outset. But as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God's commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love. Never swerving from God's instructions, then, but faithfully observing God's teaching in the monastery until death, we shall through patience share in the sufferings of Christ that we may deserve also to share in God’s eternal presence. Amen.
Action
If we wish to dwell in God's tent, we will never arrive unless we run there by doing good deeds. But let us ask with the prophet: "Who will dwell in your tent, O God; who will find rest upon your holy mountain (Ps. 15:1)?" After this question, then, let us listen well to what God says in reply, for we are shown the way to God's tent. "Those who walk without blemish and are just in all dealings; who speak truth from the heart and have not practiced deceit; who have not wronged another in any way, nor listened to slanders against a neighbor (Ps. 15:2-3)."
Doing “good works” for others in the monastery and in the community also is central to the Benedictine life.
In Chapter 4 of the rule, Benedict continues to outline the tools for good works which differ from those we pursue every day:
Your way of acting should be different from the world's way; the love of Christ must come before all else. You are not to act in anger or nurse a grudge. Rid your heart of all deceit. Never give a hollow greeting of peace or turn away when someone needs your love. Bind yourself to no oath lest it prove false, but speak the truth with heart and tongue. "Do not repay one bad turn with another (1 Thes. 5:15; 1 Pt. 3:9)." Do not injure anyone, but bear injuries patiently. "Love your enemies (Mt. 5:44; Lk. 6:27)." If people curse you, do not curse them back but bless them instead. "Endure persecution for the sake of justice (Mt. 5:10)."
Maybe the National Cursillo office should add St. Benedict as another patron saint of Cursillo. As an added advantage, all of our friends who were not able to meet the high standards for entrance at Benedictine colleges like Belmont Abbey and instead had to attend such other minor universities such as those founded by the Jesuits or the Holy Cross fathers in some desolate, cold cornfield (you know who you are Ken, Mike, Sam, et. al) may now enjoy the benefits of the Benedictines beyond the brandy.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
The Spirit of Your Father Speaking through You
Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
By Melanie Rigney
... God, speaking to Israel in a vision by night, called, “Jacob! Jacob!” He answered, “Here I am.” Then he said: “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you a great nation. Not only will I go down to Egypt with you; I will also bring you back here, after Joseph has closed your eyes.” (Genesis 46:2-4)
The Lord watches over the days of the blameless; their heritage lasts forever. They will not be disgraced when times are hard; in days of famine they will have plenty. (Psalms 37:18-19)
Jesus said to his Apostles: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Matthew 10:16-20)
Piety
Lord, speak through me when I encounter the pharaohs, wolves, governors, and kings in my life. Let me get out of the way so You can change their lives.
Study
Some people don’t want to listen to God. They blame Him for their problems, they find it difficult to accept His presence, they wonder how there can be a God when bad things happen to good people.
They also don’t want to listen to other people talk about God and their faith and their passion for belief. They find such conversations boring, tiresome, and unbelievable. They don’t recognize the fire. And that’s the problem when we lecture our friends, neighbors, and relatives about the importance of having a stronger relationship with God. We plan out and worry over what to say and how to say it, as if it’s our own message we’re carrying rather than letting the Spirit take over.
In today’s first reading, Jacob has resolved to take all he has to see his beloved son Joseph before Jacob dies. Don’t worry, God tells him; it’s going to be all right. I’ll go with you.
Jesus tells the Apostles the same thing in the Gospel reading: Don’t worry about what to say when you’re handed over to the nonbelievers; it’s going to be all right. God will give you the words. His Spirit will be with you.
I spent decades avoiding people who talked about God and going to church and praise Jesus. When I finally did listen, it was because God manifested Himself in people who talked instead about their own struggles and how God was with them through the loss of family members, health issues, career crises, and other challenges.
Micromanagement isn’t a good idea in your family, your parish, your workplace, or your ministry. Don’t question why you are sent to nonbelievers; like Jacob, say, “Here I am” with the confidence you’ll have the help you need.
Action
Someone you think doesn’t have a relationship with Christ is trying to find one. Be open to sharing your story, unvarnished, with him or her.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Without Cost You Are To Give
July 9, 2009
Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Saint Augustine Zhao Rong, priest and martyr, and his companions, martyrs
"Come closer to me," he told his brothers. When they had done so, he said: "I am your brother Joseph, whom you once sold into Egypt. But now do not be distressed, and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here. It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you.” Genesis 45:1-5
As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Matthew 10:7-8
Piety
Dear Lord, can the kingdom of heaven really be at hand? Are we that close to the utopian, everlasting life you promise when we “follow” you? Maybe I have it pretty good in this life and world but so many others do not. This is a time of uncertainty just like it was when Mary and Joseph trekked to Bethlehem for the census. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive our selfishness. Lead us not into sin and keep us from the reaches of those who would blind us to the needs of the poor. Amen.
Study
The model of servant-leader that Jesus portrayed is so embedded into today’s Bible stories that it is hard to disconnect Joseph’s benevolence from that of the Messiah who came after him – the Messiah providing food and drink for everlasting life. The fact that unselfish charity in the face of cruelty is the model upon which Jesus wants us to base our lives also comes through loud and clear in the commissioning of the disciples in Matthew 10. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
These scriptures come to us in a new light – the light of Charity in Truth, the fourth encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI. In this new document, Benedict weaves a consistent ethic of economic life along side a consistent ethic of social life. The sacramental ethics of life are firmly rooted in the sacred scripture and in the foundation of Catholic Social Teaching. Caritas in Veritas adds another stone to the rocks of the Church laid by Pope Paul VI with Populorum Progressio and John Paul II with Sollicitudo rei socialis. This tradition continues to apply the teachings of the church to our present moment – a tradition reaching back to the economic encyclical Rerum Novarum by Leo XIII on Capital and Labor from May 1891.
These Holy Fathers and the late John Cardinal Bernardin might be smiling as they read this document in light of the historical continuity and unity of message preached and imperfectly practiced over these centuries. However, neither they nor we should be smiling at the persistently inequitable economic conditions that persist and expand in our world today marked especially by the ever-widening divides between the rich and the middle and the middle and the poor.
The new encyclical is Pope Benedict’s latest wake-up call to us…a wake up call no less urgent than the one felt by Joseph when he reached the epiphany that his slavery paved the way for him to be in a place and moment in which he could save his family from hunger. As John Paul II noted, “time maintains a constant and unchanging rhythm. Today however we have the impression that it is passing ever more quickly, especially by reason of the multiplication and complexity of the phenomena in the midst of which we live.” Such an observation is every more important in today’s situation where not only do millions of people live on $2 per day or less, eat dirt paste made into cookies in the hot tropical sun, and lack basic food, water, clothing and medicine while even the criminals in our society have their needs met more adequately than free people find in the developing world.
We need another Joseph to come into the world and lead us by example so we can be inspired to greatness to alleviate the suffering of our extended families. Rather than focusing on the death and life of another celebrity, maybe we need to plant our feet firmly on the ground so we see the needs surrounding us as we reach for the heavens to alleviate that suffering rather than leaving flowers at the gates of Buckingham Palace, Neverland, or wherever the next instant memorial will be erected by adoring fans.
Action
We can not count on the forces of the world to do good in and of themselves. That is why Pope Benedict reminds us, “The sharing of goods and resources, from which authentic development proceeds, is not guaranteed by merely technical progress and relationships of utility, but by the potential of love that overcomes evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21), opening up the path towards reciprocity of consciences and liberties.”
This is the trail that Joseph blazed in Genesis. This is the path that the disciples followed when commissioned to go out into the world. This is the direction in which we are invited, urged and commanded to follow if we are truly followers of Jesus.
What are we to do in our jobs in light of massive unemployment? What are we to do with our savings in light of scarce resources elsewhere? What are we to do about the dream of retirement when so many in the world will never retire until they rest in God?
Pope Benedict tries hard to wake us up. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers to these moral and ethical quandaries that we balance when we accept the invitation from Jesus to “Follow me.”
Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Saint Augustine Zhao Rong, priest and martyr, and his companions, martyrs
"Come closer to me," he told his brothers. When they had done so, he said: "I am your brother Joseph, whom you once sold into Egypt. But now do not be distressed, and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here. It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you.” Genesis 45:1-5
As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Matthew 10:7-8
Piety
Dear Lord, can the kingdom of heaven really be at hand? Are we that close to the utopian, everlasting life you promise when we “follow” you? Maybe I have it pretty good in this life and world but so many others do not. This is a time of uncertainty just like it was when Mary and Joseph trekked to Bethlehem for the census. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive our selfishness. Lead us not into sin and keep us from the reaches of those who would blind us to the needs of the poor. Amen.
Study
The model of servant-leader that Jesus portrayed is so embedded into today’s Bible stories that it is hard to disconnect Joseph’s benevolence from that of the Messiah who came after him – the Messiah providing food and drink for everlasting life. The fact that unselfish charity in the face of cruelty is the model upon which Jesus wants us to base our lives also comes through loud and clear in the commissioning of the disciples in Matthew 10. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
These scriptures come to us in a new light – the light of Charity in Truth, the fourth encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI. In this new document, Benedict weaves a consistent ethic of economic life along side a consistent ethic of social life. The sacramental ethics of life are firmly rooted in the sacred scripture and in the foundation of Catholic Social Teaching. Caritas in Veritas adds another stone to the rocks of the Church laid by Pope Paul VI with Populorum Progressio and John Paul II with Sollicitudo rei socialis. This tradition continues to apply the teachings of the church to our present moment – a tradition reaching back to the economic encyclical Rerum Novarum by Leo XIII on Capital and Labor from May 1891.
These Holy Fathers and the late John Cardinal Bernardin might be smiling as they read this document in light of the historical continuity and unity of message preached and imperfectly practiced over these centuries. However, neither they nor we should be smiling at the persistently inequitable economic conditions that persist and expand in our world today marked especially by the ever-widening divides between the rich and the middle and the middle and the poor.
The new encyclical is Pope Benedict’s latest wake-up call to us…a wake up call no less urgent than the one felt by Joseph when he reached the epiphany that his slavery paved the way for him to be in a place and moment in which he could save his family from hunger. As John Paul II noted, “time maintains a constant and unchanging rhythm. Today however we have the impression that it is passing ever more quickly, especially by reason of the multiplication and complexity of the phenomena in the midst of which we live.” Such an observation is every more important in today’s situation where not only do millions of people live on $2 per day or less, eat dirt paste made into cookies in the hot tropical sun, and lack basic food, water, clothing and medicine while even the criminals in our society have their needs met more adequately than free people find in the developing world.
We need another Joseph to come into the world and lead us by example so we can be inspired to greatness to alleviate the suffering of our extended families. Rather than focusing on the death and life of another celebrity, maybe we need to plant our feet firmly on the ground so we see the needs surrounding us as we reach for the heavens to alleviate that suffering rather than leaving flowers at the gates of Buckingham Palace, Neverland, or wherever the next instant memorial will be erected by adoring fans.
Action
We can not count on the forces of the world to do good in and of themselves. That is why Pope Benedict reminds us, “The sharing of goods and resources, from which authentic development proceeds, is not guaranteed by merely technical progress and relationships of utility, but by the potential of love that overcomes evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21), opening up the path towards reciprocity of consciences and liberties.”
This is the trail that Joseph blazed in Genesis. This is the path that the disciples followed when commissioned to go out into the world. This is the direction in which we are invited, urged and commanded to follow if we are truly followers of Jesus.
What are we to do in our jobs in light of massive unemployment? What are we to do with our savings in light of scarce resources elsewhere? What are we to do about the dream of retirement when so many in the world will never retire until they rest in God?
Pope Benedict tries hard to wake us up. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers to these moral and ethical quandaries that we balance when we accept the invitation from Jesus to “Follow me.”
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
To The Lost Sheep
July 8, 2009
Piety
(From the conclusion of Caritas In Veritate)
Christians long for the entire human family to call upon God as “Our Father!” In union with the only-begotten Son, may all people learn to pray to the Father and to ask him, in the words that Jesus himself taught us, for the grace to glorify him by living according to his will, to receive the daily bread that we need, to be understanding and generous towards our debtors, not to be tempted beyond our limits, and to be delivered from evil (cf. Mt 6:9-13).
“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor” (Rom 12:9-10). May the Virgin Mary — proclaimed Mater Ecclesiae by Paul VI and honored by Christians as Speculum Iustitiae and
Study
When we think of people left behind or left out of worldwide economic prosperity, today’s Gospel helps us remember to focus on these lost sheep. In addition, the latest encyclical released by Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday “Charity in Truth” emphasized that “Each person finds his good by adherence to God's plan for him, in order to realize it fully: in this plan, he finds his truth, and through adherence to this truth he becomes free (cf. Jn 8:22).” Today’s readings we witness Joseph fulfilling that role and the disciples being sent out to reach for the lost sheep.
Charity goes beyond justice, because to love is to give, to offer what is “mine” to the other; but it never lacks justice, which prompts us to give the other what is “his”, what is due to him by reason of his being or his acting. I cannot “give” what is mine to the other, without first giving him what pertains to him in justice.
Reading on in the encyclical in light of today’s reading about Joseph and his charity toward the brothers who abandoned him into slavery helps us realize the challenge that Pope Benedict is trying to frame in this discussion. In the excerpt below, the bold has been added for emphasis.
Love in truth — caritas in veritate — is a great challenge for the Church in a world that is becoming progressively and pervasively globalized. The risk for our time is that the de facto interdependence of people and nations is not matched by ethical interaction of consciences and minds that would give rise to truly human development.
The sharing of goods and resources, like the generosity we see exhibited by Joseph, from which authentic development proceeds, is not guaranteed by merely technical progress and relationships of utility, but by the potential of love that overcomes evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21), opening up the path towards reciprocity of consciences and liberties. We see Joseph’s spirit of love overcome any emotional reaction he might have had towards the cruelty inflicted by his brothers.
You can read the whole encyclical here. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate_en.html
Action
With the accelerated pace and explosion of worldwide interdependence, makes us really focus on the lost sheep of the worldwide economic system. Pope Benedict writes:
The great challenge before us, accentuated by the problems of development in this global era and made even more urgent by the economic and financial crisis, is to demonstrate, in thinking and behavior, not only that traditional principles of social ethics like transparency, honesty and responsibility cannot be ignored or attenuated, but also that in commercial relationships the principle of gratuitousness and the logic of gift as an expression of fraternity can and must find their place within normal economic activity. This is a human demand at the present time, but it is also demanded by economic logic. It is a demand both of charity and of truth.
What are you doing to build the common good in light of the teachings we encounter daily and the reality of the shrinking interdependent world around us?
Monday, July 06, 2009
His Heart Was Moved With Pity
July 7, 2009
Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
By Beth DeCristofaro
Jacob named the place Peniel, "Because I have seen God face to face," he said, "yet my life has been spared." (Genesis 32:31)
In justice, I shall behold your face, O Lord. From you let my judgment come; your eyes behold what is right. (Psalm 17: 1-2)
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest." (Matthew 9:35-38)
Piety
Jesus, help me with confrontation I might meet as I try to follow you. May I stand strong in the face of resistance from others, knowing that you are with me. May I be weak and fall back on you when I encounter resistance within myself. Each day I will take up your mission for me with gladness. I know that you will heal me as I need; help me to offer your healing to those I meet. With trust in your mercy and love, Amen.
Study
Jesus knows that the leaders are denouncing him and plotting against him but he continues to be with those in need, people “troubled and abandoned”.
Years ago, a dear friend told me that “the more toys you own, the more you are owned and weighed down by your toys”. I often think of her words, when I find myself “caught” by one of my toys. This weekend, for example, I am painting a room and will be painting another next weekend. These rooms need it, neither having been painted since their adolescent owners grew up. Painting, itself, I enjoy. The preparation and moving of every blessed thing within the space is tedious, boring and frankly exhausting to me. This kind of chore will often frustrate me and I can become cranky.
What can Jesus’ gentle action say to me? His message to me is one of priorities. On one level, Jesus’ life reminds me to choose my “toys” carefully. Upkeep of a home is necessary – stewardship is an important virtue whether it is of our possessions, our environment, or our social order. But how much time do I invest and in what manner? Do I spend for only the best and only the most put-together, forward design? Do I neglect my friends and family because something needs to be vacuumed, cleaned or redecorated? Is this “toy” a focus rather than a duty?
On another level, how do I accomplish my duties? Am I cranky and unyielding? Do I abuse my family members as I request their help but criticize their work? Do I shut them out and request that they leave me alone? Are there strict rules which I demand everyone follow and pout when it doesn’t happen? And am I offended when no one jumps in to assist me…even if I do not ask for assistance? Bottom line: do I really want to spend time with dry wall and tape rather than my husband or kids?
Jesus’ deep awareness of the needs of those around him can offer me a model. I can look at these chores as a duty of love and an opportunity for “walking meditation”. Being mindful of work, as the Benedictines are, is an opportunity for prayer and self-awareness. Rather than blowing up when the paint drips on the carpet, I can take a moment to ask God for patience and love for the person (even if it was me) who caused the drip.
Action
Be aware for what I am laboring. Jacob labored long and hard with the divine. Are my efforts toward the divine? Am I stuck in superficialities rather than free, grounded in the grace of God? Jacob was struck and rendered lame by his struggles with the divine. Do I find myself lamed by my anger, rigidity, judgments, expectations that can only be met in God? After all, in a few years I will be painting these rooms again!
During your next routine chore, give in to it as a space to meet God by meeting yourself. Be aware of God’s presence and be aware of how you are meeting this chore. Are you a gateway for God to enter the world or a blocked up opening?
Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
By Beth DeCristofaro
Jacob named the place Peniel, "Because I have seen God face to face," he said, "yet my life has been spared." (Genesis 32:31)
In justice, I shall behold your face, O Lord. From you let my judgment come; your eyes behold what is right. (Psalm 17: 1-2)
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest." (Matthew 9:35-38)
Piety
Jesus, help me with confrontation I might meet as I try to follow you. May I stand strong in the face of resistance from others, knowing that you are with me. May I be weak and fall back on you when I encounter resistance within myself. Each day I will take up your mission for me with gladness. I know that you will heal me as I need; help me to offer your healing to those I meet. With trust in your mercy and love, Amen.
Study
Jesus knows that the leaders are denouncing him and plotting against him but he continues to be with those in need, people “troubled and abandoned”.
Years ago, a dear friend told me that “the more toys you own, the more you are owned and weighed down by your toys”. I often think of her words, when I find myself “caught” by one of my toys. This weekend, for example, I am painting a room and will be painting another next weekend. These rooms need it, neither having been painted since their adolescent owners grew up. Painting, itself, I enjoy. The preparation and moving of every blessed thing within the space is tedious, boring and frankly exhausting to me. This kind of chore will often frustrate me and I can become cranky.
What can Jesus’ gentle action say to me? His message to me is one of priorities. On one level, Jesus’ life reminds me to choose my “toys” carefully. Upkeep of a home is necessary – stewardship is an important virtue whether it is of our possessions, our environment, or our social order. But how much time do I invest and in what manner? Do I spend for only the best and only the most put-together, forward design? Do I neglect my friends and family because something needs to be vacuumed, cleaned or redecorated? Is this “toy” a focus rather than a duty?
On another level, how do I accomplish my duties? Am I cranky and unyielding? Do I abuse my family members as I request their help but criticize their work? Do I shut them out and request that they leave me alone? Are there strict rules which I demand everyone follow and pout when it doesn’t happen? And am I offended when no one jumps in to assist me…even if I do not ask for assistance? Bottom line: do I really want to spend time with dry wall and tape rather than my husband or kids?
Jesus’ deep awareness of the needs of those around him can offer me a model. I can look at these chores as a duty of love and an opportunity for “walking meditation”. Being mindful of work, as the Benedictines are, is an opportunity for prayer and self-awareness. Rather than blowing up when the paint drips on the carpet, I can take a moment to ask God for patience and love for the person (even if it was me) who caused the drip.
Action
Be aware for what I am laboring. Jacob labored long and hard with the divine. Are my efforts toward the divine? Am I stuck in superficialities rather than free, grounded in the grace of God? Jacob was struck and rendered lame by his struggles with the divine. Do I find myself lamed by my anger, rigidity, judgments, expectations that can only be met in God? After all, in a few years I will be painting these rooms again!
During your next routine chore, give in to it as a space to meet God by meeting yourself. Be aware of God’s presence and be aware of how you are meeting this chore. Are you a gateway for God to enter the world or a blocked up opening?
Sunday, July 05, 2009
What I Promised
Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
And there was the LORD standing beside him and saying: "I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you are lying I will give to you and your descendants. These shall be as plentiful as the dust of the earth, and through them you shall spread out east and west, north and south. In you and your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing. Know that I am with you; I will protect you wherever you go, and bring you back to this land. I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you." Genesis 28:13-15
When Jesus arrived at the official's house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, he said, "Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping." And they ridiculed him. When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. Matthew 9:23-25
Piety
Whoever clings to me I will deliver; whoever knows my name I will set on high. All who call upon me I will answer; I will be with them in distress; I will deliver them and give them honor. Psalm 91:14-15
Study
I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you.
Just eight days ago, we heard Mark’s version of today’s Gospel story in the Sunday readings. Now, we have Matthew’s version matched with the story of Jacob’s dream and the Lord’s promise (covenant) to him and his descendants.
Covenant is an interesting word that is used a lot in the Bible. Contract is a much more familiar word in our society. A contract implies a two-way mutual agreement. Covenant is much more unilateral or one-way. A covenant may imply action on another party – say Jacob, Abraham or us. However, a covenant does not require such action. As such, a covenant can only be broken by the person who makes the promise.
The Lord does not break his promises. The Lord followed through on his promise to Jacob by sending Jesus to be with us. When Jesus was with us, he followed through on his promises. Take his promise to the Roman official whose daughter was dead. It did not matter that the man was not Jewish.
Nothing would stop him from putting the Word into action. The woman hemorrhaging did not keep Jesus from pursing his goal to heal the young girl. The neighbors telling Jesus that the girl had died did not distract him.
I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you.
Action
How are we doing on our promises to Jesus? What distractions get in the way of giving our full attention to being a follower? How can we keep our promises to troubled children today like Christ kept his promise two thousand years ago?
One of our nation’s largest homeless shelters for runaway and abandoned youth takes its name from covenant…Covenant House. Incorporated in New York City in 1972, Covenant House has facilities in 21 cities throughout the United States, Canada, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua. Food, clothing, shelter for a night: given freely, with no questions asked, no strings attached, for any hurting, homeless youth who will knock on its door tonight. "Programs" is just another way of saying that Covenant House promises to keep loving these children unconditionally, because a covenant never quits, never fails, and never stops believing in the future.
The agency is working right here in Washington, D.C. too. (http://www.covenanthouse.org/ab_loc_washingtondc.html) Located in the nation's capital, Covenant House Washington was established in May 1995 to address widespread problems of homelessness and poverty among teenagers and young adults. Operating with an open intake process, no youth in crisis is ever turned away. The agency offers an array of programs to ensure that youth have a reasonable chance to live a productive lifestyle.
The Covenant House NINELINE (1-800-999-9999 / www.NINELINE.org) received and immediately responded to more than 48,000 crisis calls from youngsters all over the United States who needed immediate help and had nowhere else to turn.
Each day, more kids need to be saved. As our economy worsens, many more kids are finding themselves on the streets and in desperate need. Now more than ever these kids are turning to Covenant House for shelter, food, clothing, counseling, and a sense of hope that we can provide. Consider making a gift or volunteering for Covenant House today.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Perfect in Weakness
Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Rev. Joseph McCloskey, S.J.
Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you. But you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD! And whether they heed or resist--for they are a rebellious house--they shall know that a prophet has been among them. Ezekiel 2:4-5
“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. 2 Corinthians 12:9
Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house." So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. Mark 6:4-6
Piety
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place.” A saying that goes all the way back to the scriptures and Mark 6:1-5 when Christ taught in the synagogue of his native place is still true today. We all form snap judgments on people we do not really know and leave them caught in the first impressions we had of them. How hard it is to let people go on growing if we are not open to growth ourselves? We have all the encouragement in the world to go on growing in our knowledge of the good things of each other. Goodness generates more of the same. We might not be the most competitive people in the world, but love always generates the need of a reply in more of the same kind. Good example generates goodness in all who see with their hearts what is going on with another. Respect flows out of knowing the good each other does. If we are honest with ourselves we can be honest with each other. When I see how often a compliment makes me do better, I realize there can never really be a good reason for not acknowledging the good another does. When I realize that to call a prophet a prophet is to earn the reward of a prophet; to call a good person a good person, the reward of a good person, I can see the benefits that come from the genuine admiration of another.
Study
It is all too true that negatives damage the world we live in. How long afterwards the memory of a listened to negative about another lives on! How hard it is to clean the memory of the negatives that live on with the smell of the rotten eggs of corruption in our world. The goodness of piety is its own reward. It makes possible so much more goodness in each other that we scarcely ever realize the influence we can have by good example lived in our lives with others. We can taste and see the goodness of the Lord. And it is true of the good people of our lives. Study of the goodness that surrounds us in life makes it so much easier to be a good person. Thorns in our flesh are hard to live with and we need to invite the strength of the Lord to replace our evil and our negativity. The hard of face and the obstinate of heart are hard people to work with if we do not bring to our everyday an apostolic plan to do something positive about the negatives of life around us.
Action
A prophet is one that runs ahead of the crowd and is seen by others. The grace of Christ needs to be in our plan to do good and avoid evil. The power of Christ is made perfect in our weakness. Christ dwells with us when we put up with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints for the sake of Christ. When we face our weaknesses for the sake of Christ, we are truly strong. In the strength of Christ we will never be mere carpenters of Nazareth. It is Christ who sends us when we try to do good in his name. He is our Way, our Truth and our Life. Those who accept us when we are working for Christ, accept Christ and the one who sent him. It is our relationship to Christ in what we do in his name that makes out of our work prayer and makes us into Contemplatives in Action. Thus the Spirit of the Lord is truly upon us.
Friday, July 03, 2009
Fresh Wineskins
July 4, 2009
Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
“May God give to you of the dew of the heavens and of the fertility of the earth abundance of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations pay you homage; be master of your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, and blessed be those who bless you.” Genesis 27:27-29
“No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:16-17
Piety
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them (as their God). He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, (for) the old order has passed away.” The one who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Revelation 21:1-5a
Study
The notes to the New American Bible for this passage from Matthew point out that this and other parables in the Good News address “the unsuitability of attempting to combine the old and the new.” In so many ways, Jesus’ teaching did not patch up Judaism, nor can the Good News be contained within the limits of Mosaic Law. Jesus goes beyond Mosaic Law and crafts something entirely new out of the old.
In the same way, there is nothing suitable about Jacob’s behavior in the reading from Genesis. He tried to disguise himself as his brother in order to curry favor with his blind father. Obtaining a blessing under such false pretenses is dishonest and does not build a proper relationship with the Abba who knows everything. Jacob’s behavior does not even show respect for Mosaic law – the law which will be replaced by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, Esau also gave up his birthright as firstborn in exchange for a meal to fulfill his daily desires. So, his behavior also is nothing exemplary. Despite the behavior of the sons, the generous loving father shines through.
Instead of recounting the story of Jacob and Esau, Jesus retold the story of Israel with the parable of the prodigal son. Jesus makes all things new. In the new wineskin, the back story of jealousy and sibling rivalry is still seen in the older brother’s anger at the Father who forgave the younger son for running away. However, the Father overcomes the sibling rivalry and rival for inheritance by dividing his wealth (his love) among both sons. Instead of only one son getting a blessing, the son who stays has constant access to the Father’s love and the son who returns is restored to the Father’s love.
Jesus was the new wineskin of salvation history. He constantly looked for new ways to open the eyes of his followers with symbolism as well as in parables so that people would reflect the newness in the ways that they behaved.
Action
How do we find new ways to look at our past, present and future? One way I like to open my eyes is to constantly look for new perspectives from people around us. I find that Washington, DC Catholic poet-activist-writer Rose Berger, is someone whose writing constantly challenges me to open my eyes to new ways to look at our surroundings.
Just like Jesus’ stories intended to have his audiences revisit the way they looked at things old and new, Rose Berger’s perspective also has that affect on me. Check out her view of the scene at her local gas station in this column from last fall.
http://rosemarieberger.com/2008/09/09/keeping-an-eye-on-things/
Open your eyes today to a new way of viewing the ordinary and obvious on this the 233rd anniversary of replacing an old form of government with a new wineskin. Happy Independence Day.
Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
“May God give to you of the dew of the heavens and of the fertility of the earth abundance of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations pay you homage; be master of your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, and blessed be those who bless you.” Genesis 27:27-29
“No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:16-17
Piety
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them (as their God). He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, (for) the old order has passed away.” The one who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Revelation 21:1-5a
Study
The notes to the New American Bible for this passage from Matthew point out that this and other parables in the Good News address “the unsuitability of attempting to combine the old and the new.” In so many ways, Jesus’ teaching did not patch up Judaism, nor can the Good News be contained within the limits of Mosaic Law. Jesus goes beyond Mosaic Law and crafts something entirely new out of the old.
In the same way, there is nothing suitable about Jacob’s behavior in the reading from Genesis. He tried to disguise himself as his brother in order to curry favor with his blind father. Obtaining a blessing under such false pretenses is dishonest and does not build a proper relationship with the Abba who knows everything. Jacob’s behavior does not even show respect for Mosaic law – the law which will be replaced by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, Esau also gave up his birthright as firstborn in exchange for a meal to fulfill his daily desires. So, his behavior also is nothing exemplary. Despite the behavior of the sons, the generous loving father shines through.
Instead of recounting the story of Jacob and Esau, Jesus retold the story of Israel with the parable of the prodigal son. Jesus makes all things new. In the new wineskin, the back story of jealousy and sibling rivalry is still seen in the older brother’s anger at the Father who forgave the younger son for running away. However, the Father overcomes the sibling rivalry and rival for inheritance by dividing his wealth (his love) among both sons. Instead of only one son getting a blessing, the son who stays has constant access to the Father’s love and the son who returns is restored to the Father’s love.
Jesus was the new wineskin of salvation history. He constantly looked for new ways to open the eyes of his followers with symbolism as well as in parables so that people would reflect the newness in the ways that they behaved.
Action
How do we find new ways to look at our past, present and future? One way I like to open my eyes is to constantly look for new perspectives from people around us. I find that Washington, DC Catholic poet-activist-writer Rose Berger, is someone whose writing constantly challenges me to open my eyes to new ways to look at our surroundings.
Just like Jesus’ stories intended to have his audiences revisit the way they looked at things old and new, Rose Berger’s perspective also has that affect on me. Check out her view of the scene at her local gas station in this column from last fall.
http://rosemarieberger.com/2008/09/09/keeping-an-eye-on-things/
Open your eyes today to a new way of viewing the ordinary and obvious on this the 233rd anniversary of replacing an old form of government with a new wineskin. Happy Independence Day.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Being Built Together into a Dwelling Place of God
Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle
By Melanie Rigney
You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)
Praise the Lord, all you nations! Give glory, all you peoples! The Lord’s love for us is strong; the Lord is faithful forever. Hallelujah! (Psalms 117:1-2)
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord.” But Thomas said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." (John 20:24-25)
Piety
O God, with whom every good thing has its beginning, and through whom it is improved and increased: grant, we beseech Thee to us who cry to Thee, that this work, which we are beginning for the praise of Thy name, may be happily brought to completion through the neverfailing gift of Thy fatherly wisdom. Through Christ our Lord Amen. (Blessing of the Cornerstone of a New Building, translated by the Most Reverend J. H. Schlarman, Bishop of Peoria, Illinois, 1930-1951)
Study
Poor Thomas. He just didn’t get it. It was beyond his comprehension or that of the other apostles that God was there with them all the time, whether they could see Christ or not, whether they could touch him or not. God was there in them as well, though it took the coming of the Holy Spirit for Thomas and the others to understand that God could act in them as well as in Christ. They were part of what Paul calls the household of God.
Poor us. We just don’t get it either. We see God’s presence in the ones we admire and love, in their sacrifices and gifts large and small. Maybe it’s our parents or spiritual director or Cursillo sponsor or group reunion members. But being a Christian isn’t about standing on the edge of the property and admiring the temple’s framing and craftsmanship; it’s about letting God and His incredibly strong love turn each of us into His dwelling place.
We are continually under construction. Sometimes it seems to us the mortar is a little runny, the beams a little rough. Still, we are by our baptism made part of a place with the strongest of foundations. Use the Cursillo principles of piety, action, and study to open yourself to the Master Builder’s honing and planing.
Action
What part of your construction project is most in need of some special attention? Discuss your plans with a trusted friend.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
To The Test
July 2, 2009
Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Some time after these events, God put Abraham to the test. He called to him, “Abraham!” “Ready!” he replied. Then God said: “Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you.” Genesis 22:1-2
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, “Why do you harbor evil thoughts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” -- he then said to the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” Matthew 9:4-6
Piety
Father in heaven, we pray that you will not put us to the test that you had for Abraham, Sarah and Isaac. Instead test us in how we treat our children lovingly, how we raise them supportively, and in how we allow them to follow their hearts out into the world freely. Holy Spirit, give us the fortitude to allow them the freedom to choose their own path in life wherever it leads, even if it is into places that may try our nerves. Allow us to support them and set them free from wherever they are so that they will return to us like the prodigal, with your spirit alive and arisen in them. We pray this in the name of your Son our Lord, Jesus Christ who gives us everything that is good. Amen.
Study
Yesterday, we saw how Abraham turned his back on his illegitimate son Ishmael and the slave Hagar. Today, we see the same man ready to give up his other son Isaac.
After waiting for so long in order to have his sons, Abraham now shows that he is willing to give up both. After Abraham turned his back on Hagar and Ishmael out of selfish reasons, (or maybe because of that action), God puts him to the test with the life of Isaac.
What thoughts were going through Abraham’s head as he walked Isaac up to the sacrificial altar? Was he thinking about Ishmael and Hagar? Did he feel any guilt for banishing them from his camp? Did he feel guilt because he was about to commit murder in the name of the Lord? Did Abraham feel a double sense of loss and perhaps an extra obligation to follow God’s command because of how he treated the slave and her son?
In today’s Gospel from Matthew, Jesus knows what the scribes were thinking and was able to confront their thoughts. With these two lessons juxtaposed, I am left with a question: Didn’t God know what Abraham was thinking, too? Didn’t God know that Abraham would carry out the instructions? But with Abraham’s free will, the Lord wanted to see how Abraham would act.
God put Abraham to the test not to test his thoughts but to test his actions. However, the scribes tried to put Jesus to the test, NOT to test his actions but to test his motivations and power.
Action
Every day is a test for us…a test about our desires and passions. What makes us get out of bed? What drives us to do the things we do? Hopefully, we can be more like Abraham who obeys God not only in his thoughts but also in his actions.
The recent coup in Honduras has a special group of people nervous. A group of volunteers are soon to embark on a mission to work at the Amigos de Jesus orphanage in the rural Santa Barbara district of this Central American nation. Yet the current political upheaval may have made these young adults as nervous as some of their parents (What? Me Worry?).
Some may choose to stay home because of this event. However, think also of the people in Honduras who have no choice but to stay and live in poverty through this crisis. Keep in your prayers the people of Honduras that God will arise in their lives through the outreach of these missionaries who have accepted the test to pick up their cross and follow Him to Macuelizo, the town where the orphanage is located. Pray also for the return of peace and the restoration of democracy in Honduras, Haiti and everywhere around the world.
Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Some time after these events, God put Abraham to the test. He called to him, “Abraham!” “Ready!” he replied. Then God said: “Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you.” Genesis 22:1-2
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, “Why do you harbor evil thoughts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” -- he then said to the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” Matthew 9:4-6
Piety
Father in heaven, we pray that you will not put us to the test that you had for Abraham, Sarah and Isaac. Instead test us in how we treat our children lovingly, how we raise them supportively, and in how we allow them to follow their hearts out into the world freely. Holy Spirit, give us the fortitude to allow them the freedom to choose their own path in life wherever it leads, even if it is into places that may try our nerves. Allow us to support them and set them free from wherever they are so that they will return to us like the prodigal, with your spirit alive and arisen in them. We pray this in the name of your Son our Lord, Jesus Christ who gives us everything that is good. Amen.
Study
Yesterday, we saw how Abraham turned his back on his illegitimate son Ishmael and the slave Hagar. Today, we see the same man ready to give up his other son Isaac.
After waiting for so long in order to have his sons, Abraham now shows that he is willing to give up both. After Abraham turned his back on Hagar and Ishmael out of selfish reasons, (or maybe because of that action), God puts him to the test with the life of Isaac.
What thoughts were going through Abraham’s head as he walked Isaac up to the sacrificial altar? Was he thinking about Ishmael and Hagar? Did he feel any guilt for banishing them from his camp? Did he feel guilt because he was about to commit murder in the name of the Lord? Did Abraham feel a double sense of loss and perhaps an extra obligation to follow God’s command because of how he treated the slave and her son?
In today’s Gospel from Matthew, Jesus knows what the scribes were thinking and was able to confront their thoughts. With these two lessons juxtaposed, I am left with a question: Didn’t God know what Abraham was thinking, too? Didn’t God know that Abraham would carry out the instructions? But with Abraham’s free will, the Lord wanted to see how Abraham would act.
God put Abraham to the test not to test his thoughts but to test his actions. However, the scribes tried to put Jesus to the test, NOT to test his actions but to test his motivations and power.
Action
Every day is a test for us…a test about our desires and passions. What makes us get out of bed? What drives us to do the things we do? Hopefully, we can be more like Abraham who obeys God not only in his thoughts but also in his actions.
The recent coup in Honduras has a special group of people nervous. A group of volunteers are soon to embark on a mission to work at the Amigos de Jesus orphanage in the rural Santa Barbara district of this Central American nation. Yet the current political upheaval may have made these young adults as nervous as some of their parents (What? Me Worry?).
Some may choose to stay home because of this event. However, think also of the people in Honduras who have no choice but to stay and live in poverty through this crisis. Keep in your prayers the people of Honduras that God will arise in their lives through the outreach of these missionaries who have accepted the test to pick up their cross and follow Him to Macuelizo, the town where the orphanage is located. Pray also for the return of peace and the restoration of democracy in Honduras, Haiti and everywhere around the world.
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