Who Then is This?

Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

All rivers go to the sea, yet never does the sea become full.  To the place where they go, the rivers keep on going.  All speech is labored; there is nothing one can say.  The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor is the ear satisfied with hearing.  Ecclesiastes 1:7-8

But Herod said, “John I beheaded.  Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”  And he kept trying to see him.  Luke 9:9

Piety

Now the valley cried with anger,
"Mount your horses! Draw your sword!"
And they killed the mountain-people,
So they won their just reward.

Now they stood beside the treasure,
On the mountain, dark and red.
Turned the stone and looked beneath it...
"Peace on Earth" was all it said.

From One Tin Soldier (The Legend of Billy Jack) by Dennis Lambert & Brian Potter, performed by The Original Caste (1970)

Study

Do you have the curiosity of Herod?  Do you still wonder who is this Jesus character about whom you hear such things? 

Perhaps we transfer our curiosity to Pope Frances.  Whether we wonder about the mystical body of Christ or the actual Vicar of Christ who walks and talks and catches baseballs among us, we are curious.  Our study is all about answering that curiosity.  We seek satisfaction.  We seek something to say.  But we may never achieve that which we seek. 

The New American Bible notes explain of the first reading that “movement in nature and human activity appears to result in change and progress. The author argues that this change and progress are an illusion: “Nothing is new under the sun” as we chase after futile activity.

But the chase we are engaged in is the chase to know Christ.  And that chase is the one that is worthwhile.

Action

Monday night was occasion to break bread (fruit, vegetables, and more prepared by D.C. Central Kitchen) with co-presidents Marie Dennis and Bishop Kevin Dowling, C.SS.R., and Secretary General Jose Henriquez of Pax Christi International.  I know many peace activists in the U.S., but am not too familiar with those from the international community.

The 50 or so assembled in a McLean, Virginia living room listened to stories about the aftermath of war in Yugoslavia, the children and teachers killed by shrapnel bombs dropped by their own government in the Sudan, the poverty experience by the platinum mining striker in the Diocese of Rustenburg, South Africa. 

“War ends,” Bishop Dowling explained, “when we stop killing each other.”  However, the wounds of death, rape, and horrible injuries cannot be healed without reconciliation. Peace Accords from Paris or Dayton or Versailles mean little if hearts and minds of neighbors who were killing neighbors cannot comeback together in community.

Upon arriving home and checking into the news, that very night was when the world learned that the latest offensive was launched in the Middle East at the latest sources of terror.  The battle has begun in response to the image brought to mind by Herod’s ancient execution of John and modern atrocities that make nations make war.  At some point it will end.  But the peace may never be secured without getting to the hearts and minds of the combatants, including our own hearts and minds.

That is the work of Pax Christi International. You can support its work through gifts to the Pax Christi Fund for Peace, 415 Michigan Avenue, NE Box 16, Washington, DC 20017 or http://www.paxchristifund.org/. 

·         Maybe you can give $4 per month – one for the lives of four American churchwomen slain in El Salvador.

·         Maybe you can give $34 per month in honor of the mine workers who lost their lives fighting for better wages in Rustenberg, S.A.

·         Maybe you can give $60 per month in honor of the number of countries where Pax Christi International works.

·         Maybe you can consider $70 per month in honor of the years since Pax Christi International was founded at the end of World War II.

We seek satisfaction.  We seek Jesus.  We can find Him through those who work brick by dirty, sweaty, bloody brick to build his Kingdom here one day at a time. 

In the words of Bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw: 

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own.

A Shield to Those Who Seek Refuge

Wednesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

By Colleen O’Sullivan

Every word of God is tested; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.   (Proverbs 30:5)

Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic.”

(Luke 9:1-3)

Piety

God is our refuge and our strength,

An ever-present help in distress.

(Psalm 46:2)

Study   

One of my youngest friends just started preschool a couple of weeks ago.  The first morning, about mid-way through, he informed the teacher that he is “not a fan of preschool.”  The second morning, he cried the entire time because, as he told me later that afternoon, he “didn’t want Mommy to go home.”  By the third morning, he had the presence of mind to bring his mini-security blanket along, which saw him through the day.

When I was a kid, I imagined that grown-ups always knew what they were doing, were never afraid and certainly never needed anything like a security blanket.  As we are all aware, that definitely is not the case.  Many things happen that leave us shaken, scared or feeling weak – the loss of a job, the end of a marriage, the death of a loved one, health or financial problems, just to name a few.  We all need to find security or refuge somewhere.  A little square of fabric doesn’t cut it when you’re an adult, but neither do some of the other sources of comfort we turn to – accumulated wealth, the approval of our friends, the seeming solace of food or drugs or alcohol. 

I thought about this as I read today’s Gospel account of Jesus sending the disciples out to proclaim the Kingdom and heal the sick.  He tells them to take nothing at all with them.  Leave behind the possessions and the money that are our usual crutches.   Being sent out on a mission would be anxiety-producing in and of itself, but not taking along any of those feel-good props?

The disciples aren’t going out empty-handed, however.  Neither are we, no matter where our journeys take us.  What we bring along doesn’t weigh an ounce, yet is the most precious thing imaginable.  In our hearts, we carry our relationship with Jesus.  And Jesus knows what it is to be human, to face fear.  He walks with us every step of the way.  He is the source of our strength in facing the challenges of life.  As the first reading from the Book of Proverbs reminds us, God is our place of refuge, our ultimate source of security.

Action

What is it that seems frightening or overwhelming in your life today?  To what or to whom do you turn for shelter and strength?  Take a few minutes to share all this with the Lord in prayer.

Help Me to Be Your Sister, Lord

Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest

By Beth DeCristofaro

He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” (Luke 8:21)

Piety

Open my eyes, Lord
Help me to see your face
Open my eyes, Lord
Help me to see.

Open my ears, Lord
Help me to hear your voice
Open my ears, Lord
Help me to hear.

Open my heart, Lord
Help me to love like you
Open my heart, Lord
Help me to love.

I live within you
Deep in your heart, oh, love
I live within you
Rest now in me.

        (Jessie Manisuban, 1988)

Study

For dessert yesterday I ate a dark chocolate Dove “bite.”  Pretty tasty.  Inside the wrapper was written in delicate script “Indulge your every whim, love, Dove.”  Not so tasty.

This saying is geared to sell more product by telling me how important I am and how much I deserve this bite of chocolate - and more.  Ironically, this sugary chocolate has salt in it.  While it flavors the candy it also points out the irony that such a sugary saying can be bitter if it is followed.  Putting myself as the center of my life edges Jesus out.  But it is a pretty common approach to how we live our lives.  Jesus, rather, asks us to come together with Him in the breaking of the bread and to be bread for others.

Right now there is a women’s team in formation, a men’s team ready to go.  Candidates await and all are seeking God, seeking to hear God’s word more fully and act on it more completely every day.  Cursillo is one of the touchstones which pave my path, helping me follow more closely in God’s footsteps.  My other flagstones include a dynamic spiritual director, a supportive and loving husband and family, Eucharist, prayer and a vocation which feeds me.  I, personally, need such touchstones because it is just too easy to choose Dove candy, my creature comforts, ignoring the plight of others and other easy outs.   Thanks, Dove, for reminding me how tiny and transient a self-centered life can be. 

Action

A Cursillo weekend is such a moving and fun way to have eyes and ears opened to God anew.  In what way are you supporting the teams and candidates for the upcoming weekends?  Do you know of potential candidates for the October and December weekends?  Speak to your brother / sister about taking part.  Check out the Cursillo website for details.  http://www.arlingtoncursillo.org/141st-womens-weekend/

Come to the Light

Monday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but the dwelling of the just he blesses; when dealing with the arrogant, he is stern, but to the humble he shows kindness.  Proverb 3:33-34

“No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.  For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.”  Luke 8:16-17

Piety

You are the light of the world!
But if that light is under a bushel,
It's lost something kind of crucial
You've got to stay bright to be the light of the world. (From Godspell)

Study

Our lessons for this week began with the “illogical” and un-businesslike Good News on Sunday about the landowner who paid all workers the same wage whether they worked for a full day or a full hour.  That does not make any business-sense whatsoever.  Yet, Isaiah reminded us in that first reading that God’s ways are not our ways, and our ways are not God’s ways.

Today, in proverbs and Luke, the message makes more sense…or at least it seems to make more sense if you are not among the arrogant, powerful or wicked.  Those who know the Magnificat expect the Lord to bless the dwelling place of the just person.  We expect the Lord – based on the message throughout sacred scripture – to show kindness to the humble who puts on the attitude of Mary. 

In the newspaper scandal business, there is an expression, “If it looks like you’ve got something to hide, it’s going to look like you’ve got something to hide.”  That was true in the Genesis story of Cain and Able.  That was true in the scandal of Judas.  When their actions became public, they could no longer live in the light.  Their wicked actions became visible. 

The opposite also is true:  “If it looks like you have nothing to hide, it’s going to look like you have nothing to hide.” That’s why the just and humble do not want to put their light under a bushel.  If you keep your light hidden, you have lost something mighty crucial:  the ability to live by example and show the world the path of the just and humble. We must grow the way the “rules” or proverbs point and not stray.  The friendship of Jesus rests with the person who leads an upright life. 

When you study the word “rule,” you see that it comes from the Latin word “regula” which means to “move in a straight line.”  It was the opposite of secular.  English borrowed Latin regula and nativized it as regal "rule, regulation, canon, law, standard, pattern."  When we grow according to a rule, we grow in the straight path, like a vine which grows up a trellis compared with a vine that grows wild in the woods.  

As the song goes, the tallest candlestick is no good without a (straight and upright) wick.

Action

Since the days of Richard Nixon, the private-life scandals and hubris of our leaders are now fair game for public examination.  Think about Gary Hart’s Monkey Business.  Think about Bill Clinton’s you-know-what.  The path we must stay on is the path of justice, humility, and following the rules…the rule of law, the rule of God, the Rule of St. Benedict. 

What do you need to straighten out in your life?  Take some time to assess what is right and what needs “fixing.”  No need to wait for the New Year to make a resolution to change.

Are You Envious

Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2014 A

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.  As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.  Isaiah 55:8-9

Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ.  Philippians 1:27A

“ ‘What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?  Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?  Are you envious because I am generous?’  Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”  Matthew 20:14B-16

Piety

Piety is the degree to which we are alive TO THE PLAN OF GOD in the moment.  The Good Thief steals heaven at the end of his life because he has his cross next to Christ’s cross.  The fullness of God’s love is expressed in the mystery of the cross.  Much is said by the Father in the simplicity of the cross of His Son being permitted.  “God so loved the world that he sent his Son to reconcile the world to Him.”  How do we accept the love of a God who gave us the best of Himself in the dying of Christ on the Cross?  Christ is the Good News of Salvation.  Christ came to give us a claim on heaven in our acceptance of the crosses of our lives.  God is love and He has all of His love waiting for us in our oneness with His Son.  Those that God truly loves he bring close to the Cross of His Son.   In the crosses of our lives we put up with the difficulty of life for the sake of our people.  We fill up what wants to the suffering of Christ’s Body, the Church.  All we need to do is to go out into the harvest of souls.  Our gospel today is all about the mercy and the love of God who takes care of us whenever we accept his invitation.  It is never too late to work for the Father.  He is generous to us in how he rewards our labors no matter how late we go to work for him.

Study

Christ gives us a parable to study to understand the generosity of the Father.  Unemployment helps us understand the generosity of the Father.  It is not how long we work that matters.  Work is its own reward for those who are without work.  How glad they are to have a chance to do something that matters.  The Master of the harvest answers the question of those who expect more because they worked longer.  He gives good pay to those who work.  Why cannot we be generous to those who appreciate even more the having a chance to work?  Those, who bore the brunt of the heat of the day, were well paid.  Why are they jealous when others have the chance to work and are paid as well for less time?  God is such a lover that he can give us the reward for a life well lived when we do our best for the last moment of life.  It is not the job that we have or how long we worked at it.  It is how much appreciation and love we have for doing our best with the work we have.  The boy and the girl saints have a gospel that says they fulfilled a long time in a short time.

Action 

It is important to put all of ourselves into the moment we are now living.  Love is the coin of the realm of heaven.  It is possible to work a lifetime in the moment we are in.  Peter says an afternoon with the Lord can be worth a thousand years.  There is no greater love we can give than to work with all that we are in the moment we have.  Only the moment now touches the eternal “now-ness” of God who identifies himself as the “I am who I am.”  We do not have to wait for a job worthy of our efforts.  Doing our best makes the ordinary extraordinary. 

Bear Fruit

Memorial of Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs

You fool!  What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies.  And what you sow is not the body that is to be but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind.  1 Corinthians 15:36-37

“But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.”  Luke 8:15

Piety

I have made vows to you, God; with offerings I will fulfill them, For you have snatched me from death, kept my feet from stumbling, That I may walk before God in the light of the living.  Psalm 56:13-14

Study

What does it take to hear and embrace the seed that is the Word of God? 

Jesus goes to great length to be understood.  He did not present his teachings in words that only the learned could understand.  He presented his teachings with words and ideas which he hoped all could understand – often using common parables, analogies and symbolism.  However, if they still did not “get it,” Jesus would explain the meaning behind the story. 

For me, it helps to remember three core questions when reading any passage but especially the difficult-to-understand passages.  Those questions were first outlined to me by the Catholic poet-activist Rose Berger.

        What does it say?

        What does it mean?

        Why does it matter?

Action 

We can use some good historical sources to better understand the context of what Jesus was saying to his contemporaries.  Even though we are not farmers, we all still plant seeds in flower gardens, vegetable gardens or lawns.  We see those “bear fruit” when we can eat garden-fresh corn or tomatoes or pick flowers at their best.  We do not grow gardens for them to rot in the sun.  Jesus does not plant seeds in order for us to be eaten up by the birds of distraction or trampled by the boots of self-centeredness.  It is up to us to make sure we make the leap from what Jesus says to what it means and why it STILL matters in our lives today – two thousand years later.

Jesus answers those questions for us today in this passage written by St. Luke.  Some days, the homily helps us understand and embrace it.  If not, we can use aids like Living Faith, Our Daily Bread or Magnificat or various web-based services. 

“Why does it matter?” for me is the toughest question. To answer that, we have to “embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.”  The next step is to respond by acting on what we understand.

The Word does not really exist without our response.  It just sits on the shelf like an old copy of Life magazine or Reader’s Digest.  If we hear the Word, we must become a light to others.  If it says, feed the hungry, we must feed the hungry.  

Empty, Too, Your Faith

Friday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

By Melanie Rigney

If Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. (1 Corinthians 15:12-14)

Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full. (Psalms 17:15)

Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources. (Luke 8:1-3)

Piety

Lord, remind that I am not called to take this walk of life alone. Open my heart and soul to the companions You send.

Study

Not even Jesus did it alone.

Of course we know he had the Lord at his side every step of the way, even at Calvary. And of course we know the Twelve and many of his other followers by name. How lovely, though, to consider that this wasn’t a one-way relationship of Jesus giving and giving and giving. Rather, as we are told in today’s Gospel reading, the Twelve, the Galilean women, and “many others” provided for the band of believers. Someone had to gather the food. Someone had to find the water. Someone had to ensure they were clothed.

Yes, the Lord always provides what we need. But it’s heartening to think that sometimes, He does that through the kindness of our friends… and that we needn’t attempt to exclude assistance from others during our spiritual journey. The burden can be lightened by the way He appears in them.

Action

The North American Conference of Separated and Divorced Catholics ministry today begins a weekend leadership seminar in St. Louis for those who serve this group of Catholics. If you know someone who feels distanced from our faith due to a divorce or separation, prayerfully consider opening up a dialogue with that person on the resources available through this ministry.

I Am What I Am

Thursday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective.  Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.  Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.  1 Corinthians 15:10-11

“So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love.  But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”  Luke 7:47

Piety

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I'm found
Was blind but now I see

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

Study

How do we react to goodness?   We see two models for it in today’s Good News.  One person reacts with resentment – like the older brother in the Prodigal Son parable.  The other reacts with gratitude for being in the presence of the Lord.

Sacred scriptures are filled with opposite reactions to the same gift from the days of Adam and Eve or Cain and Abel to teh differences between the apostles and the Pharisees.  People react to gifts with appreciation or almost a sense of entitlement. 

Heavy doses of faith, humility and obedience are necessary to get past our self-centered ego and accept the grace that allows us to live a life of gratitude for the small things and the big things.

Action

We are what we are – rushed, busy, distracted, frail and failed human beings.  We see Peter’s faults reflected in ours.  Yet at every moment, we have the choice to change.

Do you owe someone a thank you card or note?  In this electronic era, I often turn to e-mail or Facebook to send such messages.  Why not sit down this week and write someone an old-fashioned thank you note.  No need to bath it in fine perfume. 

Love Without Strings

Wednesday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

By Colleen O’Sullivan

Brothers and sisters:  Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.  But I shall show you a still more excellent way.  If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.  And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.  (1 Corinthians 12:31-13:3)

Piety

Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.  (1 John 4:8)

Study   

In the verses preceding those in our first reading, St. Paul has been writing to the Christians at Corinth about spiritual gifts.  He seems to think they may have missed the forest for the trees.  They appear to have valued and desired certain spiritual gifts over others.

The apostle continues today by saying that we should all desire and pray for spiritual gifts, and we should also keep in mind that when our lives in this world come to an end, all these gifts fade away.  More important than any of these gifts, says Paul, is love.  It’s the only thing that lasts forever.  And if the gifts you’ve been given aren’t rooted in love, they’re useless anyway.

Paul is talking about a specific type of love, agape.  Agape is unconditional love.  It’s love that expects nothing in return.  It’s the desire for the well-being of others.  It’s extended to others independent of how “loveable” they are. Agape is the sort of love God has for all of creation and for you and me, in particular.  In fact, in 1 John 4:16, we are told that God is love, God is agape.

This summer I had the privilege of spending almost five weeks at a Jesuit retreat house making the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.  Since I’ve been home, many people have wanted to know about the retreat.  It was such a rich, deep, multi-layered experience that I find myself at a loss to adequately describe it.  However, as I was reading St. Paul’s words to his friends in Corinth, it occurred to me that the long retreat could be summarized as a means to recall or discover, depending on where you are in your faith journey, how God is agape in your personal experience.  It is overwhelming to spend days seeing how, in spite of my sins, my weaknesses and failings, God has never stopped loving me!  The long retreat is also a chance to ask yourself what sort of response you should make to this unfailing stream of love. 

St. Paul suggests that one response is to be firmly rooted in love and to show this same type of love to others.  He describes love as patient and kind, neither jealous nor self-seeking.  It sounds like he’s describing the work of a lifetime.

Action

It is very difficult at times to truly believe that God loves us unconditionally, because we know ourselves so well.  Yet God loves each and every one of us just as we are this very moment.  What is your response to this loving, merciful, gracious God?

We Are Baptized Into One Body

Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs

By Beth DeCristofaro

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. … Now the body is not a single part, but many. Now you are Christ’s Body, and individually parts of it.  (1 Corinthians 12, 13-14, 27)

Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain … a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. … When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her … and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. (Luke 7: 11, 12, 13, 14)

Piety

Wind of Inspiration, Creative Spirit of God, teach me not to forget that you come always as gift.

Remind me always to be ready to receive and romance and dance with joy wherever and whenever you visit, or risk that you may move one without me.

May I ever be sensitive to your gentle breezes and willing to soar with your wild winds.

(From “A Psalm to the Wind of Heaven” Fr. Edward Hayes)

Study

When I was very young, after hearing the stories of the saints from family and teachers at St. Anthony’s elementary school, part of me longed to be a martyr.  Or, at least, my quixotic idea of what a martyr was:  a person able to look the bad guys right in the eye and say “I will never give up God!”  All the parts about knives, fire, teeth, and crosses were not part of the fantasy.  As I got older and (a very little bit wiser) I thought that perhaps the gifts which Paul speaks of were what I should aspire to.  Especially those at the “front” of the list such as prophet or mighty deeds. 

Today in reading Paul and the Gospel I see something much different.  I see that I and my brothers and sisters in humanity are of Christ’s Body.  It is a transcendent vision of wholeness and multiplicity.  In the Gospel we meet a bereaved parent and her child.  We don’t know anything about either of them.  Was she a shrewish nag or a nurturing mother?  Did he care for and respect her or was he a careless prankster?  We don’t know.  What we know is that their gifts were being family to each other and that Jesus was moved with pity for their heartbreak.  Today’s reflection in “Sisterhood of Saints”[i] focuses on Ludmila whose deep love and Christian influence over her grandson caused her martyrdom.  The boy went on to reign in a manner which benefitted his people in Bohemia and he too, became a saint.  

Action

It is the work of God which quickens our gifts and God invites to open ourselves to the creative movement within us.  Give thanks for the gifts which God quickens, look closely for the gifts which others exhibit.  Rejoice for them rather than emphasizing your own.  

---

[i] Melanie Rigney, Franciscan Media, 2013

A Sword Will Pierce

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.  1 Corinthians 11:33

“Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted and you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”  Luke 2:34-35

Piety

"At the cross her station keeping,
Stood the mournful mother weeping,
Close to Jesus to the last.
Through her heart, his sorrow sharing,
All his bitter anguish bearing,
Now at length the sword has passed."
(Stabat Mater)

Study

Mary was physically untouched during the trial and execution of Jesus.  However, from the circumstances of his Immaculate Conception and birth to his death on the cross where she watched her son’s execution, emotionally and spiritually, Mary was in pain.  Many early Church writers interpret the sword as Mary's sorrows, especially as she saw Jesus die on the cross.

She was, is and will forever be, the example of humility and obedience for us. Close to Jesus to the last. While others fled, she remained behind with her son.

Jesus was a conundrum to all but Mary.  Isaiah 8:14 prophesied:  “He shall be a snare, a stone for injury, A rock for stumbling to both the houses of Israel, A trap and a snare to those who dwell in Jerusalem.”  Many have stumbled while trying to follow Jesus.  Many but not all.  Not Mary. 

Why not? Because the many did it not by faith, but as if it could be done by works.  They stumbled over the stone that causes stumbling. (Romans 9:32).  Mary, however, did it by faith.  However, in so doing, faith did not shield her from sorrow any more than faith shielded Jesus from pain and death. 

What causes others to stumble has become central to our faith.  “The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”

Coming the day after the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, is it any wonder how such faith could turn a symbol of pain and death into a symbol of joy and life?

Action

What causes you to stumble?  How can faith help you resolve that stone in your path?

Be Lifted Up

Twenty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2014 A -- The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ

So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses, “Make a seraph and mount it on a pole, and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live.” Numbers 21:8

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.  Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.  Philippians 2:6-8

“No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.  And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”  John 3:13-14

Piety

Piety is our imitation of Christ.  He emptied himself out of being God to truly become human.  He always would have two natures even as he was one person.  Piety is our hearts acceptance of the challenge to be just like Christ in the ways we give our freedom back to God.  God loves us so much that he makes us free to be ourselves.  He gives us forgiveness for all the times we are selfish.  He forgives us when we are trapped within ourselves and he is a prisoner of our hearts.  In Baptism he came to us; our piety is how we let Christ out of the prison of our heart’s selfishness.  Our piety is seen in all the ways we are unselfish in accepting the challenge of Christ to empty ourselves of many of the things we have a right to that we might be more like Christ.  Our piety is our expression of oneness with Christ in how we live our lives for the sake of each other.  Wherever there is love God is there.  Our love for God shows itself in our piety.  Our piety is the sharing of what we have with the needy of our lives.  What we do for the least one in our lives Christ considers as done for him.

Study

Philippians 2:6-11 begins with the Challenge of Paul that we have within us the same mind that was in Christ Jesus, our Lord.  Jesus did not hold onto the Godness of his personhood in his willingness to be human and one of us.  God did not send Jesus to condemn us.  He sent him that we might be saved by his holy cross.  The cross was portrayed in the Old Testament by the serpent that was raised up on a staff to be looked at by those bitten by the serpent.  Even as those in the Old Testament were cured of their poisonous bites by looking at the serpent on the staff, the poisonous bites of our sins are cured as we look with the eyes of our soul at Christ dying for us with the wounds of our sins.  It is how we accept his forgiveness that is the completion of his work in us.

Action

We honor the feast of the Holy Cross by our willingness to join our sufferings to Christ’s sufferings by offering up our sufferings for the sake of the sinfulness of our world.  The difficulties and the problems of our life take on a special efficacy when we offer them for others.  We prevent our suffering from being constipated when we offer them up for others. It is almost as if our sufferings do not exist when we offer their value for those we love and serve by our lives.  The cross is so much more than a symbol.  It will be our claim to fame in heaven when we have made the divine connection by joining our sufferings with Christ’s. It is then the cross of Christ is truly exalted in our lives.

Known By Its Own Fruit

Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ?  The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?  Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one Body, for we all partake of the one loaf.  1 COR 10:16-17

For every tree is known by its own fruit.  For people do not pick figs from thorn bushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles.  A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.  Luke 6:44-45

Piety

We are one in the Spirit.
We are one in the Lord.
We are one in the Spirit.
We are one in the Lord.

And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.
Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love.

(From "They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love" was written by Peter Scholtes)

Study

How congruent are our actions with what we listen to coming from the mouth of Jesus and the prophets?  In the Gospel, Luke tells us once again how Jesus challenges the hypocrisy of the people.  “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command?” he cries out in frustration. 

There emerges two essential duties of Christians:  listening and acting.  If we listen and do not incorporate the lessons into our lives, then we might as well be deaf.  This is opposed to the criticism Jesus levels at the Pharisees who say one thing and do another.  This goes to the heart and minds of his followers.

Comparing us to fruit trees and thorn bushes is an interesting choice.  Fruit trees can do nothing except produce fruit.  You can read to the trees Nobel Prize speeches or the Gospel of St. Luke and they will still produce fruit.  They cannot do otherwise.  When properly tended (pruned, watered, harvested), the fruit will be good.  If not properly tended, the fruit could be rotten by the time we try to harvest it.  Even if we act accordingly, there are outside forces (weather, bugs, birds or animals) which could get to the fruit first and destroy it – or at least spoil it before we can consume it.

Conversely, thorn bushes can do nothing but produce thorns.  You cannot get the bush to decide to produce apples or grapes or figs or even flowers.  If the weather, bugs, or animals attack a thorn bush, who cares?  It is not like it would amount to anything.  Almost like a prophet in his home country…

Action

Children of God have a choice.  We can produce good fruit or rotten fruit.  Unlike the plant and animal kingdoms, we can change our very nature by what we listen to and how we act.

To what are you listening?  How does it affect your actions?

Making time and room in your life for the daily practice of piety, study and action will not let the demons of idolatry (the forces of the weather, bugs or animals) attack your faith. It crowds out these temptations before they can take hold and attack your fruits.  If we give in to the attacking forces (idolatry), then we put at risk our very communion with the friendship we have with Jesus.

Will they know we are Christians by our love?