Month: July 2015

14th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday

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Today’s Gospel reminds us that every member of the Church, regardless of whether they wield authority in it or not, is a disciple of Christ. If anyone’s got an issue with him, they’ve got an issue with us, and vice versa. The only way to avoid that would be to stop being a disciple of Christ, and Our Lord warns us that denying him would lead to our denial before the Father. This touches on what he describes as the real thing to be concerned about in trying to follow him, the things that are healthy for the soul. He doesn’t leave us alone in those dangers; the Father knows everything that goes on, watches over each little detail and each big moment of our lives with loving concern.

If the Father permitted the Son to undergo the cross, we shouldn’t be shocked if we have to experience crosses in sharing his message. It can’t stay hidden in darkness or confined to whispers; many elements of society would like us to just keep to ourselves and not bother them. It’s hard when we try to share truth, goodness, and love with others and they reject it or threaten us if we don’t shut up. In the light of eternity those threats mean little; the real threats are the ones that make us question our faith or our resolve to be followers of Christ. Christ will stand up for us on the Judgement Day if we stand up for him in this life. Even if we’re not always vindicated on the time table we’d prefer, we will be vindicated in serving and loving him.

Let’s ask Our Lord today for the courage to share his Gospel on the housetops and show that we’re his disciples.

Readings: Genesis 49:29–32, 50:15–26a; Psalm 105:1–4, 6–7; Matthew 10:24–33.

14th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday

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In today’s Gospel Our Lord counsels us to be “shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.” Sharing is the Gospel must be done kindly, but intelligently. People are more receptive to something a kind and gentle person has to say, and in the context of the persecutions that he also describes today, public opinion will also be less inclined to condemn someone who leads a kind, simple, and humble life. If people see us as sheep, harmless, humble, and not complicated, it will be easier for them to see our adversaries for what they often are: wolves who are cunning and predatory.

However, being kind and gentle is not enough. If what we do and what we share lacks substance, if it doesn’t strike a chord in our listeners, we’ll be wasting our time and theirs as well. Christianity started with a few disciples called by Christ and conquered the world, not with a militarily, but armed with a love that was not just skin deep. We’ve received love from Our Lord, a love that is profounder and more lasting than any love we could experience in this world, and it’s from the profundity and stability of this love that we share the Gospel with kindness and a desire to share the gift, no matter what the cost. The Gospel message is a message of true and lasting love, and everyone is seeking that, whether they’re aware of it or not.

Even the first apostles like Paul knew they had to be strategic: he traveled to places in the Roman empire that were the crossroads for all the cultures found within its borders, and in sharing the Gospel there he knew those passing through would take it everywhere. He also had to face difficult pastoral situations with wisdom and love: in many of his letters the passion for his communities shine through and still provide guidance for us today. Let’s ask Our Lord today to help us be neither superficial or mean in sharing his Gospel, his love, with others.

Readings: Genesis 46:1–7, 28–30; Psalm 37:3–4, 18–19, 27–28, 39–40; Matthew 10:16–23.

14th Week In Ordinary Time, Thursday

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In today’s Gospel Our Lord continues to teach the Twelve what it means to be an apostle and what an apostle. Every believer is called to be an apostle in his or her condition and state of life. Today Our Lord tells them the message they should preach in their travels: “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This is the nucleus of Jesus’ preaching during his earthly ministry, and in other Gospel accounts he combines this message with an exhortation: “repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). It puts the listener on notice that an opportunity is near for conversion and faith. Every apostle has taken advantage of this opportunity: through baptism we have turned from sin and expressed our faith in the Gospel. For many of us this happened in our infancy and thanks to our parents; it began a work of God in us that blossomed into the believers we are today. It reminds us that it is a gift we were given, not something we earned.

We as apostles have an chance to share the gift. We can be instruments of presenting that opportunity to others as disciples of Christ: a message of conversion and faith. It is an opportunity for healing and for casting out the evil in our lives that afflicts us. Our testimony to how Jesus has healed us and cast out evil in our lives is a powerful motivation for others to welcome his message. We may not always see ourselves as direct instruments of God’s healing, or exorcists, but the power of God in our lives is a powerful testimony that helps others to believe that such a liberation from evil and sin is also possible for them.

Let’s thank Our Lord today for those people in our lives who brought us the message of salvation, and let’s ask Our Lord to show us how we can share that testimony in order to give others the opportunity to know Our Lord and be freed from sin.

Readings: Genesis 44:18–21, 23b–29, 45:1–5; Psalm 105:16–21; Matthew 10:7–15.

14th Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday

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In today’s Gospel Our Lord commissions and empowers the Twelve to continue the mission that he has begun in the way he has taught them. They receive not only authority from Jesus, but also power: to heal and to cast out unclean spirits. They receive a message to communicate–Jesus’ message–and a place to start: the lost sheep of the house of Israel. We know that in the end they received a commission to go to the whole world and carry out what we call today the apostolic mission, but in today’s Gospel we see them beginning to take an active part in that mission. The Church is considered Apostolic because she can never deny, nor should she, to have been founded on the generosity and work of these men in communion with Jesus, with the sad exception of Judas. We can’t think of Rome or the Holy Father without thinking of Peter and Paul who watered that Church with the blood of their martyrdom, of India without thinking of St. Thomas, of Spain without thinking of St. James, or the very Gospel we’re considering today, written by St. Matthew. How many of us bear the name of these generous men.

The apostolic mission continues and will continue until the end of time. The Church is also Apostolic because we have to be apostles. We have a moral and religious authority in a world that has lost its moral and religious compass. We are empowered by the sacraments to be a source of healing for so many people, and to drive away the bad influences of our society from ourselves and from others; these same sacraments help us to persevere in a challenging world. We are bearers of the Gospel message, and our place to start is our families, our workplaces, and our countries. The work is abundant and everyone is called to live this apostolic spirit within the duties and obligations of their state of life: clergy, consecrated persons, and laity.

Let’s ask Our Lord today to adopt an apostolic outlook on our life and circumstances, and to help us be apostles in his service, inspired by his example and that of the Apostles who persevered in the faith.

Readings: Genesis 41:55–57, 42:5–7a, 17–24a; Psalm 33:2–3, 10–11, 18–19; Matthew 10:1–7.

14th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday

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In today’s Gospel we see in brief the concern Our Lord has for every soul, a concern he describes as like a shepherd toward his sheep. Throughout Church history this has been seen as “pastoral” concern for others: the Good Shepherd has entrusted his sheep to Peter, to the Apostles, and, throughout history, to bishops and priests. Deacons, consecrated persons, and the laity have helped them in this mission from the beginning. The pastoral mission includes teaching, healing, and guiding, in imitation of the Good Shepherd, who, as today’s Gospel describes, went about preaching the Gospel (teaching), curing (healing), and seeking to help the lost and abandoned who needed direction, like sheep without shepherds (guiding).

Today we describe this as the teaching office, the ruling office, and the sanctifying office of pastors. Our Lord reminds us in today’s Gospel that there are many people in need of instruction, guidance, and healing, and he seeks help in giving them the attention they need. All the pastoral solicitude of the Church strives to fulfill this wish of Jesus, and he tells us we need to pray that Our Heavenly Father call people to help in this mission. There is a lot of work to be done.

Let’s pray for the workers already laboring in the harvest, and that more respond to Our Heavenly Father’s call with generosity. Let’s also ask ourselves today how we can help all those souls out there in need of instruction, healing, and guidance. Not all are called to be shepherds, but every Christian is called to help those who are.

Readings: Genesis 32:23–33; Psalm 17:1b, 2–3, 6–7b, 8b, 15; Matthew 9:32–38.