Month: July 2016

15th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday, Year II

by

In today’s First Reading the Lord teaches us that devotion to him is pointless when we don’t show a level of devotion to others and their needs: he wants us to treat others justly and compassionately when they are in need. In the Gospel Our Lord takes it a step further by reminding us that devotion to others at the expense of devotion to the Lord is also a losing proposition. In the First Reading the Lord reminds us of our obligations in general; in the Gospel we consider those whom we owe the most: our family.

If the Gospel talks about “hating” your loved ones it must be understood in the context of the entire discourse: family members who do not welcome the Lord through his prophets or through righteous people. In short, loved ones who have fallen into sin and present a danger of leading us into sin as well. Not all family members are an obstacle to our devotion to the Lord, but if our devotion to our family exceeds our devotion to the Lord, we’re on the path to perdition, despite the best of intentions. We owe the Lord and our family everything, but the Lord comes first.

Let’s pray that our loved ones grow in devotion to Our Lord, confident that following the Lord, even when it implies the cross, will be a blessing to our family.

Readings: Isaiah 1:10–17; Psalm 50:8–9, 16b–17, 21, 23; Matthew 10:34–11:1. See also 31st Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 29th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday, and 15th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday.

15th Week in Ordinary Time, Sunday, Cycle C

by

In today’s First Reading Moses, as part of his parting words to the Israelites, encourages them to see that what the Lord expects of them is not hard to know or achieve: it is turning to God with all their heart and soul. The Lord has made this even easier by sending us his Son, the image of the invisible God, as Paul describes in today’s Second Reading. Through the Son we are aided in turning to God with all our heart and soul; he not only leads by example, but empowers our charity through his act of love on the Cross.

In today’s Gospel the scribe shows wisdom in seeing that love for God and for neighbor are the path to fulfillment in life. He just wants to know one point of fine print: who should we consider our neighbor? The answer is not hard: everyone is our neighbor, as the parable of the Good Samaritan demonstrates. The man waylaid on the way to Jericho was heading from a “good part of town” to a “bad one” (Jericho often symbolized turning your back on Jerusalem and heading into sin); anyone could have rationalized that when you head to a bad part of town you deserve what you get. The Samaritan was overcome with compassion at the sight of his neighbor bleeding and half dead alongside the road.

In Luke’s Gospel the scribe asks in the context of asking what he needs to do in order to inherit eternal life. That Samaritan’s goodness and compassion, by extension, despite all the bad blood between Jews and Samaritans, won him eternal life. It’s not complicated. We make it complicated. Strive to love God and every neighbor and you will accomplish something in life and achieve everything truly worthwhile.

Readings: Deuteronomy 30:10–14; Psalm 69:14, 17, 30–31, 33–34, 36, 37; Colossians 1:15–20; Luke 10:25–37. See also 3rd Week of Lent,Friday,  9th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday and 20th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday, and 27th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday.

14th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday, Year II

by

In today’s First Reading Isaiah experiences the Lord’s enormity and his own unworthiness to be his messenger. It is a recurring theme in the Old Testament that anyone who should look upon the Lord’s face would die. Isaiah thinks his moment of judgment is at hand. Imagine his surprise when the angel declares him cleansed from his sin and Isaiah eagerly offers himself to be the Lord’s prophet.

In today’s Gospel we see Our Lord encouraging his disciples to be his messengers and to not be afraid of the treatment they’ll receive when they share what they’ve heard and stand up for him. The Lord’s enormity does not mean only transcendence or distance from his creatures: he is close to us, by becoming man, but also because he cares for all of creation and especially us, his most beloved creations.

Through the Lord’s loving care, in his Providence and in Person through his Son, we have nothing to fear. Let’s be his disciples with the same enthusiasm we’ve seen today in Isaiah.

Readings: Isaiah 6:1–8; Psalm 93:1–2, 5; Matthew 10:24–33. See also 14th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday.

14th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday, Year II

by

There are still many places throughout the world where Christians must follow Our Lord’s admonition to flee persecution. Believers in some countries are ostracized by their family and friends for being Christians, and in others are subjected to violence, imprisonment, and death, even at the hands of their loved ones, for what they believe. Imagine a culture where the Good News is seen as bad. When there is no societal support, either in public or in private, we must be prudent, and also entrust ourselves to the Holy Spirit in order to persevere.

Shrewdness and simplicity don’t seem to go together, but Our Lord expects us to show both. Christians are accused at times of being mindless sheep, but if we consider the impressive cultural contributions made by Christians throughout history this caricature simply does not stand. It is our simplicity that ensures we don’t turn our shrewdness into a lack of charity and concern for others; it keeps us from becoming jaded in the face of persecution and ridicule, as well as helping us to maintain a healthy dose of common sense that is so necessary when facing outlooks on life today that are more and more sophistical.

The Holy Spirit helps us maintain a balance between shrewdness and simplicity, even when our convictions are on trial. Let’s ask the Spirit to give us the words that proclaim the Gospel in good times as well as bad, and to watch over Christian refugees suffering throughout the world due to their faith.

Readings: Hosea 14:2–10; Psalm 51:3–4, 8–9, 12–14, 17; Matthew 10:16–23. See also 28th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday and 14th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday.

14th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday, Year II

by

In today’s First Reading the Lord describes his relationship with Israel like that of a father toward his son. In the imagery Hosea uses we can imagine the Lord holding the infant Israel in his arms, and then standing behind Israel as a toddler taking his first wobbly steps. Just as a toddler Israel, even in his father’s arms, seemed oblivious to his father as he explores the new world around him, or, once he could walk, goes running off without any thought for danger. Israel became oblivious to the Lord who loved him as a father and often ran into danger with no regard.

The First Reading’s prophecy was a foreshadowing of the real relationship the Lord wanted to have with us: a Father loving his children no matter how they loved him in return. He comes as the Son to enable us to become his brothers and sisters and to become adopted children of God. Unfortunately we sometimes act just like Israel in today’s First Reading: oblivious to all the love he has shown us and often fleeing him into the very danger of soul from which he wants to protect us.

Let’s ask Our Lord today for a renewed awareness of the love Our Heavenly Father shows us every day, so that we let him lead us.

Readings: Hosea 11:1–4, 8e–9; Psalm 80:2ac, 3b, 15–16; Matthew 10:7–15. See also 1st Week of Advent, Saturday, 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, 25th Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and 14th Week In Ordinary Time, Thursday.