Ordinary Time

33rd Week in Ordinary Time, Monday

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In today’s Gospel the people in the crowd following Jesus don’t appreciate how important their role is in helping others to encounter him. Just the mention of him name provokes such a strong reaction in the blind man today that they tried to silence him as crazy, maybe as someone not even worth the Rabbi’s time. If there had not been a commotion to begin with, and if no one had mentioned Our Lord’s name that man would have remained blind and begging.

We’re that crowd. There are lots of blind and needy people out there, not just the poor and sick, but people who are spiritually blind and needy. We have an opportunity to bring them to the One who’ll help them to see and provide for their true needs, but if we don’t make a commotion and let people know about Jesus, they may never find out. Perhaps we’ve met someone in our lives  for whom a passing comment on our part has led to a deeper faith life than we’d expected; we shouldn’t underestimate the power of his name.

The First Reading reminds us today that domesticating our faith is not far from silencing it. Let’s not be afraid to make a commotion in Jesus’ name so that all those blind and needy people out there have a chance to meet him and be transformed.

Readings: 1 Maccabees 1:10–15, 41–43, 54–57, 62–63; Psalm 119:53, 61, 134, 150, 155, 158; Luke 18:35–43. See also 8th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday, Year I.

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

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Today is the next to last Sunday in Ordinary Time. We’ll celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King next Sunday, and today’s readings remind us how close that is. The liturgical year symbolizes the entire work of redemption throughout history, and that work is about to be concluded so that the year can start anew with the First Sunday of Advent. Next Sunday we celebrate the moment of the work of redemption where Christ becomes all in all, as St. Paul would say. It’ll be the day in which the Christian prayer “Thy Kingdom Come!” is completely answered: the Second Coming of Christ.

Today’s First Reading reminds us what will happen on that day: the end of the world as we know it. When we hear those words each of us must examine ourselves so see what they mean to us. They probably fill us with fear, but they should fill us with hope too. Daniel’s prophecy speaks of a great distress in the world, but also the help of St. Michael the Archangel, the guardian of the Church, just as each of us has a guardian angel, watching over us and helping us in all of life’s trials. Often it seems the end of the world is something sad and distressing, because the world as we know it is about to end. In those moments we must remember the Lord’s promises in the Beatitudes: we’ll have the Kingdom of Heaven, justice, consolation, and mercy. If we strive to live the Beatitudes they fill us with hope, because we know Our Lord always keeps his promises. As today’s Second Reading reminds us, Christ himself, by becoming a sacrifice, has performed a perfect sacrifice that bring us forgiveness and will continue to bring us forgiveness. Our Lord has already won the war. Our trials in life are the last battles of a conquest the Lord has already achieved, winning over soul after soul until the end of time until “his enemies are made his footstool”: until the forces of evil are definitively defeated.

Today’s Gospel reminds us we won’t know when Christ will return in glory, but also to be vigilant. In contemplating the end of the world let’s be vigilant, but also full of hope, even though a little healthy concern keeps us on our toes during these last battles of the war Jesus has already won.

Readings: Daniel 12:1–3; Psalm 16:5, 8–11; Hebrews 10:11–14, 18; Mark 13:24–32.

32nd Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday

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In today’s Gospel Our Lord presents the polar opposite of Our Heavenly Father, the most just judge, to remind us that we should continue to pray and to not be discouraged in the face of persisting injustice. He alludes to his return at the end of time, so he prepares us to continue our struggles and supplications for justice, knowing that some injustices will not be addressed until he returns in glory, but they will be addressed. We have to persevere in faith and hope.

The widow in today’s parable wants justice in her case. Widows and orphans are repeatedly mentioned in the Old Testament as those deserving special care, since they represent those who have no one to care for them, and the Lord gives dire warning to those who’d abuse them. The widow today can only get justice through a judge who cares nothing for those things; he only cares about himself. Yet the widow’s persistence starts to wear on his obstinacy; he doesn’t do justice for the right reasons, but he does do justice in the end, albeit for a little peace and quiet as well as a concern for his own hide. In the face of maximum injustice and little hope of attaining it the widow continues to ask for it and in the end is heard.

Our Lord reminds us today that we are in a much better situation, but we only realize that if we have faith and trust in him. Let’s continue to battle injustice in this world and not be discouraged when the cause seems hopeless. Sooner or later justice will come.

Readings: Wisdom 18:14–16; Psalm 105:2–3, 36–37, 42–43; Luke 18:1–8.

32nd Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday

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In today’s Gospel Our Lord responds to the question that all the Jews at the time hand on their mind: when would the Kingdom of God come? For some it had meant the coming of a religious nation, purified from its sins; for others, the political autonomy and dominion of Israel over all its enemies. When Our Lord began his public ministry, he preached that the Kingdom of God was at hand. Now he tells us that the Kingdom of God is already present. How?

Just like the Jews we hope that something definitive will come with the Kingdom of God: that the evil that has plagued the world since the Fall will be definitively overthrown, and peace and justice restored to all of creation. We hope for an end to suffering, hunger, and illness, but it’s also evident that these things have not yet occurred. Our Lord reminds us today that the Kingdom is already present: it is active, just not easily seen. God is acting: hearts are being won back to him, and those hearts are going out and spreading his love among others and trying to be a force for positive change in society. Sometimes we may feel outnumbered and overwhelmed, but in hope we know the victory is already won, and it’s just a matter of spreading the Good News.

Our Lord teaches us today not to waste time looking for it on the horizon or seeking some prophet who supposedly has it already figured out. It’s going to be a long haul by everyone’s standards and he prepares us for that. We just have to persevere in faith, hope, and love, confident that through living a virtuous life we are welcoming the Kingdom into our hearts and helping others to reap its benefits as well.

Readings: Wisdom 7:22b–8:1; Psalm 119:89–91, 130, 135, 175; Luke 17:20–25.

32nd Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday

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In today’s Gospel a group of lepers ask for pity from Our Lord. Under Mosaic Law, lepers were outcasts and required not to draw near anyone not afflicted by their condition. They would also have to warn people who drew near, often shouting, “unclean, unclean.” The lepers in today’s Gospel are maintaining their distance out of respect for the Law (and to avoid the trouble they’d be in if they didn’t–people in general aren’t very warm to someone with an infectious disease). When Our Lord tells them to go show themselves to the priests, he is inviting them to make an act of faith: the Law also proscribed that when a leper was healed he should present himself to the priests, who’d certify the healing and allow him back into the community. They hadn’t been cleansed yet, but receive the miracle on the way to the priests.

The ten lepers have faith, but only one of them has the faith that goes the distance in terms of pleasing God: the Samaritan who returns to Jesus to thank him upon realizing that he’s been cured, a Samaritan, unlike the Jews, who didn’t even have all the spiritual resources at the time that a Jew would. Our Lord is merciful, so the other nine don’t get their healing taken away for not being grateful, but Our Lord’s reaction shows he was expecting something more. The nine lepers had a life of faith, but it was a little routine, and dulled to the sense of wonder when the Lord intervenes more forcefully in our lives. A vibrant faith, like that of the Samaritan formerly known as leper, responds with praise and thanksgiving when it realizes God has blessed it.

As believers we’ve received countless spiritual healings from God: through our baptism, through our sacramental life, and through our prayers. Grace sustains and restores us. Let’s get out of any spiritual rut we might find ourselves in today and praise and thank God for all his blessings, big and small.

Readings: Wisdom 6:1–11; Psalm 82:3–4, 6–7; Luke 17:11–19.