Saturday

25th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday

by

In today’s Gospel Our Lord tries to prepare the disciples for the suffering he has to undergo, but they don’t understand what he is referring to. It’s something beyond simple ignorance; the Gospel account says “its meaning was hidden from them.”

If its meaning is hidden there is only one way out of their dilemma: to ask him. They’re too afraid. If they’re afraid they do know that something big is going on, something beyond their control and apparently beyond the Christ’s control, so they opt for denial. In the end it’ll make the truth even more shocking when it is revealed. Our Lord asked them to pay attention; obviously he wanted them to understand, but between God’s revelation and man’s weak response the connection was not established.

If we perceive in our hearts that Our Lord has something big to share with us, let’s not be afraid to ask him for understanding. The truth always sets us free.

Readings: Zechariah 2:5–9, 14–15a; Jeremiah 31:10–12b, 13; Luke 9:43b–45.

24th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday

by

In today’s Gospel Our Lord teaches us how the Word of God can grow in us. First, we have to open the door to it: we have to listen to what he is saying. That involves a desire in our heart and mind to welcome it in, and to use it to shape our lives, even when our inclinations say differently. A parable is a sort of test to see whether we’re really interested.

Second, we won’t just understand it on our own: even his best disciples asked for an explanation; today he mentions that they have already started receiving teachings about the Kingdom of God without the need to use parables as tests of whether they really care. The Church has grown in understanding of the Word of God throughout her history, helped by the Holy Spirit, and Our Lord has entrusted this mission to the Apostles and to their successors, the bishops, in order to help us understand. We need Church teaching to help us understand.

Finally, it requires perseverance. Our Lord describes the dispositions necessary to receive the Word of God: to “embrace it with a generous and good heart.” A generous and good heart requires a lot of work, and the Word of God is meant to help achieve that. That involves lifestyle changes, attitude adjustments, swallowing our pride, and turning the other cheek, not just once, but repeatedly. Let’s ask Our Lord today to help us persevere in welcoming his Word into our hearts with the proper dispositions of life and of heart.

Readings: 1 Timothy 6:13–16; Psalm 100:1b–5; Luke 8:4–15. See also 16th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday and Friday.

23rd Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday

by

In today’s Gospel Our Lord warns us that being a “bad boy,” despite how culture today paints it, is never a good thing. If someone recognizes something to be evil, they avoid it; that is Ethics 101. That is why evil often tries to masquerade as good, to appear glamorous. God has created everything good, but if we use his creation for the purposes for which it was not intended, we can do evil, and it will surface sooner or later. Our Lord teaches us not to judge people, but he does teach us to judge actions: evil people do evil things, just as good people do good things. Even when someone does evil we recognize it as something good that has been corrupted or turned into something corrupting.

Our Lord teaches us what to do in the second part of today’s Gospel in order to determine what’s truly good and unmask what’s truly evil when it is hard to tell. First, if someone pays lip service to Our Lord and doesn’t truly do his will and seek to follow him, that is hypocrisy, and that is evil. We have to pray for people to know Our Lord and follow him with all their heart. Second, evil people may seem to build their lives on solid ground, but the path of evil is a path to destruction: it is building on a shaky foundation that will not stand the test of time, and is actually abandoning the one path that matters. Our Lord’s victory on the cross showed how solid a foundation his life was based upon. He will show us the  sure path and a solid foundation for our lives if we let him.

Let’s pray today for the conversion of sinners and for the insight to build our lives on Our Lord as a solid foundation.

Readings: 1 Timothy 1:15–17; Psalm 113:1b–7; Luke 6:43–49.

22nd Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday

by

In today’s confrontation between an old order and a new one we see Our Lord connecting his ministry and mission to that of David and, therefore, to the Messiah. When the Pharisees take Our Lord to task for his disciples’ behavior he reminds them that David, when there was a need, did something very similar with the bread of the Temple that was reserved to the priests. “Son of Man” is a title for the Messiah, and here he is showing a continuity with David that in part fulfills the prophecy of the Messiah, who’d be David’s descendant.

The Pharisees in their time had popular support and a predominant interpretation of how the Law was to be applied in everyday life. Jesus is reminding them today that there is a Legislator-in-Chief who is the ultimate authority. He is taking the legal framework back to its foundations, while also starting a tradition his Church would live throughout the centuries. Sometimes even he legislates rest: the Day of the Lord, every Sunday, is a day on which we’re expected to rest in order to have time for our spiritual and family obligations and refresh ourselves. And, like in today’s Gospel, some people need to serve in other ways on that day.

Whether we rest or work, let’s do it as Our Lord would wish it.

Readings: Colossians 1:21–23; Psalm 54:3–4, 6, 8; Luke 6:1–5. See also 15th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday.

20th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday

by

In today’s Gospel Our Lord makes an admonition to the disciples that for us has become a basic rule of thumb: practice what you preach. All believers are brothers because they all share one Father in Heaven, and they are all disciples because they follow the teachings of one Master, Christ. Through baptism we’ve all received an equal dignity in the eyes of God, and when any member of the Church forgets that, other members of the Church suffer through their bad example.

At the same time, Our Lord does not deny that the scribes and Pharisees whom he is criticizing actually have an authority that comes from Moses that is to be respected. Today there are some who are tempted to discard the preaching because certain preachers do not practice it. That’s not what Jesus teaches us. It’s sad when the preacher gets in the way of the message by putting himself first, but if he is preaching what has been handed down to us from Christ through the apostles and their successors, it is still a teaching that is necessary for us.

The core lesson today to bishops, priests, and deacons is to not let themselves get in the way of communicating the message: it’s not about ego, titles, or honors, but, rather, about communicating the message Our Lord has entrusted to the Church’s pastors through the centuries. It’s a lesson to every believer as well: through our bad example we can hinder the spread of the Gospel. Let’s ask Our Lord today to help us be good brothers and disciples who share his message with those who need it without ego trips, so that they welcome the message and don’t get hung up on the messenger.

Readings: Ruth 2:1–3, 8–11, 4:13–17; Psalm 128:1b–5; Matthew 23:1–12.