{"id":1794,"date":"2016-10-16T07:59:34","date_gmt":"2016-10-16T05:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/?p=1794"},"modified":"2016-10-16T07:59:34","modified_gmt":"2016-10-16T05:59:34","slug":"29th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-cycle-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/2016\/10\/16\/29th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-cycle-c\/","title":{"rendered":"29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?\u201d are Our Lord\u2019s prophetic words at the end of today\u2019s Gospel, and we have to ask ourselves: is that a rhetorical question?\u00a0They are prophetic words because, by referring to himself as the Son of Man, he is referring to his return in glory. If it were\u00a0rhetorical it would mean that he was\u00a0just putting a little melodramatic foreshadowing into his discourse and doesn’t really mean what he’s saying. The only problem with that theory is that his question comes at the end of his discourse. Rhetorical questions usually come at the beginning of one.\u00a0These words should cut right to our hearts. We know Our Lord means what he says: he is saying we must do our part.<\/p>\n

This weekend we celebrate World Mission Sunday by remembering in our liturgy all those generous Christians who bring the faith to the\u00a0corners of the world where the Gospel hasn\u2019t yet arrived.\u00a0When we survey the faith in our world, we see that the mission fields are not just in remote islands or distant continents full of strange tribes and peoples: they are in our own society, our own homes, even our own families. So we come together in the liturgy and raise up our prayers on behalf of the People of God, like Moses did in the today’s First Reading.\u00a0Does Christ find faith on earth? We hope to answer yes with our worship and our lives. \u201cWill he find faith on earth?\u201d is his invitation for us to see the mission field to which he has called each of us. It\u2019s not necessarily in far off continents or distant cultures;\u00a0it is right at our doorstep.\u00a0Some people say that the two things you should never talk about are politics and religion. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Pope Pius XII\u2019s encyclical on missions, entitled Fidei Donum<\/em> \u2013 the gift of faith. As Pius XII said,<\/p>\n

\u201cit is faith that allows us to draw near to the hidden mysteries of the divine life; it is faith that encourages us to hope for everlasting happiness; it is faith that strengthens and consolidates the unity of the Christian society in this transitory life, according to the Apostle: \u2018One Lord, one faith, one Baptism.\u2019 It is chiefly by reason of this divine gift that our grateful hearts of their own accord pour forth this testimony: \u2018What shall I render to the Lord for all that he hath rendered unto me?\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When someone gives you a gift, you talk about it, you even share it, don\u2019t you? If you don\u2019t, what does that say about the gift or what you think of the giver? Missionary work starts right in our own hearts by accepting the gift of faith that Christ has given us. It means letting that faith influence our outlook, our lives, our actions and decisions. Missionaries receive the gift of faith before they can go out and share it, or else they go out with empty hands and hearts, if they go out at all.\u00a0I remember long ago, when my priestly vocation was just a thought in the back corner of my mind, I was having lunch with a Protestant co-worker, and how struck I was by his saying grace at meals. Something so simple. Sometimes I relish when I\u2019m having a phone conversation with someone who doesn\u2019t know I\u2019m a priest: calling the post office or something, and when I end the conversation with a \u201cGod bless.\u201d there\u2019s an awkward pause, and then \u201cum, same to you; or thank you; have a nice day.\u201d Wishing God\u2019s blessing on someone is never something that just stays at the level of polite conversation.<\/p>\n

Does society find faith today as the judge in today\u2019s Gospel parable found it in the widow?\u00a0Her persistence made an impact. Even though that judge\u00a0feared neither God nor man, by the persistence of that widow he knew he had to judge justly in her case. You notice he, as thick-skinned as he was, didn\u2019t say simply that he would decide in her favor. He said he wouldn\u2019t rig the trial: he said he would judge justly on her behalf.\u00a0The Church in many ways and in many fields reminds the world today of its rights, but also of its obligations. We know that there are important truths related to the Gospel message that everyone can understand: the dignity of each human person in every phase of their life, the importance of the family, good friendships, and solidarity to help promote a family of nations. All that has come to light thanks to the gift of faith we\u2019ve received.\u00a0If we do not get the word out, they won\u2019t hear it from anyone else. It takes convincing and persistence, just like the widow.<\/p>\n

The battle for the world\u2019s soul today is much like Moses, arms upraised, in today’s First Reading.\u00a0With the staff of God, the authority of God, in his hands, Moses keeps his arms upraised in prayer, and Joshua and the Israelites triumph over the Amalekites. But when he tires, Amalek gains the upper hand.\u00a0We are grateful to God for the Pope and all the bishops who ceaselessly raise their arms in prayer for the people of God in battle for the world\u2019s soul. They count on us. Aaron, the high priest of Israel, like the priests and clergy, and Hur, a leader of the people, one of the elders who helped Moses govern the people, bring him a rock to sit on,\u00a0and then support his arms because they know he can\u2019t do it alone. Everyone united in prayer and work has to strive to win the Promised Land: eternal life.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s ask Our Lord today for the grace to keep united in prayer and work to share this great gift of the faith he\u2019s given us.\u00a0Let\u2019s ask for the grace to keep the little ways of showing that \u2013 saying grace before meals, praying the rosary together as a family, spending time with him \u2013 in our homes and families.\u00a0Let\u2019s ask to not be afraid of sharing our faith with others.\u00a0Let\u2019s ask for vocations to the priesthood, consecrated life, and the missions, and and for the light and strength to be his missionaries in whatever walk of life to which he\u2019s called us.<\/p>\n

Readings:\u00a0Exodus 17:8\u201313;\u00a0Psalm 121:1\u20138;\u00a02 Timothy 3:14\u20134:2;\u00a0Luke 18:1\u20138.<\/em> See also 32nd Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?\u201d are Our Lord\u2019s prophetic words at the end of today\u2019s Gospel, and we have to ask ourselves: is that a rhetorical question?\u00a0They are prophetic words because, by referring to himself as the Son of Man, he is referring to his return in glory. … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[121,45,15,104],"class_list":["post-1794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cycle-c","tag-ordinary-time","tag-sunday","tag-twenty-ninth-week"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p65qtw-sW","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1794"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1796,"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1794\/revisions\/1796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}