The Power of Choice
The 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time
October 1, 2023
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Ezekiel 18:25-28; Psalm 25; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32
These readings help us to see that God respects human freedom and that the power of choice determines whether one’s life is saved. In the Ezekiel passage, the author highlights that one can turn away from moral bankruptcy and choose what is good and right for one’s soul. The parable that Jesus uses in Matthew’s Gospel is similar. The son who originally said “no” and entered into a period of self-reflection and changed his mind was the one whose life was saved because he did the will of the Father. This parable of going into the vineyard to work seems obvious, but as we apply the Gospel to today’s situation, we see that this discernment is not as simple as it seems.
This is a very big week for the institutional church for three reasons. One, 21 bishops will be elevated to the rank of Cardinal today, and they are the voices of a worldwide communion, and three come from an area where Catholics are actively persecuted. The new Cardinals represent parts of the world that have often been overlooked by Rome with its European heritage. Two, a new version of the Encyclical of Laudato Si will be released on Wednesday, St. Francis’s Feast Day, as it updates the Church’s response to global climate change. Three, the fourth phase of the Synod on Synodality, collegiality, kicks off in Rome as the church goes through a period of global self-examination and discernment as it calls everyone together to listen to the joys and hopes, griefs and anxieties, from the People of God dispersed throughout the earth so we can muster our resources and resolve our communal problems. It is a lofty goal and a difficult challenge.
The Gospels highlight the attitudes of the two sons who did not want to go into the vineyard. In this present age, the church is calling its priests and bishops and the People of God to go into the vineyard. Some say “yes” and have no intention of going; some say “no,” and have a change of heart. Of those three points, some clergy and laity are upset that the church is caring for people who are geographically remote; some are climate change deniers; some dismiss the Synod as irrelevant and as a weakening of the Catholic voice, and they fear doctrine will change. Which is the one doing the will of the Father, the one who says “no” or “yes?” Our readings point out that sufficient reflection and self-examination allows one to change one’s mind and come around to doing God’s will.
The Church is asking for all people to participate in the Synod because it wants to hear your voice, whatever position you hold. It is not about ideologies, but about hearing what is happening in your corner of the world. It wants to hear from people not just in the U.S. but also from the new and young churches in Asia, the long-established ones in the Middle East, from those who endured colonialization in South America and Africa, and from Europe. Each area has distinct opportunities and challenges, and what is being inaugurated is an emphasis on communion, active participation, and a commitment to mission. The media will try to make it about something else: women’s ordination, LGBTQIA issues, abortion, and married priesthood. It is not about that at all. It is the Church from all corners of the world coming together to figure out how to work together and to support one another. It is a time of encounter and a time of listening. It is a time of prayerful discernment about how to be church. It is about a style of engaging and honoring one another. It is about listening – listening to those who are present, and listening to those who, for whatever reason, did not speak, and finding out why one did not speak. This is the church coming together to experience communion of minds, hearts, and imagination united under Christ, sealed by the Holy Spirit, led by the Vicar of Christ, all seeking to do the Father’s will. This is an historic moment, and it is the first of many synods of this type. This is the Church lovingly accepting its modern maturity, recognizing it is responsible for all peoples of the world, and it has a crucial, a vital role in leading all people to the Father’s heart. The Church is saying it hears the cries of joy and hope and it hears the anxieties and griefs, and it wants to be present to it. It wants to be present to you, a laity that is waking up and emerging, and it calls you to say “yes” to the Father’s will.
Who does the will of the Father? The one who takes time, examines one’s heart and ideologies, and says, “Yes, Lord, I want to do your will.”
Scripture for Daily Mass
Monday: (Zechariah 8) I am intensely jealous for Zion, stirred to jealous wrath for her. Thus says the LORD: I will return to Zion, and I will dwell within Jerusalem.
Tuesday: (Zechariah 8) There shall yet come peoples, the inhabitants of many cities; and the inhabitants of one city shall approach those of another, and say, "Come! let us go to implore the favor of the LORD"; and, "I too will go to seek the LORD."
Wednesday: (Nehemiah 2) The king asked me, "What is it, then, that you wish?" I prayed to the God of heaven and then answered the king: "If it please the king, and if your servant is deserving of your favor, send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors' graves, to rebuild it."
Thursday: (Nehemiah 8) The whole people gathered as one in the open space before the Water Gate, and they called upon Ezra the scribe to bring forth the book of the law of Moses which the LORD prescribed for Israel.
Friday (Baruch 1) During the Babylonian captivity, the exiles prayed: "Justice is with the Lord, our God; and we today are flushed with shame, we men of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem, that we, with our kings and rulers and priests and prophets, and with our ancestors, have sinned in the Lord's sight and disobeyed him.
Saturday (Baruch 4) Remember, Israel, You were sold to the nations not for your destruction; It was because you angered God that you were handed over to your foes.
For you provoked your Maker with sacrifices to demons, to no-gods.
Gospel:
Monday: (Matthew 18) "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?" He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Tuesday: (Luke 9) When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him.
On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him
Wednesday (Luke 9) "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him,
"Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." And to another he said, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead.
Thursday (Luke 10) "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.
Friday (Luke 10) "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
Saturday (Luke 10) The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus,
"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."
Saints of the Week
October 1: These of Lisieux, doctor (1873-1897), entered the Carmelites at age 15 and died at age 24 from tuberculosis. During her illness, Pauline, her prioress, asked her to write about her life in the convent. These stories are captured in "The Story of a Soul." He focused on her "little way" of pursuing holiness in everyday life.
October 2: The Guardian Angels are messengers and intermediaries between God and humans. They help us in our struggle against evil and they serve as guardians, the feast we celebrate today. Raphael is one of the guardians written about in the Book of Tobit. A memorial was added to the Roman calendar In 1670 in thanksgiving for their assistance.
October 3: Francis Borgia, S.J. became a duke at age 33. When his wife died and his eight children were grown, he joined the Jesuits. His preaching brought many people to the church and when he served as Superior General, the Society increased dramatically in Spain and Portugal. He established many missions in the new territories.
October 4: Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) was from the wealthy Bernardone family who sold silk cloths. After serving as soldier as a prisoner of war, Francis chose to serve God and the poor. He felt called to repair God's house, which he thought was a church. His father was angry that he used family money so he disinherited him. He began to preach repentance and recruited others to his way of life. His order is known for poverty, simplicity, humble service, and delighting in creation.
October 6: Bruno, priest (1030-1101), became a professor at Rheims and diocesan chancellor. He gave up his riches and began to live as a hermit with six other men. They had disdain for the rampant clerical corruption. The bishop of Grenoble gave them land in the Chartreuse mountains and they began the first Carthusian monastery. After serving in Rome for a few years, Bruno was given permission to found a second monastery in Calabria.
October 7: Our Lady of the Rosary recalls the events in 1571 of the Christian naval victory over the Turks at Lepanto near Corinth. Victory was credited to Mary as confraternities prayed the rosary for her intercession.
This Week in Jesuit History
- October 1, 1546. Isabel Roser was released from her Jesuit vows by St Ignatius after eight months.
- October 2, 1964. Fr. General Janssens suffered a stroke and died three days later. During his generalate, the Society grew from 53 to 85 provinces, and from 28,839 to 35,968 members.
- October 3, 1901. In France, religious persecution broke out afresh with the passing of Waldeck Rousseau's "Loi d'Association."
- October 4, 1820. In Rome, great troubles arose before and during the Twentieth General Congregation, caused by Fr. Petrucci's intrigues. He sought to wreck the Society and was deposed from his office as Vicar General, though supported by Cardinal della Genga (afterwards Leo XII).
- October 5, 1981. In a letter to Father General Arrupe, Pope John Paul II appointed Paolo Dezza as his personal delegate to govern the Society of Jesus, with Fr. Pittau as coadjutor.
- October 6, 1773. In London, Dr James Talbot, the Vicar Apostolic, promulgated the Brief of Suppression and sent copies to Maryland and Pennsylvania.
- October 7, 1819. The death of Charles Emmanuel IV. He had been King of Sardinia and Piedmont. He abdicated in 1802 and entered the Jesuits as a brother in 1815. He is buried in San Andrea Quirinale in Rome.
