July 26, 2009
You may remember that last week’s readings focused on the ways in which Jesus acts as the compassionate, caring leader who has concern for the needs of the people. This week, we see him act out of his heartfelt promptings as he feeds the multitudes who seek his support. The scriptural precedent for this feeding miracle is found in 2 Kings when Elisha orders a man who brings the first-fruits of the harvest as an offering to the Lord to “give it to the people to eat” instead. Despite great odds, over a hundred people ate their fill with some left over. The famishing hunger of the people was satisfied by God.
A similar scenario unfolds in John’s Gospel when Jesus feeds the 5,000 with the approaching Passover feast as the backdrop to the story. Jesus, bringing to mind the good shepherd imagery of Psalm 23, instructs his disciples to rely upon the boy’s five loaves and two fish. His doubtful disciples are confounded because of the enormity of the need and the utter lack of resources, but Jesus takes the loaves, blesses them, and gives the food to the hungry. God cares for the hungering crowds by giving to them over-abundantly.
Appropriately, many people will relate these readings to social justice – imploring the people to make a difference in the inequitable distribution of the world’s wealth and resources, one of the greatest evils of our day, but there is more to the story. One question to ask ourselves is, “do we perceive matters like the disciples did?” Do we see the paucity of solutions or do we consider the great resources available to us? The central feature, though, is to keep our eye on the one who knows us best and satisfies every need. God is the one who provides abundantly for us because God has great compassion for us. While not forgetting our responsibility to our neighbor, we first have to search deep within ourselves to discover our most unfed hunger and allow the Lord to satisfy our hungry heart. Let us not lose sight of the Good Shepherd, the wise and prudent leader, who wants to recline on that green grass with us and listen to our stories.
Quote for the Week
Since the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola is celebrated this Friday, July 31st, I will use two quotes from the founding member of the Society of Jesus. The first is from the end of The Spiritual Exercises in the contemplation to attain the love by which God loves.
“Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will. All I have and call my own. Whatever I have or hold, you have given to me.I restore it all to you and surrender it wholly to be governed under your will. Give me only your love and grace and I am rich enough and ask for nothing more.”
The second quote is from the Formula of the Institute, which is the foundational document of the Society of Jesus first approved in 1540 by Pope Paul III, and confirmed in 1550 by Pope Julius III.
"Whoever desires to serve as a soldier of God beneath the banner of the cross in our society, which we desire to be designated by the name of Jesus, and to serve the Lord alone and the Church, his spouse, under the Roman pontiff, the vicar of Christ on earth, should, after a solemn vow of perpetual chastity, poverty and obedience, keep what follows in mind. He is a member of a Society founded chiefly for this purpose:
to strive especially for the defense and propagation of the faith and for the progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine, by means of public preaching, lectures, and any other ministration whatsoever of the word of God and further by means of the Spiritual Exercises, the education of children and unlettered persons in Christianity and the spiritual consolation of Christ's faithful through hearing confessions and administering the other sacraments.
Moreover, he should show himself ready to reconcile the estranged, compassionately assist and serve those who are in prisons or hospitals and, indeed, to perform any other works of charity, according to what will seem expedient for the glory of God and the common good."
Themes for this Week’s Masses
God’s abiding presence in to the Hebrews as a column of cloud is seen this week through the accounts of Exodus. They notice how God meets Moses and discusses the situation of the people with him. In response to the covenant, Moses writes down the divine commandments while on Sinai, but when he returns he notices the people have quickly turned away in revelry and have begun to worship a molten calf. After Moses sets matters aright, the people build a tent as a place to meet God. They major festal celebrations are set that celebrate God’s presence to them.
We move into the thirteenth chapter of Matthew where Jesus tells his disciples about the Kingdom of God through the use of parables. He explains why this technique is needed for he will “announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.” The images used in the parables relate to the daily life of the people, but they are used as metaphors and analogies that help us understand the nature of God’s kingdom in familiar ways. On Saturday, we have a pause in Jesus’ teaching as we become observers of Herod’s banquet in which John the Baptist will be beheaded.
Saints of the Week
Martha, the sister of Mary and Lazarus, is honored on Wednesday as a model for hospitality and also for her fidelity to the Lord. She lived in Bethany two miles outside of Jerusalem. Mary is known for sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to his words while Martha receives Jesus into their home and served the guests. Later in John’s Gospel, Martha goes out to meet Jesus who returned to Bethany to raise Lazarus. Martha makes her famous confession of faith that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ of faith.
Thursday is the memorial of Peter Chrysologus, doctor of the church and archbishop of Ravenna, Italy. Chrysologus means “golden words” and is so named because of his famous 5th century homilies that helped to convert Ravenna from paganism to the faith.
Friday is the feast of Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits and author of the Spiritual Exercises. As a Basque nobleman, he was wounded in a battle at Pamplona in northeastern Spain and convalesced at his castle where he realized he followed a methodology of discernment of spirits. When he recovered, he ministered to the sick and dying and then retreated to a cave at Manresa, Spain where he had experiences that formed the basis of The Spiritual Exercises. In order to preach, he studied Latin, earned a Master’s Degree at the University of Paris, and then gathered other students to serve Jesus. Francis Xavier and Peter Faber were his first friends. After ordination, Ignatius and his nine friends went to Rome where they formally became the Society of Jesus. Most Jesuits were sent on mission, but Ignatius stayed in Rome directing the rapidly growing religious order, composing its constitutions, and perfecting the Spiritual Exercises. He died in 1556 and the Jesuit Order was already 1,000 men strong. Since Sunday is the Lord’s Day, the memorial of Blessed Peter Faber is not celebrated. Faber was a founding companion and the first priest of the early Jesuits. He is known for his promotion of The Spiritual Exercises.
On Saturday, we celebrate Alphonsus Liguori, founder of the Redemptorist Order. Liguori wrote thirty-six theological and devotional works; he also was a spiritual director who practiced simplicity, gentleness, and intelligibility.
New Provincial for the New England Province
The feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola is the day in which new assignments within the Jesuit Order typically take place. This July 31st, Fr. Myles Sheehan will take over as the Provincial of the New England province. Fr. Sheehan left Loyola University in Chicago to become the provincial for the next six years. Blessings and best wishes to Fr. Sheehan and to the New England Province.
John Predmore, S.J., is a USA East Province Jesuit and was the pastor of Jordan's English language parish. He teaches art and directs BC High's adult spiritual formation programs. Formerly a retreat director in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Ignatian Spirituality is given through guided meditations, weekend-, 8-day, and 30-day Retreats based on The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatian Spirituality serves the contemporary world as people strive to develop a friendship with God.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 19, 2009
We all want leaders who will care for us and use their authority justly, but regrettably most of us have too many unresolved authority issues that prevent us from trusting even those worthy leaders of our day. The result of our lack of trust is that we do not live as fully and as completely as we would like. Some of us withdraw; some become cynical; still others will be outwardly confrontational. None of these paths are fulfilling ways to holiness or wholeness.
Jeremiah, the God-seduced prophet, rightly names the leaders of his day as false shepherds who have scattered the flock and driven the people away from what is most important – unity. However, he announces that the Lord will gather the remnant of the flock and they shall inherit the new type of shepherd, who will govern with justice, tenderness, and wisdom. This will be a leader who tenderly demonstrates that he will care for the needs of the people and will be abundantly kind and good to them.
Mark’s Gospel completes this image of shepherd-leader by telling us about the actions of Jesus. He is the one who delights in the good works the disciples have accomplished as they return from their mission to teach and drive out demons. He wants to spend time with them so he calls them to a deserted place to rest for a while. This is a terrific model because we all need more rest and affirmation and we do not know how to get it. However, goodness and happiness attracts and many people come seeking the good that Jesus and his disciples bring to others. They crave more and more.
Remarkably, Jesus does not turn the people away, but has compassion on them because he realizes that they are seeking this coveted happiness that only comes from being in his presence. His heart is moved by their searching and he does not disappoint. When people seek that which will fulfill them, they will find Jesus, and he brings about a reconciling peace that strives for unity among God, self, and neighbor. Jesus is the one who bridges our world to God’s – thus assuring us that our greatest needs will be met.
Assess this week, if you will, your own history of using authority justly or of being a recipient of a prudentially-exercised justice. Notice the good that these actions generate and that trust that is gained. Also, review the areas of your life that need some sort of reconciliation. If you are able, since it is summer, take some time out of your routine so that you may find a deserted place where you can rest for awhile. Rest in our society is underrated. Invite God into that rest. Do no work. Just spend time with your God.
Quote for the Week
“Prayer is the raising of the mind to God. We must always remember this. The actual words matter less.” – Blessed John XXIII
Themes for this Week’s Masses
As we continue in the Book of Exodus, we experience the generous compassion of the Lord God to his people that Moses is leading out of Egypt. Once Pharaoh realizes what he has agreed to do, he relents and sends his army against the defenseless Hebrews, but the Lord God protects them as Moses and Aaron lead them through the sea. The pursuing Egyptian army is extinguished by the walls of water that engulf them. A month after reaching safety, the Hebrews grumble and doubt God, but Moses intercedes for their nourishment and God provides them with quail at night and manna, bread from heaven, at morning. The Lord provides for their need. Two months later, Moses assembles the community at the foot of Mount Sinai. While Moses intercedes, God speaks and calls Moses up the mountain to give him the law, the commandments, that are a sign of God’s covenant.
Jesus moves further along in his mission in Matthew’s Gospel and we are able to notice the conflict that he generates. The scribes and the Pharisees who are closely related to Jesus’ theological positions are stung by Jesus’ reply to them when they asked for a sign. Biblical Jews were always looking for a Theophany – a sign that an event comes directly from God. Even Jesus’ mother and brothers are rebuffed by him as he redefines who can belong to the new family that he is establishing in God’s kingdom. He then tells his disciples that they must have discerning ears attuned to hearing the true meaning of his teachings and parables, using the example of the sower as a metaphor for the proper type of discipleship. Certainly, the path of discipleship will be a difficult one as he explained to his disciples in last week’s readings.
Saints of the Week
On Monday, Apollinaris, one of our Church’s first bishops and one directly chosen by Peter, is honored for his evangelical work until his martyrdom in the first century.
On Tuesday, the Franciscan Capuchin Lawrence of Brindisi is honored as a Doctor of the Church as he worked for the conversion of the Jews and to stop the spread of Protestantism in Europe. He served as a diplomat and missionary because of his brilliance with Scripture and his fluency in several languages.
Mary Magdalene is revered on Wednesday as the “apostle to the apostles.” The poor woman is presented through distorted lenses because our tradition conflates various stories into one portrait of her. She is attributed to be an unclean woman in several Scripture passages, but there is no direct mention of her. Mary, with some other women, is known to have traveled with Jesus and his apostles during his ministry. She faithfully stood near Jesus as he died on the cross while the other disciples fled. Her fidelity brought her to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body on Easter morning and was the first witness to the Resurrection.
Thursday is the patronal feast of the people of Sweden who remember Bridget of Sweden. She is also co-patroness of Europe along with Catherine of Siena and Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein.) After bearing eight children to a husband who died in 1344, Bridget began a religious order for men and women that emphasized prayer and penitence.
Friday is the memorial of Sharbel Makhluf of Lebanon. He joined a monastery in the Catholic Maronite rite for fifteen years before he became an ascetical desert hermit in 1875. He is known for his holiness, wisdom and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.
On Saturday, we celebrate the feast of James, the Greater, one of the “Sons of Thunder”, the brother of John of Zebedee. As a fisherman, James left with his brother to follow Jesus and he was among the inner circle of Jesus. Many scriptural texts will cite him as present for such events liked the transfiguration, the raising of Jairus’ daughter, and accompanying Jesus at the garden of Gethsemane. The church in Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain is venerated in his honor – the second most visited pilgrimage site in Catholic history. James is depicted as a pilgrim. He is also one of the leading figures of the early Church in Jerusalem.
Baghdad Reunion
Alumni from Baghdad College (High School) and Al-Hikma University in Baghdad gathered for a reunion in Detroit this weekend. The New England Province operated those schools until 1968 and 1969 until the Ba’athist Party rose to power and nationalized all Iraqi schools. Alumni have faithfully gathered every two to three years to connect with old friends and to honor the work the Jesuits have done for them.
Pope Benedict’s New Encyclical
The Holy Father has issued a new encyclical called Caritas in veritate (Charity in Truth) to address the global economic systems that need to be shaped by Gospel values of ethics that are people-centered, not profit-driven. He states that every economic decision is a moral one; thus justice must be applied to every phase of economic activity. The dense encyclical will take some effort to digest, but the radical rethinking of today’s economic models will provide for a greater respect and dignity of every human person. This papal statement is revolutionary and is more liberal than most Americans would like to hear.
We all want leaders who will care for us and use their authority justly, but regrettably most of us have too many unresolved authority issues that prevent us from trusting even those worthy leaders of our day. The result of our lack of trust is that we do not live as fully and as completely as we would like. Some of us withdraw; some become cynical; still others will be outwardly confrontational. None of these paths are fulfilling ways to holiness or wholeness.
Jeremiah, the God-seduced prophet, rightly names the leaders of his day as false shepherds who have scattered the flock and driven the people away from what is most important – unity. However, he announces that the Lord will gather the remnant of the flock and they shall inherit the new type of shepherd, who will govern with justice, tenderness, and wisdom. This will be a leader who tenderly demonstrates that he will care for the needs of the people and will be abundantly kind and good to them.
Mark’s Gospel completes this image of shepherd-leader by telling us about the actions of Jesus. He is the one who delights in the good works the disciples have accomplished as they return from their mission to teach and drive out demons. He wants to spend time with them so he calls them to a deserted place to rest for a while. This is a terrific model because we all need more rest and affirmation and we do not know how to get it. However, goodness and happiness attracts and many people come seeking the good that Jesus and his disciples bring to others. They crave more and more.
Remarkably, Jesus does not turn the people away, but has compassion on them because he realizes that they are seeking this coveted happiness that only comes from being in his presence. His heart is moved by their searching and he does not disappoint. When people seek that which will fulfill them, they will find Jesus, and he brings about a reconciling peace that strives for unity among God, self, and neighbor. Jesus is the one who bridges our world to God’s – thus assuring us that our greatest needs will be met.
Assess this week, if you will, your own history of using authority justly or of being a recipient of a prudentially-exercised justice. Notice the good that these actions generate and that trust that is gained. Also, review the areas of your life that need some sort of reconciliation. If you are able, since it is summer, take some time out of your routine so that you may find a deserted place where you can rest for awhile. Rest in our society is underrated. Invite God into that rest. Do no work. Just spend time with your God.
Quote for the Week
“Prayer is the raising of the mind to God. We must always remember this. The actual words matter less.” – Blessed John XXIII
Themes for this Week’s Masses
As we continue in the Book of Exodus, we experience the generous compassion of the Lord God to his people that Moses is leading out of Egypt. Once Pharaoh realizes what he has agreed to do, he relents and sends his army against the defenseless Hebrews, but the Lord God protects them as Moses and Aaron lead them through the sea. The pursuing Egyptian army is extinguished by the walls of water that engulf them. A month after reaching safety, the Hebrews grumble and doubt God, but Moses intercedes for their nourishment and God provides them with quail at night and manna, bread from heaven, at morning. The Lord provides for their need. Two months later, Moses assembles the community at the foot of Mount Sinai. While Moses intercedes, God speaks and calls Moses up the mountain to give him the law, the commandments, that are a sign of God’s covenant.
Jesus moves further along in his mission in Matthew’s Gospel and we are able to notice the conflict that he generates. The scribes and the Pharisees who are closely related to Jesus’ theological positions are stung by Jesus’ reply to them when they asked for a sign. Biblical Jews were always looking for a Theophany – a sign that an event comes directly from God. Even Jesus’ mother and brothers are rebuffed by him as he redefines who can belong to the new family that he is establishing in God’s kingdom. He then tells his disciples that they must have discerning ears attuned to hearing the true meaning of his teachings and parables, using the example of the sower as a metaphor for the proper type of discipleship. Certainly, the path of discipleship will be a difficult one as he explained to his disciples in last week’s readings.
Saints of the Week
On Monday, Apollinaris, one of our Church’s first bishops and one directly chosen by Peter, is honored for his evangelical work until his martyrdom in the first century.
On Tuesday, the Franciscan Capuchin Lawrence of Brindisi is honored as a Doctor of the Church as he worked for the conversion of the Jews and to stop the spread of Protestantism in Europe. He served as a diplomat and missionary because of his brilliance with Scripture and his fluency in several languages.
Mary Magdalene is revered on Wednesday as the “apostle to the apostles.” The poor woman is presented through distorted lenses because our tradition conflates various stories into one portrait of her. She is attributed to be an unclean woman in several Scripture passages, but there is no direct mention of her. Mary, with some other women, is known to have traveled with Jesus and his apostles during his ministry. She faithfully stood near Jesus as he died on the cross while the other disciples fled. Her fidelity brought her to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body on Easter morning and was the first witness to the Resurrection.
Thursday is the patronal feast of the people of Sweden who remember Bridget of Sweden. She is also co-patroness of Europe along with Catherine of Siena and Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein.) After bearing eight children to a husband who died in 1344, Bridget began a religious order for men and women that emphasized prayer and penitence.
Friday is the memorial of Sharbel Makhluf of Lebanon. He joined a monastery in the Catholic Maronite rite for fifteen years before he became an ascetical desert hermit in 1875. He is known for his holiness, wisdom and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.
On Saturday, we celebrate the feast of James, the Greater, one of the “Sons of Thunder”, the brother of John of Zebedee. As a fisherman, James left with his brother to follow Jesus and he was among the inner circle of Jesus. Many scriptural texts will cite him as present for such events liked the transfiguration, the raising of Jairus’ daughter, and accompanying Jesus at the garden of Gethsemane. The church in Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain is venerated in his honor – the second most visited pilgrimage site in Catholic history. James is depicted as a pilgrim. He is also one of the leading figures of the early Church in Jerusalem.
Baghdad Reunion
Alumni from Baghdad College (High School) and Al-Hikma University in Baghdad gathered for a reunion in Detroit this weekend. The New England Province operated those schools until 1968 and 1969 until the Ba’athist Party rose to power and nationalized all Iraqi schools. Alumni have faithfully gathered every two to three years to connect with old friends and to honor the work the Jesuits have done for them.
Pope Benedict’s New Encyclical
The Holy Father has issued a new encyclical called Caritas in veritate (Charity in Truth) to address the global economic systems that need to be shaped by Gospel values of ethics that are people-centered, not profit-driven. He states that every economic decision is a moral one; thus justice must be applied to every phase of economic activity. The dense encyclical will take some effort to digest, but the radical rethinking of today’s economic models will provide for a greater respect and dignity of every human person. This papal statement is revolutionary and is more liberal than most Americans would like to hear.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 12, 2009
Pedro Arrupe, Superior General of the Jesuits from 1965-1983, once termed a Jesuit as a “man for others.” As Jesuits have expanded our understanding of mission to our lay colleagues, we have broadened the usage to be “men and women for others,” but our recent General Congregation 35 goes a bit further by saying that we have to be “men and women ‘with’ others before we can be ‘for’ others.” We get that same sense in our reading today as we hear Mark’s account of Jesus sending his disciples forth with instructions on behavior that are in sync with the goal of the mission. The integrity of their behavior authenticates the mission.
The life of a person on mission is difficult. We see that with Amos, a reluctant prophet, because he is a simple shepherd who is not from a prophetic heritage when he is called to leave behind his undemanding lifestyle for a ministry of prophesying where he will encounter the hardness of heart of many people. Jesus’ disciples are told that, like Amos, their ministry will be challenging because they will endure many rejections, and they are sent on this mission with barebones provisions. They will have to entrust themselves over to the hospitality and generosity of villagers. A missionary has to begin his or her journey as a needy and vulnerable person. We have to ask ourselves, “How needy and vulnerable am I? Am I weak enough to trust in the Lord and in the generosity of others?” We notice, however, the Jesus does not send out the person alone. One needs the safety and care of a companion on the journey.
Why does Jesus send us out with only a paucity of resources? God gives to us freely and we are to give to others out of free choice and free will. If we are spiritually introspective enough, we can become aware of the many ways that we are bound by disordered attachments and fears. Jesus knows that and yet he still sends us. We are to move forward by inculturating ourselves into the community around us. We have to become one with those to whom we bring the good news. Our poverty makes us credible. Our obedience to mission makes us credible. We are called to stay with the people who want to hear the good news so that relationships can deepen and mature. This takes time and trust.
What is the message we are to share? It is contained in Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. For a Jesuit, it is an Ignatian “First Principle and Foundation.” It is God who chooses believers, both Jew and Gentile, to belong to God and to share the good news. God’s mysterious plan will come to fulfillment in God’s time and this plan has Jesus Christ as the beginning, the end, and the center of it. We exist for the praise of God’s glory and we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. Through Christ, we can know of the mystery of God’s will for us and for the world. This is certainly good news to be praised.
Quote for the Week
“O Christ Jesus, when all is darkness and we feel our weakness and helplessness, give us the sense of your presence, your love, and your strength. Help us to have perfect trust in your protecting love and strengthening power, so that nothing may frighten or worry us, for, living close to you, we shall see your hand, your purpose, and your will in all things.” – St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)
Themes for this Week’s Masses
In the Old Testament readings, we begin the Book of Exodus and we listen to the story of the liberation of the Hebrews from their bondage and slavery in Egypt. We hear about the mistreatment of the Hebrews as a new king who did not know Joseph came to power and feared the numerous foreigners. He oppressed them with hard labor and treated them cruelly. We then move to the birth of Moses who will lead the people out of bondage. The adoption of Moses by the Pharaoh’s daughter allowed him to be raised as one of the oppressors, but when Moses’ nationality was discovered, he was banished from Egypt and he settled in Midian. There he has an encounter with the Lord at the burning bush where God is revealed as “I am” and then assigns Moses a mission to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. The Passover occurs assuring the Israelites of safe passage to the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – a day that will be immortalized in the consciousness of every Jew.
As we move further into Matthew’s Gospel, we hear some difficult sayings from Jesus. His mission creates conflict and people begin to wonder about the nature and source of his identity. He does, however, after making some difficult statements, offer comfort to his faithful disciples. “Come to me all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves - For my yoke is easy and my burden light.”
Saints of the Week
On Monday, Henry, a descendent of Charlemagne, is honored for his integration of ecclesiastical matters with his secular power. He became king of Germany in 1002 and the Holy Roman Emperor in 1014 and is known for his just and prayerful exercise of authority.
On Tuesday, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks and the Apostle of the Indians, is remembered for her service to others and her deep devotion to the Eucharist. She was the daughter of a Christian Algonquin and a non-Christian Mohawk chief. In her youth, she contracted smallpox that left her face disfigured and nearly blind, but she was inspired by Jesuit missionaries and converted to the faith on Easter Sunday 1676.
Wednesday is the celebration of the man Francis of Assisi nicknamed Bonaventure (Good Fortune) because of his cure from a childhood illness. As a doctor of the church, he taught philosophy and theology at the University of Paris and was the predominant voice at the ecumenical council in Lyons that united the Greek and Latin rites. He was a friend and confidant of Thomas Aquinas.
Thursday is the patronal feast of the Carmelites when he celebrated Simon Stock’s reception of the brown scapular by Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The Carmelites were originally a group of 12th century hermits that settled on Mount Carmel overlooking the plain of Galilee in imitation of the prophet Elijah.
On Saturday, the church memorializes Camillus de Lellis for establishing a religious order that would care for the sick and dying. He discovered the deplorable conditions of hospitals during his convalescence for his diseased leg. He established hospitals for the sick and chaplaincies for the soldiers on the battlefields.
Happy Bastille Day
July 14th commemorates the 1789 storming of the Bastille prison-fortress, which is seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern nation of France. It marks the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy that preceded the First Republic during the French Revolution. Soon after the storming of the Bastille, feudalism was abolished and the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen” was proclaimed.
Pedro Arrupe, Superior General of the Jesuits from 1965-1983, once termed a Jesuit as a “man for others.” As Jesuits have expanded our understanding of mission to our lay colleagues, we have broadened the usage to be “men and women for others,” but our recent General Congregation 35 goes a bit further by saying that we have to be “men and women ‘with’ others before we can be ‘for’ others.” We get that same sense in our reading today as we hear Mark’s account of Jesus sending his disciples forth with instructions on behavior that are in sync with the goal of the mission. The integrity of their behavior authenticates the mission.
The life of a person on mission is difficult. We see that with Amos, a reluctant prophet, because he is a simple shepherd who is not from a prophetic heritage when he is called to leave behind his undemanding lifestyle for a ministry of prophesying where he will encounter the hardness of heart of many people. Jesus’ disciples are told that, like Amos, their ministry will be challenging because they will endure many rejections, and they are sent on this mission with barebones provisions. They will have to entrust themselves over to the hospitality and generosity of villagers. A missionary has to begin his or her journey as a needy and vulnerable person. We have to ask ourselves, “How needy and vulnerable am I? Am I weak enough to trust in the Lord and in the generosity of others?” We notice, however, the Jesus does not send out the person alone. One needs the safety and care of a companion on the journey.
Why does Jesus send us out with only a paucity of resources? God gives to us freely and we are to give to others out of free choice and free will. If we are spiritually introspective enough, we can become aware of the many ways that we are bound by disordered attachments and fears. Jesus knows that and yet he still sends us. We are to move forward by inculturating ourselves into the community around us. We have to become one with those to whom we bring the good news. Our poverty makes us credible. Our obedience to mission makes us credible. We are called to stay with the people who want to hear the good news so that relationships can deepen and mature. This takes time and trust.
What is the message we are to share? It is contained in Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. For a Jesuit, it is an Ignatian “First Principle and Foundation.” It is God who chooses believers, both Jew and Gentile, to belong to God and to share the good news. God’s mysterious plan will come to fulfillment in God’s time and this plan has Jesus Christ as the beginning, the end, and the center of it. We exist for the praise of God’s glory and we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. Through Christ, we can know of the mystery of God’s will for us and for the world. This is certainly good news to be praised.
Quote for the Week
“O Christ Jesus, when all is darkness and we feel our weakness and helplessness, give us the sense of your presence, your love, and your strength. Help us to have perfect trust in your protecting love and strengthening power, so that nothing may frighten or worry us, for, living close to you, we shall see your hand, your purpose, and your will in all things.” – St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)
Themes for this Week’s Masses
In the Old Testament readings, we begin the Book of Exodus and we listen to the story of the liberation of the Hebrews from their bondage and slavery in Egypt. We hear about the mistreatment of the Hebrews as a new king who did not know Joseph came to power and feared the numerous foreigners. He oppressed them with hard labor and treated them cruelly. We then move to the birth of Moses who will lead the people out of bondage. The adoption of Moses by the Pharaoh’s daughter allowed him to be raised as one of the oppressors, but when Moses’ nationality was discovered, he was banished from Egypt and he settled in Midian. There he has an encounter with the Lord at the burning bush where God is revealed as “I am” and then assigns Moses a mission to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. The Passover occurs assuring the Israelites of safe passage to the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – a day that will be immortalized in the consciousness of every Jew.
As we move further into Matthew’s Gospel, we hear some difficult sayings from Jesus. His mission creates conflict and people begin to wonder about the nature and source of his identity. He does, however, after making some difficult statements, offer comfort to his faithful disciples. “Come to me all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves - For my yoke is easy and my burden light.”
Saints of the Week
On Monday, Henry, a descendent of Charlemagne, is honored for his integration of ecclesiastical matters with his secular power. He became king of Germany in 1002 and the Holy Roman Emperor in 1014 and is known for his just and prayerful exercise of authority.
On Tuesday, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks and the Apostle of the Indians, is remembered for her service to others and her deep devotion to the Eucharist. She was the daughter of a Christian Algonquin and a non-Christian Mohawk chief. In her youth, she contracted smallpox that left her face disfigured and nearly blind, but she was inspired by Jesuit missionaries and converted to the faith on Easter Sunday 1676.
Wednesday is the celebration of the man Francis of Assisi nicknamed Bonaventure (Good Fortune) because of his cure from a childhood illness. As a doctor of the church, he taught philosophy and theology at the University of Paris and was the predominant voice at the ecumenical council in Lyons that united the Greek and Latin rites. He was a friend and confidant of Thomas Aquinas.
Thursday is the patronal feast of the Carmelites when he celebrated Simon Stock’s reception of the brown scapular by Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The Carmelites were originally a group of 12th century hermits that settled on Mount Carmel overlooking the plain of Galilee in imitation of the prophet Elijah.
On Saturday, the church memorializes Camillus de Lellis for establishing a religious order that would care for the sick and dying. He discovered the deplorable conditions of hospitals during his convalescence for his diseased leg. He established hospitals for the sick and chaplaincies for the soldiers on the battlefields.
Happy Bastille Day
July 14th commemorates the 1789 storming of the Bastille prison-fortress, which is seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern nation of France. It marks the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy that preceded the First Republic during the French Revolution. Soon after the storming of the Bastille, feudalism was abolished and the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen” was proclaimed.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Full Version of 14th Sunday of OT homily
Do you ever find yourself limited by others’ expectations for you? -especially the people whom you like and you know best? Do you stop striving to do what you really feel called to do? We see that dynamic happening in our three readings today. Ezekiel is sent into the rebellious Israelite community that God calls “hard of face and obstinate of heart.” Paul is wounded by those who ought to be on his side – members of his own faith who fight for a certain type of conservative, hard-line, Torah-driven, Judeo-Christianity. Jesus is weakened by the lack of faith of his own hometown people who do not want him to get ahead. They think, “Who the hell does he think he is? What an audacious man who thinks he is better than us. We will show him that he is just like us and nothing more.” All too often we pay attention to these horrible voices that stop us from becoming the one who our Creator wants us to be. All too often we believe the deadening words of others and turn away from words that feed our dreams. What a tragedy. What a terrible tragedy. Life is difficult enough without this type of wisdom and advice to stamp the life out of us. No. We have to hold onto the dreams that our God has for us. What are the dreams that Our Lord has for you?
I often invite retreatants to think back on the books they read or the hobbies they delighted in as a youth – just so they could reclaim a bit of their childhood – and so they can remember the first, raw dreams that ignited their passions. I ask them to let those good desires enter into their consciousness once again. We have to remember our stories and we have to tell it whenever we can. We tell a different insight each time. Everyone loves to hear a good story and in a world that beats us down because sin and death is all around, we have to hear our voice claim ‘who we are’ over and over again. We must cherish our stories – even if it contains great pain, tremendous debilitating shame, sorrowful loss, or damaged hope. These may be our thorns in our flesh as St. Paul wrote about, and we are to value them as our source of grace.
As storytelling is part of our culture, I’m going to share a few stories of recent movies that reveal something essential about the core of a character who wrestles with his or her thorn only to see it become a new grace.
Let’s start with The Wrestler – about an aging, broken-down, once-popular man who displays remarkable humility about his fallen fate, but still comes alive when he performing to others expectations. His boss, girlfriend and daughter want a more relationally-engaged and meaningful life for him, but he realizes that his particular gift is in being an entertaining hero to others. Or Frost/Nixon – As audience members, we are character that is transformed as compassion and sympathy are called out of us for a defeated man, when Richard Nixon was interviewed by the British, TV host, David Frost. Humanity looks straight on into the face of such tragic loneliness and is moved to help another step out of his self-torment. In The Reader – we watch a woman choose ignoble, dire consequences to hide the shame of being illiterate and we watch her move toward freedom in prison and overcome that which debilitates her. What shame and areas of our life keep us paralyzed that we hide from others? Then there is Revolutionary Road where we check our dreams and ambitions and hopes and joys at the suburban door to take up a melancholy life devoid of the fullest extent of personal meaning as we deceive ourselves into complacency and satisfaction of quiet desperation. No. We react vehemently against that. Life has more meaning than that. What about Gran Torino - where the redemptive power of encountering another person or culture transforms a life of suppressed anger and long-standing unhappiness into one of genuine affection that causes one to defend a foreign brother or sister? Rachel Getting Married? –a remarkable tale of a woman who won’t let her addiction and dependencies and self-hatred shut her out of the family that means everything to her. And then there’s Doubt, where a sister confronts the overwhelming system of dysfunction and chooses to consider her intense anger, not as a sin, but as a useful mechanism to restore right relations to a boy and his God. Who among us isn’t perplexed by our deep-seated anger? May we learn how to trust that our anger is good. Or Milk - the exuberant triumph of activist Harvey Milk as he legislates that bigoted prejudice, deeply imbedded in the human heart, has to be stopped – even at the heaviest price possible. And who can forget the searing images of the vast wastelands of Slumdog Millionaire where the unfortunate experiences of one’s life become the fragile keys to a life destined for a reversal of one’s fortunes. The slums will always remain in this new millionaire’s humanity. Powerful images. Powerful stories that grip our humanity and resonate deep within our emotional experiences. Wow! This is the reason stories are told. This is the reason stories are remembered and passed on to the next generation. Their humanity meets our humanity. These are the stories of Christ’s liberating love that calls us to be essentially the one he created us to be. Only when we accept our weaknesses can we allow Christ to transform them into a grace for his greater glory. It allows us to flourish and allows our dreams to take flight once again – to the end for which we were created.
With every movie I mentioned, the story of shame and the need for healing is central to one of the characters. We too keep hidden aspects of our lives that we think others don’t see. When we pay attention to Jesus in each of the curing narratives, we often see him forgiving sins, but he always does more – he heals the wounded one of that which most debilitates them. Healing takes away the shame we experience – of not measuring up, of low self-esteem, of self-hatred, of being unloved, of being born to the wrong family or socio-cultural condition, of not being in control of our fate in life. These are our areas to be transformed and this is where Christ’s story embraces ours. He wants you to know his love for you – by being with you – especially in your pain and chaos, listening to you, accepting every aspect of who you are, and calling forth the person that he knows you can be – beautiful in every way, lovable in all your meaningful thoughts, caring in all your actions, joyful in the core of your being, and grateful to the God who wants you to know that he wants to embrace you tightly and not let go. I believe that for sure – each and every one of you. Only love – a greater, deeper affection – can bring about such miraculous events. Such an action can free us and cause us to see the world in a new way.
Let’s linger for a moment on Paul’s paradoxical words once again, “That I may not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me. I begged the Lord that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me…. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
My friends, as I look out into this congregation, I see the strength of Christ in abundance. Embrace your stories. Hold onto your precious life – even the chaos that holds us powerless. Be weak enough to let the power of Christ radiate out from you. He will call you to be much more than you could ever expect.
I often invite retreatants to think back on the books they read or the hobbies they delighted in as a youth – just so they could reclaim a bit of their childhood – and so they can remember the first, raw dreams that ignited their passions. I ask them to let those good desires enter into their consciousness once again. We have to remember our stories and we have to tell it whenever we can. We tell a different insight each time. Everyone loves to hear a good story and in a world that beats us down because sin and death is all around, we have to hear our voice claim ‘who we are’ over and over again. We must cherish our stories – even if it contains great pain, tremendous debilitating shame, sorrowful loss, or damaged hope. These may be our thorns in our flesh as St. Paul wrote about, and we are to value them as our source of grace.
As storytelling is part of our culture, I’m going to share a few stories of recent movies that reveal something essential about the core of a character who wrestles with his or her thorn only to see it become a new grace.
Let’s start with The Wrestler – about an aging, broken-down, once-popular man who displays remarkable humility about his fallen fate, but still comes alive when he performing to others expectations. His boss, girlfriend and daughter want a more relationally-engaged and meaningful life for him, but he realizes that his particular gift is in being an entertaining hero to others. Or Frost/Nixon – As audience members, we are character that is transformed as compassion and sympathy are called out of us for a defeated man, when Richard Nixon was interviewed by the British, TV host, David Frost. Humanity looks straight on into the face of such tragic loneliness and is moved to help another step out of his self-torment. In The Reader – we watch a woman choose ignoble, dire consequences to hide the shame of being illiterate and we watch her move toward freedom in prison and overcome that which debilitates her. What shame and areas of our life keep us paralyzed that we hide from others? Then there is Revolutionary Road where we check our dreams and ambitions and hopes and joys at the suburban door to take up a melancholy life devoid of the fullest extent of personal meaning as we deceive ourselves into complacency and satisfaction of quiet desperation. No. We react vehemently against that. Life has more meaning than that. What about Gran Torino - where the redemptive power of encountering another person or culture transforms a life of suppressed anger and long-standing unhappiness into one of genuine affection that causes one to defend a foreign brother or sister? Rachel Getting Married? –a remarkable tale of a woman who won’t let her addiction and dependencies and self-hatred shut her out of the family that means everything to her. And then there’s Doubt, where a sister confronts the overwhelming system of dysfunction and chooses to consider her intense anger, not as a sin, but as a useful mechanism to restore right relations to a boy and his God. Who among us isn’t perplexed by our deep-seated anger? May we learn how to trust that our anger is good. Or Milk - the exuberant triumph of activist Harvey Milk as he legislates that bigoted prejudice, deeply imbedded in the human heart, has to be stopped – even at the heaviest price possible. And who can forget the searing images of the vast wastelands of Slumdog Millionaire where the unfortunate experiences of one’s life become the fragile keys to a life destined for a reversal of one’s fortunes. The slums will always remain in this new millionaire’s humanity. Powerful images. Powerful stories that grip our humanity and resonate deep within our emotional experiences. Wow! This is the reason stories are told. This is the reason stories are remembered and passed on to the next generation. Their humanity meets our humanity. These are the stories of Christ’s liberating love that calls us to be essentially the one he created us to be. Only when we accept our weaknesses can we allow Christ to transform them into a grace for his greater glory. It allows us to flourish and allows our dreams to take flight once again – to the end for which we were created.
With every movie I mentioned, the story of shame and the need for healing is central to one of the characters. We too keep hidden aspects of our lives that we think others don’t see. When we pay attention to Jesus in each of the curing narratives, we often see him forgiving sins, but he always does more – he heals the wounded one of that which most debilitates them. Healing takes away the shame we experience – of not measuring up, of low self-esteem, of self-hatred, of being unloved, of being born to the wrong family or socio-cultural condition, of not being in control of our fate in life. These are our areas to be transformed and this is where Christ’s story embraces ours. He wants you to know his love for you – by being with you – especially in your pain and chaos, listening to you, accepting every aspect of who you are, and calling forth the person that he knows you can be – beautiful in every way, lovable in all your meaningful thoughts, caring in all your actions, joyful in the core of your being, and grateful to the God who wants you to know that he wants to embrace you tightly and not let go. I believe that for sure – each and every one of you. Only love – a greater, deeper affection – can bring about such miraculous events. Such an action can free us and cause us to see the world in a new way.
Let’s linger for a moment on Paul’s paradoxical words once again, “That I may not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me. I begged the Lord that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me…. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
My friends, as I look out into this congregation, I see the strength of Christ in abundance. Embrace your stories. Hold onto your precious life – even the chaos that holds us powerless. Be weak enough to let the power of Christ radiate out from you. He will call you to be much more than you could ever expect.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
“That I may not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me. I begged the Lord that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me…. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:8-10)
All too often the expectations of others hinder the pursuit of our dreams and callings. We see that dynamic happening in our three readings today. Ezekiel is sent into the rebellious Israelite community that God calls “hard of face and obstinate of heart.” Paul is wounded by those who ought to be on his side – members of his own faith who fight for a certain type of conservative, hard-line, Torah-driven, Judeo-Christianity. Jesus is weakened by the lack of faith of his own hometown people who do not want him to get ahead. They think, “Who the hell does he think he is? What an audacious man who thinks he is better than us. We will show him that he is just like us and nothing more.” All too often we pay attention to these horrible voices that stop us from becoming the one who our Creator wants us to be. All too often we believe the deadening words of others and turn away from words that feed our dreams. What a terrible tragedy. Life is difficult enough without this type of wisdom and advice to stamp the life out of us. No. We have to hold onto the dreams that our God has for us.
I often invite people to think back on the books they read or the hobbies they delighted in as a child – just so they could reclaim a bit of their childhood – and so they can remember their earliest dreams that ignited their passions. I ask them to let those good desires enter into their consciousness once again. We have to remember our stories and we have to tell it whenever we can because we notice a different insight each time. Everyone loves to hear a good story and in a world that can beat us down because sin and death is all around, we have to discover who we are over and over again. We must cherish our stories – even if it contains great pain, debilitating shame, sorrowful loss, or damaged hope. These may be our thorns in our flesh and we are to value them as our source of grace.
We hide aspects of our lives that we think others do not see. In healing narratives, we see Jesus forgiving sins, but he always does more – he heals the wounded one of that which most debilitates them. Healing takes away the shame we experience – of not measuring up, of low self-esteem, of self-hatred, of being unloved, of not being in control of our fate in life. These are our areas to be transformed and this is where Christ’s story embraces ours. He wants you to know his love for you – by being with you – especially in your pain and chaos, listening to you, accepting every aspect of who you are, and calling forth the person that he knows you can be. Christ wants to embrace you tightly and not let go. I believe that for sure. Only his love – a greater, deeper affection – can bring about such miraculous events. Such an action frees us and causes us to live in the world in a new way.
Quote for the Week
“A true Eucharist is never a passive, comforting moment alone with God, something which allows us to escape the cares and concerns of our everyday life. Eucharist is where all these cares and concerns come to a focus, and where we are asked to measure them against the standard lived by Jesus when he proclaimed for all to hear that the bread that he would give would provide life for the entire world. But it will do so only if, finding ourselves with a basket of bread, we have peered deeply enough into the heart of Christ to know what to do with it.” Fr. Paul Bernier, SSS Bread Broken and Shared (1981)
Themes for this Week’s Masses
We continue to read of the Patriarchs of our faith – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Old Testament passages. Jacob, through a dream, experiences God and marks the place of his encounter. After wrestling with a stranger for a blessing, he receives a new name – Israel – the one who wrestled with God and humans. We then hear the story of Joseph, one of Israel’s twelve sons, the lost one who turns up in Egypt. He helps his brothers and Jacob (Israel) who are starving to death. Finally, Jacob’s asks that his bones be carried to the resting place with Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Leah. Joseph and his brothers’ families prosper in Egypt, but they swear an oath to return Joseph’s bones to the land of his fathers.
After this Sunday’s account of Jesus saying the “a prophet is without honor in his hometown,” we see him move forth to carry out his mission. We hear of the crowd’s amazement when they experience Jesus healing the sick, expelling supernatural demons, and even raising a dead child to life. He then calls disciples to his way of life and sends them on mission. He instructs them to go forth without fear, to act honorably and with integrity, and to ready themselves for the insult and persecutions they are to expect. This boldness is refreshing after reading about the rejection and the hardness of heart the people of Jesus’ own village.
Saints of the Week
Monday is the memorial of Maria Goretti, a daughter of poor Italian farmworkers who at age twelve resisted the sexual advances of an 18 year old neighbor. In his rejection and rage, he stabbed her and she died the following day. Before dying, she forgave him. He witnessed her canonization in 1950. One hundred and twenty Chinese martyrs are remembered on Thursday. Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions were persecuted in the 19th century for their evangelization and education of the people. Zhao Rong, a soldier, converted to Catholicism while escorting a French missionary bishop and he was ordained a priest, which was enough to cause the Chinese government to execute him. On Saturday, the church memorializes Benedict the Abbot, who became a monk at Subiaco and attracted new followers – enough to found twelve monasteries. When he founded the monastery at Monte Cassino, we wrote his Rule, which established western monasticism. Concern and charity are the hallmarks of his way of life.
Ignatius’ Prayer for Generosity
Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for reward save that of knowing that I do your will. Amen.
Summer Blessings and much sunshine to you! May the summer days recreate you.
All too often the expectations of others hinder the pursuit of our dreams and callings. We see that dynamic happening in our three readings today. Ezekiel is sent into the rebellious Israelite community that God calls “hard of face and obstinate of heart.” Paul is wounded by those who ought to be on his side – members of his own faith who fight for a certain type of conservative, hard-line, Torah-driven, Judeo-Christianity. Jesus is weakened by the lack of faith of his own hometown people who do not want him to get ahead. They think, “Who the hell does he think he is? What an audacious man who thinks he is better than us. We will show him that he is just like us and nothing more.” All too often we pay attention to these horrible voices that stop us from becoming the one who our Creator wants us to be. All too often we believe the deadening words of others and turn away from words that feed our dreams. What a terrible tragedy. Life is difficult enough without this type of wisdom and advice to stamp the life out of us. No. We have to hold onto the dreams that our God has for us.
I often invite people to think back on the books they read or the hobbies they delighted in as a child – just so they could reclaim a bit of their childhood – and so they can remember their earliest dreams that ignited their passions. I ask them to let those good desires enter into their consciousness once again. We have to remember our stories and we have to tell it whenever we can because we notice a different insight each time. Everyone loves to hear a good story and in a world that can beat us down because sin and death is all around, we have to discover who we are over and over again. We must cherish our stories – even if it contains great pain, debilitating shame, sorrowful loss, or damaged hope. These may be our thorns in our flesh and we are to value them as our source of grace.
We hide aspects of our lives that we think others do not see. In healing narratives, we see Jesus forgiving sins, but he always does more – he heals the wounded one of that which most debilitates them. Healing takes away the shame we experience – of not measuring up, of low self-esteem, of self-hatred, of being unloved, of not being in control of our fate in life. These are our areas to be transformed and this is where Christ’s story embraces ours. He wants you to know his love for you – by being with you – especially in your pain and chaos, listening to you, accepting every aspect of who you are, and calling forth the person that he knows you can be. Christ wants to embrace you tightly and not let go. I believe that for sure. Only his love – a greater, deeper affection – can bring about such miraculous events. Such an action frees us and causes us to live in the world in a new way.
Quote for the Week
“A true Eucharist is never a passive, comforting moment alone with God, something which allows us to escape the cares and concerns of our everyday life. Eucharist is where all these cares and concerns come to a focus, and where we are asked to measure them against the standard lived by Jesus when he proclaimed for all to hear that the bread that he would give would provide life for the entire world. But it will do so only if, finding ourselves with a basket of bread, we have peered deeply enough into the heart of Christ to know what to do with it.” Fr. Paul Bernier, SSS Bread Broken and Shared (1981)
Themes for this Week’s Masses
We continue to read of the Patriarchs of our faith – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Old Testament passages. Jacob, through a dream, experiences God and marks the place of his encounter. After wrestling with a stranger for a blessing, he receives a new name – Israel – the one who wrestled with God and humans. We then hear the story of Joseph, one of Israel’s twelve sons, the lost one who turns up in Egypt. He helps his brothers and Jacob (Israel) who are starving to death. Finally, Jacob’s asks that his bones be carried to the resting place with Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Leah. Joseph and his brothers’ families prosper in Egypt, but they swear an oath to return Joseph’s bones to the land of his fathers.
After this Sunday’s account of Jesus saying the “a prophet is without honor in his hometown,” we see him move forth to carry out his mission. We hear of the crowd’s amazement when they experience Jesus healing the sick, expelling supernatural demons, and even raising a dead child to life. He then calls disciples to his way of life and sends them on mission. He instructs them to go forth without fear, to act honorably and with integrity, and to ready themselves for the insult and persecutions they are to expect. This boldness is refreshing after reading about the rejection and the hardness of heart the people of Jesus’ own village.
Saints of the Week
Monday is the memorial of Maria Goretti, a daughter of poor Italian farmworkers who at age twelve resisted the sexual advances of an 18 year old neighbor. In his rejection and rage, he stabbed her and she died the following day. Before dying, she forgave him. He witnessed her canonization in 1950. One hundred and twenty Chinese martyrs are remembered on Thursday. Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions were persecuted in the 19th century for their evangelization and education of the people. Zhao Rong, a soldier, converted to Catholicism while escorting a French missionary bishop and he was ordained a priest, which was enough to cause the Chinese government to execute him. On Saturday, the church memorializes Benedict the Abbot, who became a monk at Subiaco and attracted new followers – enough to found twelve monasteries. When he founded the monastery at Monte Cassino, we wrote his Rule, which established western monasticism. Concern and charity are the hallmarks of his way of life.
Ignatius’ Prayer for Generosity
Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for reward save that of knowing that I do your will. Amen.
Summer Blessings and much sunshine to you! May the summer days recreate you.