Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 22, 2010

The hopeful message of Isaiah’s reading gets twisted when pitted against Luke’s gospel passage. The Lord God tells Isaiah that some people from every nation will come to Jerusalem and see the divine glory and that some of these newly elect will become priests and Levites. The disciples of Jesus ask him if they will be saved as they realize only a few will be allowed into the kingdom. The closest friends of Jesus are unsure about their salvation even though they have listened to him, watched his wondrous miracles, heard his powerful words, and have left family and home to be with him. After all this they still are not assured. They hope and have faith and have practiced great acts of charity, but these very essential questions linger. This is a good disposition to have after all. Do you agree?

It is a confusing time to be a Christian because we know we do not have many of the answers or perhaps even the proper questions to many questions about our faith. The beliefs many Christians have about today’s complicated social issues are often at odds with the religious leaders who are trying to teach us, and we understand that a solid pedagogical model incorporates understanding our contexts, prudently choosing our action plan, and then taking the time to ponder and reflect upon the rightness of our choices. All too often the teacher becomes the student as both teacher and student are bound to learn from each other. We recognize that no side really possesses the truth, but the best disposition to have is to strive and pursue the truth as contained in God’s will for me here and now. God’s will is manifested in the here and now. What exists today as truth for me may change tomorrow. Learning and enrichment are so paradoxical because we find out that we know less than we thought we would than when we first began. Like the disciples of Jesus, we may err if we presume to know more than we do. Rightly, they wonder and do not presume that they are among the saved who will enter into the kingdom. The question remains, “Do we know if we are saved?”

Who makes it into the kingdom? The words of Jesus may upset us if we pay attention to the criteria he lists in the readings. People who are at the end of the line might get in before us. Merely knowing Jesus is not a qualification; the degree of being his friend however is significant. Those who we have rejected as unqualified might have the better seats than we do. Presuming we are in is an opposing vice to the virtue of hope. Finally, acting with humility and serving others seems to be the key to enter into the narrow gates. Together, these are difficult conditions to accept in today’s climate. What are we to do then? Developing our spiritual life and enriching our prayer experience with Jesus Christ will lead us into making the best choices we can. Our friendship with him will help us make the most prudential, merciful decisions we can because we will know what he wants from us and for us. If we learn to pay attention to both our needs and his, he will take care of us and we will learn to trust his way of being above all other inferior criteria in life. We will find that we like this way of goodness and we will want to be like him to a greater degree. It is just amazing what he will do for you when you realize how much he likes you.

Quote for the Week

From “The World According to Mr. Rogers” by Fred Rogers

I hope you are proud of yourself for the times you’ve said “yes,” when all it meant was extra work for you and was seemingly helpful only to someone else.

Themes for this Week’s Masses

First Reading: Paul’s 2nd letter to the Thessalonians is inserted into the first reading when he bolsters the courage of the persecuted believers to persevere in prayer and good works. He calls everyone to act in a way that is in order with the imitation of Paul and Jesus so that we can be a model for others to come to belief. In 1st Corinthians, Paul gives thanks for the Greek-based community that is richly blessed by God’s grace. Paul declares that Christ sent him to preach the Gospel and its message of the cross, which is foolishness to those who don’t understand. Paul glorifies the crucified Christ as the power of God. Paul illustrates how those assembled also are foolish in the world’s eyes, but glorified in God’s.

Gospel: Jesus unleashes his criticism upon the scribes and Pharisees whose actions mocks God and set the wrong example for discipleship. He encourages the people to be vigilant for the coming of the kingdom of God. They must build a relationship with God and be attentive to the divine will. He likens our disposition to receive the kingdom of heaven to be like the ten bridal virgins who are awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom and have their lamps prepared for his return. He then tells the parable of the man on a journey entrusting his possession to three servants, two of which invested the money, the third hid the talents and received no profit. For to everyone who has, more will be given and this person will grow rich.

Saints of the Week

Monday: Rose of Lima joined a Third Order of St. Dominic in Lima, Peru, a daughter of Spanish immigrants during the late 16th century. She practiced a life of penance, food deprivation and other harsh austerities, which brought about a few mystical experiences, but great periods of darkness and desolation. She was the first canonized saint from the New World.

Tuesday: Bartholomew, Apostle, is one of the Twelve Disciples, but we know little about his identity. The Synoptics link his name to Philip, but John’s Gospel links Nathaniel’s to Philip. All we really know is that he was one of the chosen Twelve who was a friend of Jesus from the beginning and witnessed his resurrection.

Wednesday: Louis of France became regent at age 12 and king at age 22 and ruled at a time of peace and prosperity. He is said to have been a fair man who acted justly, with mercy, and with great concern for the poor. He reigned for 44 years until his death in 1270.

Friday: Monica is the mother of Augustine who encouraged him to convert to the Christian faith. Previously, he had abandoned his faith in favor of the Manichean tradition, but her prayer and fasting is attributed to aiding his conversion. They lived in North Africa, but Augustine later moved to Milan where he met and was baptized by Ambrose in 387. Ambrose introduced a Milanese Eucharistic rite called the Ambrosian rite.

Saturday: Augustine, Bishop and Doctor, was the author of his Confessions, his spiritual autobiography, and The City of God, which described the life of faith in relation to the life of the temporal world. Many other writings, sermons, and treatises earned him the title Doctor of the church. In his formative years, he followed Mani, a Persian prophet who tried to explain the problem of evil in the world. His mother’s prayers and Ambrose’s preaching helped him convert to Christianity. He was named bishop of Hippo and defended the church against three major heresies.

This Week in Jesuit History

• Aug. 22, 1872: Jesuits were expelled from Germany during the Bismarckian Kulturkampf.
• Aug. 23, 1558: In the First General Congregation, the question was discussed about the General's office being triennial, and the introduction of choir, as proposed by Pope Paul IV, and it was decreed that the Constitutions ought to remain unaltered.
• Aug. 24, 1544: Peter Faber arrived in Lisbon.
• Aug. 25, 1666: At Beijing, the death of Fr. John Adam Schall. By his profound knowledge of mathematics and astronomy, he attained such fame that the Emperor entrusted to him the reform of the Chinese calendar.
• Aug. 26, 1562: The return of Fr. Diego Laynez from France to Trent, the Fathers of the Council desiring to hear him speak on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
• Aug. 27, 1679: The martyrdom at Usk, England, of St. David Lewis, apostle to the poor in his native Wales for three decades before he was caught and hanged.
• Aug. 28, 1628: The martyrdom in Lancashire, England, of St. Edmund Arrowsmith.

My Return to the U.S.

My period of formation called tertianship has come to an end. It has been a very rich time with incredibly happy memories during a period in which I formed strong bonds of Jesuit fraternity. I will miss many of my tertianmates as we disperse throughout the world into the ministries to which our provincials assign us. I am grateful for the terrific hospitality of the Australian province and their colleagues and friends. My prayer life and my heart are much richer for this special time. I am just incredibly happy.