Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 31, 2011
Isaiah 55:1-3; Psalm 145; Romans 8:35, 37-39; Matthew 14:13-21

          The compassion of Jesus leads to healing. For the past three weeks, Jesus has been teaching what the kingdom of heaven is like. Crowds have assembled to hear his words. Some commentators speculate that over ten percent of Israel came to hear him speak. The section starts out by telling us that Jesus withdrew to pray because he heard of the tragic death of John the Baptist. Though we read these words often, it is good for us to consider the real grief that Jesus experienced. Grief is an underestimated emotion and it is comforting to reflect upon the hurt Jesus felt at the death of his colleague and friend.

          The crowds followed him because they were eager to be with him. As his heart was wounded because of his personal loss, he was moved to act out of his compassion. He cured the sick when he disembarked. He recognized that many people had needs that kept them from living fully.

          Jesus acts as the good shepherd who feeds and specially cares for his own people. While doing so, he trains his disciples to have self-confidence, to show initiative, and to be leaders - just as he is doing. This first feeding narrative is strictly to the people of Israel; later on the feeding narrative is meant to include the Gentiles as well. Because of the sheer size of the population experiencing this miracle, it is meant to show that it has a social character as well as the miracle over nature. This episode is meant to recall the events in Exodus and Numbers when God gave the Israelites manna in the desert each day. The Eucharist is meant to anticipate the messianic banquet in the kingdom. Matthew, using Jewish apocalyptic imagery, brings to mind the reconstituted Israel with its Twelve Tribes represented by his Twelve Apostles. It helps us to consider the value of our leftovers.

           In a season when we think of good food and rich drink, it is easy to soak in the words of Isaiah who calls us into a feast where we can eat and drink to our hearts and belly's delight. This feast is one without cost; everyone is invited. It is the banquet offered by God when we follow his commands and live an upright life. All we have to do is listen to the words of God, which are a feast in themselves.

          Jesus also invites the crowds into a rich meal through a blessing. Generosity, open giving, and true community ensures that there will be plenty of food for all present and even for those who are absent. Sadly, many people find it difficult to be generous with open giving to their communities of faith today. Many want to do what is good and right for the needy among us and we value our financial and emotional care for others and yet many want to restrict their gifts in order to know that the money will be used for such purposes. We want to add conditions to our giving because we are frustrated when our voices are not heard or that we are not shown respect. Money, or withholding money, talks when all else fails. It shows something is not right in our institutional churches and the kingdom remains elusive when authority is not rightly used. We still year for good shepherds. We yearn for the day when the banquets of Isaiah and Jesus can come true. I still believe in miracles.

Themes for this Week’s Masses

First Reading: In Exodus, Moses hears the cries of the people who remember the good old days in Egypt when they had plenty of food instead of nutritious by hardly-exciting manna each day. Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses against the marriage he entered with a Cushite woman. The Lord supports Moses; for her sins, Miriam becomes a snow-white leper. In Numbers, Moses sends men into Canaan to reconnoiter the land. They bring back news of a land flowing with milk and honey, but also news that the occupants are strong and fierce. The people shriek at the Lord who punishes them, one for each year, an era that last 40 years. While in exile at Meribah, Miriam dies and the people grumble. Moses strikes a rock with his staff and water flows copiously from a rock. Moses exhorts the people to keep the statutes and commandments of the Lord so they and their children may prosper and have long life on the land they are to occupy.

Gospel: Jesus, after his miraculous feeding of the people of Israel, goes off to pray. He meets up with his disciples by walking on water to reach them in the boat. He calls them to deeper trust in him by asking Peter to walk on the water to reach him. Pharisees dispute the custom of Jesus to eat without first washing his hands in violation of the law. He replies that impurity comes from without rather than from the outside. He then meets the Canaanite woman whose daughter is tormented by a demon. The faith of Jesus is expanded to include those outside of Israel as capable of salvation. After spending a great deal of time with his disciples he asks, "Who do you say I am." Peter confesses, "You are the Christ of God." For this answer, Jesus tells Peter he will build his church upon his faith. The person who is to be a disciple is to deny himself and follow Jesus radically.

Saints of the Week

Monday: Alphonsus Liguori, bishop and doctor(1696-1787), founded a band of mission priests that became the Redemptorists. He wrote a book called "Moral Theology" that linked legal aspects with kindness and compassion for others. He became known for his responsive and thoughtful way of dealing with confessions.

Tuesday: Peter Faber, S.J., priest and founder (1506-1546), was one of the original companions of the Society of Jesus. He was a French theologian and the first Jesuit priest and was the presider over the first vows of the lay companions. He became known for directing the Spiritual Exercises very well. He was called to the Council of Trent but died as the participants were gathering.

Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop (d. 371), was ordained bishop after becoming a lector. He attended a council in Milan where he opposed the Arians. The emperor exiled him to Palestine because he contradicted secular influences. He returned to his diocese where the emperor died.

Peter Julian Eymard, priest (1811-1868) left the Oblates when he became ill. When his father died, he became a priest and soon transferred into the Marists but left them to found the Blessed Sacrament Fathers to promote the significance of the Eucharist.

Wednesday: John Vianney, priest (1786-1859) became the parish priest in Ars-en-Dombes where he spent the rest of his life preaching and hearing confessions. Hundreds of visitors and pilgrims visited him daily. He would hear confessions 12-16 hours per day.

Friday: Dedication of the Basilica of Mary Major in Rome is celebrated because it is the largest and oldest of the churches in honor of Mary. The veneration began in 435 when the church was repaired after the Council of Ephesus in 431 when Mary was proclaimed the Mother of God. This is the church where Ignatius of Loyola said his first Mass and where Francis of Assisi assembled the first crèche.

Saturday: The Transfiguration of the Lord is an historical event captured by the Gospels when Jesus is singled out as God's Son - ranking higher than Moses or Elijah. In front of his disciples, Jesus becomes transfigured, thus revealing his true nature. Ironically, the anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb occurred at Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

This Week in Jesuit History

·         Jul 31, 1556. The death in Rome of Ignatius Loyola.

·         Aug 1, 1938. The Jesuits of the Middle United States, by Gilbert Garrigan was copyrighted. This monumental three-volume work followed the history of the Jesuits in the Midwest from the early 1820s to the 1930s.
·         Aug 2, 1981. The death of Gerald Kelly, moral theologian and author of Modern Youth and Chastity.
·         Aug 3, 1553. Queen Mary Tudor made her solemn entrance into London. As she passed St Paul's School, an address was delivered by Edmund Campion, then a boy of thirteen.
·         Aug 4, 1871. King Victor Emmanuel signed the decree that sanctioned the seizure of all of the properties belonging to the Roman College and to S. Andrea.
·         Aug 5, 1762. The Parliament at Paris condemned the Society's Institute as opposed to natural law. It confiscated all Jesuit property and forbade the Jesuit habit and community life.
·         Aug 6, 1552. The death of Claude Jay, a French priest who was one of Ignatius' original companions at the University of Paris.