August 5, 2012
Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15;
Psalm 78; Ephesians 4:17-24; John 6:24-35
In the Book of Exodus, the wandering
Israelites complain about their living conditions. Life in Egypt, though
oppressive, provided staples of food, shelter, and clothing. Though free, the
community does not even know when or how their next meal can be prepared. Moses
asks the Lord to provide for the grumbling people and he responds by providing
quails at night for their fleshpots and manna each morning for bread. The Lord
will provide daily sustenance when it is most needed.
In John's Gospel, Jesus finishes
distributing bread and fish to over 5,000 men and their families. Plenty of
food is passed around in baskets. The crowd realizes that Jesus does something
remarkable for them and they seek him out. They want more signs so they can
believe that he really is the One promised to them by the prophets of old. They
land in Capernaum where Jesus addresses their questions. He tells them they are
not seeking more signs and short-term miracles because they really hunger for
the food that gives them eternal life. He declares he is the Bread of Life; the
food he gives will sustain those who believe in him.
The Jesus portrayed in the Fourth
Gospel emphasizes 'belief' as the condition for a discipleship to leads to
eternal life. All one must do is to believe; one's actions follow as a result
of his or her faith. The crowds asks Jesus, "What can we do to accomplish
the works of God?" and he responds, "You are to believe in the one
whom God has sent," He will then give you the eternal bread. Faith,
according to Jesus, is simple, but the consequences of professing belief are
challenging. Their ongoing faith will nourish and sustain them each day. Just
as their ancestors were sustained by manna in the desert, they will be
sustained by bread from heaven - as long as they realize Jesus provides this
bread.
The crowds seek out Jesus twice in
this passage. The first seeking is more than curiosity, but the second seeking
shows they want to believe in Jesus and his works. They realize he is someone
extraordinary and they want to know something deeper about him. This replicates
our pattern of developing friendship with the Lord. It is the same process we
use when acquiring new friends. We are first intrigued so we seek out the
person, we ask questions and come to know something about them, we admire and
want to know something more, and then we reveal something about ourselves that
we might not want the other person to know. The budding relationship becomes a
friendship.
Friendship is not always all-rosy. The
Israelites are free to grumble and complain about their situation. We become
friends when we share what we are really feeling with the other person. When we
share our feelings, we reveal something more about who we truly are. We are
best when we are honest about our feelings. Friendships can withstand ugly
mood-swings; they seldom tolerate dishonesty. The more honest and transparent
we can be with expressing our feelings, needs, and desires, the better we are
as a true friend. We can hold our own feelings and those of others. A good
friend will often place the real needs of others before his or her own.
The most important thing we can do in
prayer is to stay in the relationship. We also come to know that it is static.
We change; our prayer styles can change. We seek out new ways for developing
prayer and for adjusting ourselves in the friendship with Jesus. The way we
pray in the morning may not be the same method we use at night. Just as we have
times throughout the day when we are more productive; we might have better
times that are conducive to prayer. We have rich prayer styles and methods to
use. We have to see that we are on a journey of ascent. The best thing we can
do is to hold our seeking and striving in front of us: Jesus will be there to
nourish and sustain us. We simply need to relax and believe.
Themes for this Week’s Masses
First
Reading: The Transfiguration of Lord reveals how Daniel had
a vision of the Son of Man being elevated from his humanity to a place of
dominion over creation. ~ As the first reading tell Jeremiah's story, we hear
him empathizing with the Lord because his wound is so great and no one is there
to plead his cause, but the Lord says he will build us Zion once again. The
Lord sings a song of victory for Zion for Israel will have her rest. All the
tribes of Israel will come home. The Lord says he will not make the same type
of covenant with Israel at the time of their deliverance from Egypt; they broke
that one. The new one will be made by writing it upon their hearts. ~ In 2
Corinthians, Paul tells us that we are to be cheerful givers. God is able to
make every grace abundant for you. ~ In Habakkuk, one wonders why the all-pure,
all-powerful God looks down on the faithless in silence while the wicked seem
to have their way in this world. The Lord declares: the just one, because of
his faith, will live.
Gospel:
Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up the mountainside to reveal his true
identity as the Beloved One of the Father who ranks higher than the Prophets
(Elijah) and the Law (Moses.) ~ As the Gospel returns to Matthew's account,
Jesus and his disciples get into a boat to cross to the other side because of
the crowds. Late at night, the ship is tossed around by the winds and the
disciples see Jesus walking towards them on the sea. Jesus withdraws to Tyre
and Sidon where he encounters a Canaanite woman who pleads for her daughter's
demon to depart from her. Jesus reluctantly relents when he sees her great
faith. At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks "who do you say I am?" Peter
replies, "The Messiah." Jesus begins to instruct them that he will be
'lifted up' once 'handed over' by his own people. He also lets them know that
the price of discipleship is death with him so they can receive new life. Once
Jesus finishes his instructions, he meets us with the other disciples who are
dumbfounded because they cannot drive out a demon from a young boy.
Saints of the Week
August 5: 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.
August 6: 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.
August 7: Sixtus, II, pope and martyr with companions
(d. 258), died during the Valerian persecutions in 258. They were killed in
the catacombs where they celebrated Mass. Sixtus was beheaded while speaking in
his presidential chair and six deacons were killed as well. Lawrence, the
Deacon, is honored on August 10th. Sixtus is remembered during the 1st
Eucharistic prayer at Mass.
August 7: Cajetan, priest (1480-1547), was a
civil and canon lawyer who worked in the papal chancery. He later joined the
Roman Order of Divine Love and was ordained a priest. He became aware that the
church needed reform and he teamed up with the bishop of Theate (Gian Pietro
Carafa) and formed a society of priests called the Theatines who lived in
community and took monastic vows. They owned no property.
August 8: Dominic, priest (1170-1221), was a
Spaniard who was sent to southern France to counter the heretical teachings of
the Albigensians, who held that the material world was evil and only religious
asceticism could combat those forces. Dominic begged and preached in an austere
fashion and set the foundations for the new Order of Preachers for both men and
women.
August 8: Mother Mary MacKillop, religious
(1842-1909), who worked in Australia and New Zealand to assist the poor,
needy, and immigrants to the country, was canonized on October 17th 2010.
August 8th is chosen as the day in which she will be
memorialized on the Roman calendar. I offer the following prayer:
Bountiful
and loving God,
You
have filled the heart of Mary MacKillop
with
compassionate love for those
who
are in need at the margins of our society.
Deepen
that love within us
that
we may embrace the mystery of the Cross
which
leads us through death to life.
We
ask this in the Spirit of Jesus
who
having broken the bonds of death
leads
us to everlasting life. Amen.
August 9: Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith
Stein), martyr (1891-1942), became a Catholic convert from Judaism after
reading the autobiography of Teresa of Avila. He earned a doctorate in
philosophy, but was unemployable because she was a woman. She taught at a high
school for eight years before entering the Carmelites in 1933 where she made
final vows in 1938. She moved to Holland to escape persecution by the Nazis,
but was arrested when the bishops spoke out against the persecution of the
Jews.
August 10: Lawrence, deacon and martyr (d. 258) was
martyred four days after Pope Sixtus II and six other deacons during the
Valerian persecution. A beautiful story is told about Lawrence's words. When
asked to surrender the church's treasure, Lawrence gathered the poor and
presented them to the civil authorities. For this affront, he was martyred. He
is the patron of Rome.
August 11: Clare, founder (1193-1253), was
inspired by Francis of Assist so much that she fled her home for his community
to receive the Franciscan habit on Passion Sunday 1212. She lived in a nearby
Benedictine convent until she was made superior of a new community in San
Damiano. She practiced radical poverty by wearing no shoes, sleeping on the
ground, and giving up meat.
This Week in
Jesuit History
·
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.
·
Aug 7, 1814. The universal restoration
of the Society of Jesus.
·
Aug 8, 1604. St Peter Claver takes his
first vows at Tarracona.
·
Aug 9, 1762. The moving of the English
College from St Omers to Liege.
·
Aug 10, 1622. Blessed Augustine Ota, a
Japanese brother, was beheaded for the faith. He had been baptized by Blessed
Camillus Costanzi on the eve of the latter's martyrdom.
·
Aug 11, 1846. The death of Benedict
Joseph Fenwick. He was the second bishop of Boston, twice the president of
Georgetown, and the founder of the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts.
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