Ignatian
Spirituality: Set the World Ablaze
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Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 31, 2016
Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19; Psalm 71; 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13; Luke 4:21-30
As we heard last week, the
fulfillment Jesus speaks about is not an historical event, but a reference to
the present moment. His words are fulfilled in our hearing of them. These are
the first words spoken by the adult Jesus as he deals with the theme of God’s
promised fidelity. At first, Jesus is met with amazement from the townspeople that
are grateful for the words of salvation, but they come from someone whom they
have known all along. How can Jesus, the son of Joseph, be the messenger of
God’s promise? They are astonished, but Jesus goes on the offensive with his
audience. He charges them with a lack of faith in him as the fulfillment of
God’s promises. The people merely want to see Jesus perform powerful deeds for
their own curiosity and benefit, not to deepen their own faith in God.
Jesus is in the line of the rejected
prophets, which highlights God’s boundless compassion by continuing to send
prophets to a hard-hearted, slow-of-hearing, rebellious people. However, the
rejection of Jesus is not the end of the story. Jesus illustrates examples of
God’s mercy given to the non-chosen, needy people of Elijah and Elisha’s time.
God’s mercy extends beyond the borders of Israel. It is offered freely to men
and women of all times and of all places. It is offered to anyone who is need
of mercy. Who would think that such a statement would fill the people with
rage, but it does. God has no restrictions upon salvation. God’s grace is
unconditional. The audience of Jesus is not necessarily “God’s poor” who deserves
special treatment. Therefore, Jesus continues on his journey according to God’s
plan, which no opposition can squelch. The escape of Jesus points ahead to his
Easter victory.
The reading from Jeremiah shows us
the intimacy God has with this early prophet that lived in a turbulent period.
God is seen as the unique creator who knows the human person from its very
first moment of existence and is always acting to bring God’s plan for the
person to fulfillment. For Jeremiah, he is set-aside for a prophetic mission to
proclaim that Yahweh is the God of all history. For Jesus, he is the
fulfillment of God’s promises to declare that salvation is for everyone. For
each of us personally, God has a unique purpose by which we bring news of God’s
love to those in need. The love of God is at the heart of all we do.
As St. Paul writes to the
Corinthians, he speaks the poetic lines of love that are often used in
weddings, but he is shaping and forming the people to become more than their
immature selves. Paul talks about a progression of gifts: the lowest being the
speaking in tongues, to intellectual gifts, then the miracle-working faith, to
acts of supreme devotion that help others in need. For Paul, only by loving
does a Christian authentically exist. Love is the fulfillment of one’s life in
Christ. Paul then outlines the way Christians ought to be by personifying love.
If the strong were not patient and kind, he called them to become that way. He
considered the Corinthians to be childish and desired them to become mature. To
see them act in love is the goal of Paul. Then he will know that the Gospel has
taken root.
If the people of the hometown of
Jesus acted in love, they would not have been obstacles to their own salvation.
We all know people who are resentful and jealous of someone else’s good fortune
and act to bring them down. It boggles the mind why some people are filled with
malice and evil intent in the pursuit of making themselves look good or in
getting an advantage in status. Nevertheless, it happens too frequently. This
is where First Corinthians gives us the insight: we have to act in love in
those places where we do not find love. If someone is not patient or kind, we
have to show them how to live because of our increased patience and kindness. We
have to be the ones maturing in love in order to call others to this type of
love. As Paul reminds us: Love never fails. The only quality that reverses the
progression of evil is love. This world needs your love. Find a way to bring it
to places where it is absent. Love never fails.
Themes for this Week’s Masses
First
Reading:
·
Monday: (2 Samuel 15) David tolerates a Benjaminite
who curses him and throws stones at him, jus as his son Absalom has done.
·
Tuesday: (Malachi 3) The Lord sends his messenger
to proclaim the Day of the Lord. He will purify the sons of Levi and will
offers pleasing sacrifices to Israel and Judah.
·
Wednesday: (2 Samuel 24) David sinned against the
Lord by registering his people. The Lord promised punishment, but David
protested because the people were innocent; he alone was guilty.
·
Thursday: (1 Kings 2) David gave instructions as he
lay near death. He ruled Hebron for seven years; Jerusalem for thirty-three
years. Solomon succeeds his father.
·
Friday (Sirach 47) A litany of praise is heaped
upon David. The Lord forgave his sins and exalted his strength forever. He
conferred on him royalty and established his house forever.
·
Saturday (1 Kings 3) The Lord said to Solomon, “Ask
of me anything and I will give it to you.” Solomon replied, “Give me an
understanding heart so I may govern your people wisely.”
Gospel:
·
Monday: (Mark 5) Jesus encounters the Gerasene
demoniac, who was plagued with a legion of demons. Jesus sends the demons into
the swineherd who rush off the cliff to their sudden death.
·
Tuesday: (Luke 2) The parents of Jesus came to the
Temple on the day of purification for the ritual offering. They met Anna and
Simeon. Both proclaim that they have witnessed the salvation of Israel when
they encountered Jesus.
·
Wednesday (Mark 6) Jesus returned to his hometown
and the native people heard about his miracles, but he remarks that a prophet
is without honor in his hometown.
·
Thursday (Mark 6) Jesus summoned the Twelve and
sent them out two-by-two. He gave them instructions to respect their hosts and
to proclaim in all humility with integrity.
·
Friday (Mark 6) Herod became curious about Jesus.
He wondered if he was John the Baptist reincarnated, for he had a checked
history with John, whom he put to death.
·
Saturday (Mark 6) The apostles gathered with Jesus
who took them away to a deserted place to pray. The crowds found them, and
Jesus was moved with compassion towards them.
Saints of the Week
January 31: John Bosco, priest (1815-1888), formed his Society to aid children
who were imprisoned. He used Francis de Sales as his inspiration. He taught
poor and working class boys in the evenings wherever it was possible to meet
them - in fields, factories, or homes. A sister community was set up to assist
young girls who were sent to work.
February 2: The Presentation of the Lord is the rite by which the firstborn
male is presented in the Temple as an offering to God. It occurs 40 days after
the birth while the new mother is considered ritually unclean. Two church
elders, Simeon and Anna, who represent the old covenant, praise Jesus and warn
his mother that her heart will be pierced as her son will bring the salvation
of many.
February 3: Blase, bishop and martyr (d.
316), was an Armenian martyr of the persecution of Licinius. Legends hold
that a boy, choking to death on a fishbone, was miraculously cured. Blase's
intercession has been invoked for cures for throat afflictions. The candles
presented at Candlemas the day earlier are used in the rite of the blessings of
throats.
February 3: Angsar, bishop (815-865), became a monk to preach to pagans. He
lived at the French Benedictine monastery of New Corbie and was sent to preach
in Denmark and Sweden. He was made abbot and then became archbishop of Hamburg.
He is known as the Apostle of the North because he restored Denmark to the
faith and helped bolster the faith of other Scandinavians.
February 4: John de Brito, S.J., priest, religious, and martyr (1647-1693), was
a Portuguese Jesuit missionary who served in India and was named “The
Portuguese Francis Xavier” to the Indians. De Brito was martyred because he
counseled a Maravan prince during his conversion to give up all but one of his
wives. One of the wives was a niece to the neighboring king, who set up a round
of persecutions against priests and catechists.
February 5: Agatha, martyr, (d. 251), died in Sicily during the Diocletian
persecution after she refused to give up her faith when sent to a brothel for punishment.
She was subsequently tortured. Sicilians believe her intercession stopped Mount
Etna from erupting the year after her burial. She has been sought as a
protector against fire and in mentioned in the First Eucharistic prayer.
February 6: Paul Miki and Companions, martyrs (d. 1597), were martyred in
Nagasaki, Japan for being Christians. Miki was a Jesuit brother and a native
Japanese who was killed alongside 25 clergy, religious, and laypeople. They
were suspended on crosses and killed by spears thrust into their hearts.
Remnants of the Christian community continued through baptism without any
priestly leadership. It was discovered when Japan was reopened in 1865.
This Week in Jesuit History
·
Jan 31, 1774. Fr. General Laurence Ricci, a
prisoner in Castel S Angelo, claimed his liberty, since his innocence had been
fully vindicated. He received from the Papal Congregation the reply that they
would think about it. Pope Clement XIV was said at this time to be mentally
afflicted.
·
Feb 1, 1549. The first Jesuit missionaries to go
to Brazil set sail from Lisbon, Portugal, under Fr. Emmanuel de Nobrega.
·
Feb 2, 1528. Ignatius arrived in Paris to begin
his program of studies at the University of Paris.
·
Feb 3, 1571. In Florida, the martyrdom of Fr.
Louis Quiros and two novices, shot with arrows by an apostate Indian.
·
Feb 4, 1617. An imperial edict banished all
missionaries from China.
·
Feb 5, 1833. The first provincial of Maryland,
Fr. William McSherry, was appointed.
·
Feb 6, 1612. The death of Christopher Clavius,
one of the greatest mathematicians and scientists of the Society.
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