The Twenty-Second
Sunday of Ordinary Time
predmore.blogspot.com
September 2, 2018
Joshua 24:1-2, 15-18; Psalm
34; Ephesians 5:21-32; John 6:60-69
For the past two weeks, I have
been a juror sitting on criminal trial and I learned the most important
function of a juror. The juror’s responsibility is to listen, to hear. A case
is called a hearing because the jury has to hear the prosecutor and the defense
make a case. A juror cannot ask a question. A juror cannot investigate or make
preliminary conclusions or judgments. A juror is expected to be fed by the
lawyers all the details of a case in which one has to render a verdict. Only
when a juror has listened deeply and the evidence of the case is detailed, then
a decision can be made.
I bring up my experience as a
juror because of what I find in the readings today. Moses said to the people:
Listen, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees. Moses knows the meaningful
listening is the key to keeping the commandments. In the Gospel, Jesus is
pressed by the Pharisees about a case, much like a prosecutor will do in a
trial. Just as Moses summoned the people together, Jesus does the same. He
calls them all together and says, “Hear me, all of you, and understand.” And he
continues to say that sin and evil come from within the human heart that is not
settled, a heart that does not hear, a heart that does not strive to
understand. In effect, Jesus calls us to listen more deeply than we usually do.
Love is born from understanding
and understanding comes from listening. We all want to be understood, but when
we are not mindful of our own suffering or if we have not listened to our own
selves, we are anxious for others to understand us right away. Talking first
does not satisfy what we want. Deep listening needs to come first. Becoming
aware of the presence of suffering that we and others carry will move us to
mutual understanding that is satisfying. Deep listening moves us to become more
compassionate people.
We can acquire and practice deep
listening skills through various techniques, like mindful breathing, deciding
when to respond to someone’s pain, and setting an attitude that seeks to help a
person suffer less. When we learn to respond to others with this mindset, we
can help the other person suffer less because compassion grows within us.
Listening deeply and
compassionately helps us understand another person better, and love is
nourished because we understand that person’s suffering. Listening to suffering
is an essential ingredient for generating understanding and love. Happiness is
the capacity to understand and to love. Notice when we are not happy. It is
because we suffer a lot and we want someone to know our situation.
Moses wants people to do more
than listen. He wants them to hear God’s commands and statutes because it is
for their happiness because they are suffering. He wants the people to know that
God listens deeply to them and wants to respond. Jesus replies in the same way.
Listen and understand. If our hearts are peaceful and satisfied, we will not
develop an attitude that leads to evil. No, listen to God’s commandments and
your hearts will be settled. God can respond to your suffering and you will
have a community of friends who want to know how you suffer and offer you
genuine compassion because we are a community of sufferers. Pausing, listening,
mindful hearing will lead us to hold your suffering with compassion, which
leads to an increase of our love for you, which brings you and us great
happiness.
Scripture for Daily Mass
First Reading:
Monday: (1 Corinthians 2) I came
to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation
were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit
and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power
of God.
Tuesday: (1 Corinthians 2) The
Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God. Among men, who knows
what pertains to the man except his spirit that is within? Similarly, no one
knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the
spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand
the things freely given us by God.
Wednesday: (1 Corinthians 3) While
there is jealousy and rivalry among you, are you not of the flesh, and
walking according to the manner of man? Whenever someone says, "I
belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos," are you not
merely men?
Thursday: (1 Corinthians 3) For
the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God. So let no one boast
about human beings, for everything belongs to you, Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or
the world or life or death, or the present or the future: all belong to you,
and you to Christ, and Christ to God.
Friday (1 Corinthians 4) Therefore,
do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for
he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives
of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from God.
Saturday (Micah 5) You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah,
too small to be among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one
who is to be ruler in Israel.
Gospel:
Monday: (Luke 4) He stood up to
read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Tuesday: (Luke 4) He taught them
on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with
authority. In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean
demon, and he cried out in a loud voice, "What have you to do with
us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?
Wednesday (Luke 4) At sunset,
all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him. He laid his
hands on each of them and cured them. And demons also came out from many,
shouting, "You are the Son of God." But he rebuked them and did not
allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ.
Thursday (Luke 5) Getting into
one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short
distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After
he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and
lower your nets for a catch."
Friday (Luke 5) "The
disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples
of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink." Jesus answered
them, "Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with
them?
Saturday (Matthew 1) The Book of
the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham
became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of
Judah and his brothers.
Saints of the Week
September 3: Gregory the Great (540-604) was the
chief magistrate in Rome and resigned to become a monk. He was the papal
ambassador to Constantinople, abbot, and pope. His charity and fair justice won
the hearts of many. He protected Jews and synthesized Christian wisdom. He
described the duties of bishops and promoted beautiful liturgies that often
incorporated chants the bear his name.
September 7: Stephen Pongracz (priest), Melchior
Grodziecki (priest), and Mark Krizevcanin (canon) of the Society of Jesus
were martyred in 1619 when they would not deny their faith in Slovakia. They
were chaplains to Hungarian Catholic troops, which raised the ire of Calvinists
who opposed the Emperor. They were brutally murdered through a lengthy process
that most Calvinists and Protestants opposed.
September 8: The Birth of Mary was originally (like
all good feasts) celebrated first in the Eastern Church. The Roman church began
its devotion in the fifth century. Her birth celebrates her role as the mother
of Jesus. Some traditions have her born in Nazareth while others say she hails
from outside of Jerusalem.
This Week in Jesuit History
·
Sep
2, 1792. In Paris, ten ex-Jesuits were massacred for refusing to take the
Constitutional oath. Also in Paris seven other fathers were put to death by the
Republicans, among them Frs. Peter and Robert Guerin du Rocher.
·
Sep
3, 1566. Queen Elizabeth visited Oxford and heard the 26-year-old Edmund
Campion speak. He was to meet her again as a prisoner, brought to hear her
offer of honors or death.
·
Sep
4, 1760. At Para, Brazil, 150 men of the Society were shipped as prisoners,
reaching Lisbon on December 2. They were at once exiled to Italy and landed at
Civita Vecchia on January 17, 1761.
·
Sep
5, 1758. The French Parliament issued a decree condemning Fr. Busembaum's Medulla Theologiae Moralis.
·
Sep
6, 1666. The Great Fire of London broke out on this date. There is not much the
Jesuits have not been blamed for, and this was no exception. It was said to be
the work of Papists and Jesuits. King Charles II banished all the fathers from
England.
·
Sep
7, 1773. King Louis XV wrote to Clement XIV, expressing his heartfelt joy at
the suppression of the Society.
·
Sep
8, 1600. Fr. Matteo Ricci set out on his journey to Peking (Beijing). He
experienced enormous difficulties in reaching the royal city, being stopped on
his way by one of the powerful mandarins.
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