The Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

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September 23, 2018

Wisdom 2:12, 17-20; Psalm 54; James 3:16-4:3; Mark 9:30-37

After predicting his suffering and death, Jesus asked the disciples why they were arguing about their own positions of status and honor. It seemed like a disconnect for him because he just told his closest friends that he was going to die, and frankly no one likes to talk directly about death. Jesus sits them down to instruct them. If they are to have any place as leaders of the church, they will have to be people who directly serve the needs of others by making sure they disregard no one, especially the lives of little children who are our most vulnerable gifts. He wants to make certain the leaders of his church will be servants who put their lives at risk in order to represent those who are in the greatest danger.

Sadly, sometimes history repeats itself. In a time when many lives have been hurt within our church by our own members, many of our leaders have been busy discussing their own pursuit of honor and authority instead of taking care of those who have been harmed. Today, Jesus continues to correct and instruct our leaders. Bishops and cardinals have been called to Rome to discuss how to respond to this crisis and to set a path for internal reform of the church’s structures. A large-scale meeting of Bishop’s Conference heads will address these same issues at a world-wide level. The goal? To bury the pursuit of clericalism and elitism and to respond authentically to the hurt caused by the church.

A few weeks ago, Pope Francis met privately with the Jesuit community in Ireland when he was there to lead the World Meeting of Families. He responded to a question: What should we do about sexual abuse in light of the poor way the church dealt with children and survivors? He replied, “Help the church to put an end to this. I don’t mean simply turn the page, but seek out a cure, reparation, all that is necessary to heal the wounds and give life back to so many people.”

The Pope continued, “this drama of abuse has behind it a Church that is elitist and clericalist, an inability to be near to the people of God. Elitism, clericalism fosters every form of abuse and the first abuse is of power and conscience. Help me with this. Be courageous. This is a special mission for you: clean this up, change consciences, do not be afraid to call things by their proper name.”

The Pope never speaks of gloom and doom, but you will always hear him speak about the joy of the Gospel because Jesus has been raised from the dead and is still with us. He asks us to reflect the merciful Jesus who loves sinners. At this time in the church we need the tenderness of Jesus to touch our pain and to set us free and to renew our hopes. Jesus came to bring joy, not moral casuistry. He brought openness and mercy. Jesus loved sinners. He loved them, and he had a strong dislike of the corrupt, and he always stretched out his hand for them to return to right relationships.

This is a time of challenge in the church but let us watch how Jesus is instructing us to care for each other better. His care of you will never cease. He loves you. He finds you very lovable and he will never give up on you. He is going to heal those who were harmed, and he will raise up leaders who will take better care of his beloved people. You deserve to know the merciful touch of Jesus. You deserve to feel the embrace he gave the little children in the Gospel passage.

It is dark now and it may get darker. It is confusing now, and the path forward may seem too unimaginable, while some groups of voices may assault the church. Christ is here, for you. Many forces of good are at work, and Christ has won the ultimate victory over sin and death. We have to do the hard work of committing to a renewed future that mirrors the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus preached. I believe in you, I believe that your gifts will be used more fully to the service of the kingdom, I believe in Christ’s actions, and I believe in the world his Spirit is bringing about, and we will one day be able to trust our leaders because they represent the authentic love of the People of God, a love of undeniable credibility.

Scripture for Daily Mass

First Reading: 

Monday: (Proverbs 3) The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but the dwelling of the just he blesses; When dealing with the arrogant, he is stern, but to the humble he shows kindness.

Tuesday: (Proverbs 21) Like a stream is the king's heart in the hand of the LORD; wherever it pleases him, he directs it. All the ways of a man may be right in his own eyes,
but it is the LORD who proves hearts. To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

Wednesday: (Proverbs 30) Two things I ask of you, deny them not to me before I die:
Put falsehood and lying far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; provide me only with the food I need.

Thursday: (Ecclesiastes 1) What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun. Even the thing of which we say, "See, this is new!" has already existed in the ages that preceded us.

Friday (Ecclesiastes 3) There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for everything under the heavens. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.

Saturday (Daniels 7) Thrones were set up and the Ancient One took his throne. His clothing was bright as snow, and the hair on his head as white as wool; His throne was flames of fire, with wheels of burning fire.

Gospel: 

Monday: (Luke 8) No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.

Tuesday: (Luke 8) The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you."

Wednesday (Luke 9) Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority
over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

Thursday (Luke 9) But Herod said, "John I beheaded. Who then is this about whom I hear such things?" And he kept trying to see him.

Friday Luke 9) Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him,
he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'"

Saturday (John 1) Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him." Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."

Saints of the Week

September 23: Pio of Pietrelcina, priest (1887-1968) was affectionately named Padre Pio and was a Capuchin priest who received the stigmata (wounds of Christ) just as Francis of Assisi did. He founded a hospital and became the spiritual advisor to many at a monastery at San Giovanni Rotondo.

September 26: Cosmas and Damian, martyrs (d. 287), were twins who became doctors. They were noted because they never charged anyone a medical fee. They died in the Diocletian persecution. Great miracles have been attributed to them and the Emperor Justinian is claimed to be healed through their intercession.

September 27: Vincent de Paul, priest (1581-1660), was a French peasant who selected to be chaplain at the Queen's household after his ordination. He provided food and clothing to the poor, including prostitutes, the sick, disabled, and homeless. He founded the Congregation of Missions (Vincentians) to preach and train clergy and he co-founded the Daughters of Charity with Louise de Marillac.

September 28: Wenceslaus, martyr (907-929), was raised a Christian by his grandmother while his mother and brother were opposed to Christianity. His brother opposed him when he became ruler of Bohemia in 922. He introduced strict reforms that caused great dissatisfaction among nobles and political adversaries. His brother invited him to a religious ceremony where he was killed in a surprise attack.

September 28: Lawrence Ruiz and 15 companion martyrs (seventeenth century), were killed in Nagasaki, Japan during 1633 and 1637. Most of these Christians were friends of the Dominicans. Lawrence, a Filipino, was a husband and father. He and these other missionaries served the Philippines, Formosa, and Japan.

September 29: Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels are long a part of Christian and Jewish scripture. Michael is the angel who fights against evil as the head of all the angels; Gabriel announces the messiah's arrival and the births of Jesus and John the Baptist; and Raphael is a guardian angel who protects Tobias on his journey. Together, they are venerated to represent all the angels during a three-day period.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      Sep 23, 1869. Woodstock College of the Sacred Heart opened. With 17 priests, 44 scholastics, and 16 brothers it was the largest Jesuit community in the United States at the time.

·      Sep 24, 1566. The first Jesuits entered the continental United States at Florida. Pedro Martinez and others, while attempting to land, were driven back by the natives, and forced to make for the island of Tatacuran. He was killed there three weeks later.

·      Sep 25, 1617. The death of Francisco Suarez. He wrote 24 volumes on philosophy and theology. As a novice he was found to be very dull, but one of his directors suggested that he ask our Lady's help. He subsequently became a person of prodigious talent.

·      Sep 26, 1605. At Rome, Pope Paul V orally declared St Aloysius to be one of the "Blessed." The official brief appeared on October 19.

·      Sep 27, 1540. Pope Paul III signed the Bull, Regimini Militantis Ecclesiae, which established the Society of Jesus.

·      Sep 28, 1572. Fifteen Jesuits arrived in Mexico to establish the Mexican Province. They soon opened a college.

·      Sep 29, 1558. In the Gesu, Rome, and elsewhere, the Jesuits began to keep Choir, in obedience to an order from Paul IV. This practice lasted less than a year, until the pope's death in August 1559.