Wednesday, July 31, 2019

The Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time


The Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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August 4, 2019
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 2:21-23; Psalm 90; Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Luke 12:13-21


The haunting words of the sage Qoheleth appear pessimistic to us, as we are a people who live in hope, but these words serve to bring balance to the illusions we hold. He says, “Vanity of vanities. All things are vanity.” A translation of this can be, “Breath of breaths. All things are breath.” Many things in the world are ephemeral and passing. All things must pass, but only a few meaningful things hold. Qoheleth says that in light of this transitory world, we might as well live as well as we can, to care for others, and enjoy happiness when it is in front of us because life’s events are difficult, and we are not to be a people who dwell in negativity but find our blessings.

The Gospel tells of a rich man who foolishly holds onto his possessions and does not enjoy them before death overtakes him. He prized his possessions so much that they owned him and took away his freedom, and he was, therefore, unable to focus on the riches God wanted him to enjoy. His possession blinded him, and our lesson from this story is that the problem was not his wealth, but his illusions about wealth. Together, these stories provide us with an important lesson: We cannot live out of our illusions and be happy. We have to dismantle our illusions and see that few things endure: faith, hope, and love. These are the virtues that will bring us happiness.

To be certain, hoarding and holding onto possessions beyond their practical use are not good for our mental health and well-being. It is a virtue to reduce one’s belongings because every object must have its rightful place. If we have clutter, that is a sign we have no proper use or value for those objects. However, the potentially troublesome possessions about which we speak are the illusions we hold onto tightly, which Ignatius of Loyola would call “disordered attachments.”

In our youth, we are inspired by noble ideals and values, and as we mature, we have to balance those inspirations with reality. We develop illusions about the world that we hold onto for far too long. For instance, we were taught to play fair as children, and as adults we seek that fairness in the world, but the world’s ways are not fair, and so we have to strive maturely for what is good and right in each situation. Our task is to dismantle our illusions so we can see the world for what it is, and not solely through our illusion-based lenses, and then we can make wisdom-filled choices about how to proceed. But first we must take the proverbial lens off our camera and put on a new lens in order to get a clearer perspective.

Illusions come in many forms. ‘Control’ is an illusion. Think about the relative who wants to be loved so much that she tries to control and arrange each visit so that you enjoy your stay. She overworks it all the time that you do everything to avoid visiting her. Her control has backfired. ‘Security’ likewise is an illusion. We just cannot protect ourselves in all situations no matter what security system we put in place. What else do we hold onto tightly that may not serve us flourishing as individuals: our views on the church or politics, the culture wars, our daily rituals and habits, our patterns with food and drink, a poor self-image, the need to be right, our birth-order role in the family? The list goes on. We have to be reflective about what we believe and then ask ourselves, “Does this view continue to serve me or my loved ones well?” We will see that with our illusions, they are merely like breath. We cannot grasp them. We cannot hold onto them. As Qoheleth says, “Vanity of vanities. Breath of breath. All is breath.”

Our response to this statement determines our happiness. It allows us to diminish the drama in our day. Diminish the drama and slow down. We can take things in stride. We don’t need to always speak. We don’t need to rush in to fix a problem. We need to take time to respond, rather than react. The passage of time may solve the problem. All we need to do is take time to breath slowly and completely, and in due time, all will be resolved. All is breath. Once we breath, we can change our lens, and look again. Perhaps, we need to change the lens one more time. Take the time to see more clearly. We’ll wait. Then we can see the blessings of the day. We will see that we are with people with love and who love us back. Eat, drink, and be merry. Enjoy the blessings God wants you to see – without any illusions.

Scripture for Daily Mass

First Reading: 
Monday: (Numbers 11) The children of Israel lamented, “Would that we had meat for food! But now we are famished; we see nothing before us but this manna.”

Tuesday: (Daniel 7) As the visions during the night continued, I saw: One like a Son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, The one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.

Wednesday: (Numbers 13) The LORD said to Moses [in the desert of Paran,] "Send men to reconnoiter the land of Canaan, which I am giving the children of Israel. You shall send one man from each ancestral tribe, all of them princes."

Thursday: (Numbers 20) The whole congregation of the children of Israel arrived in the desert of Zin in the first month, and the people settled at Kadesh. It was here that Miriam died, and here that she was buried. As the community had no water, they held a council against Moses and Aaron. 

Friday (Deuteronomy 4) Moses said to the people: "Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created man upon the earth; ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of? Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?

Saturday (2 Corinthians 9) Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Gospel: 
Monday: (Matthew 14) When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.


Tuesday: (Luke 9) Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up a mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.

Wednesday (Matthew 15) At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not say a word in answer to her.

Thursday (Matthew 16) Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

Friday (Matthew 16) For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?

Saturday (John 12) unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.

Saints of the Week

August 4: 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.

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.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      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.
·      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.

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