Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Our Responsibility to be Gently Intrusive into Others' Suffering: The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time




Our Responsibility to be Gently Intrusive into Others’ Suffering
The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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August 11, 2019
Wisdom 18:6-9; Psalm 33; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19; Luke 12:32-48


The author of Wisdom writes about the preparedness of the good and the just who remained faithful to God by worshiping and offering prayers and sacrifices. The letter to the Hebrews speaks of faith as the “realization of what is hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” He then summarizes the faith events of Abraham’s life and his belief that God as the foundation of faith and the creator of all things. In the Gospel, Jesus helps the Disciples stay prepared, even when the world looks bleak, and then tells a parable of the steward put in charge of his master’s property. The one who knew his master’s will and did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will bears great responsibility. He concludes, “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

With this imperative to be responsibly vigilant, as Christians, we have to look at the mass shooting crisis in the country. Statistics vary, but most sources define mass shooting as one incident in which three or more people are shot, excluding the shooter. Last year, records show 323 mass shootings, with 387 dead (excludes the shooter), and 1,274 wounded. Slightly more than seven months into this year, there are 255 mass shootings, with 275 dead (excludes the shooter), and 1,040 wounded. Few public venues are safe places, and no matter the statistical sources, these numbers are too high. As the readings speak about vigilance, my mind goes directly to our present state of uncertainty.

We do not understand each shooter’s distinct motives and we cannot often assess blame or find a cause. We cannot become numbed to these near-weekly occurrences, and we have to find a way to stop the violence. It takes a village and it takes our individual courage to stop the progress of hatred and violence. We need prayers and good thoughts, but we need your vigilance.

It is imperative for us to be gently intrusive into others’ lives. What does that mean? If we know someone who withdraws and becomes isolated, we have to engage. What does that mean? We have to help them reconcile. The person is suffering and is perhaps unable to process feelings and thoughts in a healthy way. The person has to talk out his or her perceptions, thoughts, and conclusions so that we can better understand his or her suffering. We need for the person to stay in the conversation and to be allowed to change course because of our compassion.

When someone we know becomes angry and storms off, we have to engage. What does this mean? We have to help the person reconcile. He or she at least has to know that we care enough about his or her experiences and are willing to try to understand a little bit more. When we listen to someone’s suffering, it eases the pain. We cannot allow the person’s anger to be fed improperly. We have to intercept and catch and meet the person wherever he or she may be and stay in the conversation until the anger subsides.  

When someone uses abusive, hateful, prejudicial language, we have to speak up, not to judge or confront, but to drill down to understand how one’s misperceptions were formed. We have to engage with the fears people have because once those fears are named, they are less frightening. We have to set and raise standards for polite behavior, but we cannot let any of this behavior go underground because that is where the darkness festers. We cannot let anyone’s feelings be diminished; one’s feelings and words have to come to the surface, and we have to respect that someone and seek to understand the underlying issues. We have to be ready to heal someone’s suffering so that they do not cause further suffering.

We think we are being respectful when someone is not ready to talk, and we want to give them space to process things and think things out, but then we never return to the conversations. It becomes the elephant in the room. We give people enough rope to hang themselves. We cannot stop there. It is not good enough. We have to engage even when the person is resistant. We have to be gently intrusive and stay in the conversation.

Our God is one who creates, heals, encourages, affirms, and is gently intrusive into our lives. We know God’s will and we need to pray for the courage to act in accord with God’s will. Our active involvement in the lives of others, which comes from a place of mercy and compassion, will turn back the forces of hatred and evil. Only love, only goodness will halt the progress of evil. We need your loving involvement in the lives of people who are hurting right now.

Scripture for Daily Mass

First Reading: 
Monday: (Deuteronomy 10) “And now, Israel, what does the Lord, your God, ask of you but to fear the Lord, your God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul, to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord which I enjoin on you today for your own good?

Tuesday: (Deuteronomy 31) It is the Lord, your God, who will cross before you; he will destroy these nations before you, that you may supplant them. It is Joshua who will cross before you, as the Lord promised.

Wednesday: (Deuteronomy 34) Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the headland of Pisgah which faces Jericho, and the Lord showed him all the land—Gilead, and as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, the circuit of the Jordan with the lowlands at Jericho, city of palms, and as far as Zoar.

Thursday: (Revelation 11) Her child was caught up to God and his throne. The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed One."

Friday (Joshua 24) When they stood in ranks before God, Joshua addressed all the people: "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: In times past your fathers, down to Terah, father of Abraham and Nahor, dwelt beyond the River and served other gods. But I brought your father Abraham from the region beyond the River and led him through the entire land of Canaan. I made his descendants numerous and gave him Isaac. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I assigned the mountain region of Seir in which to settle,
while Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

Saturday (Joshua 24) decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." 

Gospel: 
Monday: (Matthew 17) When he came into the house, before he had time to speak, Jesus asked him, “What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?” When he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the subjects are exempt.

Tuesday: (Matthew 18) What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. 

Wednesday (Matthew 18) "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church.

Thursday (Luke 1) "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Friday (Matthew 19) He answered, "Not all can accept this word, but only those to whom that is granted. Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it."

Saturday (Matthew 19) "Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." After he placed his hands on them, he went away.

Saints of the Week

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.

August 12: Jane Frances de Chantal, religious (1572-1641), founded the Congregation of the Visitation with her spiritual advisor, Francis de Sales. This congregation was for women who wanted to live in religious life, but without the austerity of the other orders. Jane was married to a Baron with whom she had six children and she sought religious answers to her suffering. Her order established eighty-five convents dedicated to serving the poor before she died.

August 13: Pontian, pope and martyr and Hippolytus, priest and martyr (d.236). Pontian's papacy was interrupted by a persecution when the Roman Emperor Maximinus arrested him and his rival, Hippolytus, and banished them to Sardinia. Pontian resigned so another pope could succeed him. Hippolytus, who formed a schismatic group and claimed to be the real pope, reconciled with the church before he and Pontian were martyred.

August 14: Maximilian Kolbe, priest and martyr (1894-1941), was born in Russian-occupied Poland. He entered the Franciscans in 1910 and preached the gospel with his devotion to Mary in Poland and Japan. When the Nazis conquered Poland in 1939, he ministered to thousands of refugees. He was arrested, sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. When a prisoner escaped and retaliation was sought, Kolbe offered himself to replace one of the ten randomly chosen men to be executed.

August 15: The Assumption of Mary is the principal feast of Mary with her Queenship celebrated at the end of the octave. This feast celebrates that she was taken up to heaven, body and soul, at the end of her earthly life. The Council of Ephesus in 431 proclaimed her Mother of God and devotion of her dormition followed afterwards.

August 16: Stephen of Hungary (975-1038) tried to unite the Magyar families and was able to establish the church in Hungary through Pope Sylvester II's support. Rome crowed Stephen as the first king in 1001 and he instituted many reforms in religious and civil practices. He built churches and trained local clergy.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      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.
·      Aug 12, 1877. The death of Fr. Maurice Gailland. He was an expert in languages and spent many years at St Mary's Mission in Kansas. He wrote a 450.page dictionary and grammar of the Potawatomi language.
·      Aug 13, 1621. The death in Rome of St John Berchmans. He died while still in studies, preparing for a public disputation.
·      Aug 14, 1812. Napoleon I and his army arrived at Polosk, in White Russia. They plunder the property of the Society and violate the tombs of the Generals.
·      Aug 15, 1821. Fr. Peter DeSmet sailed from Amsterdam to America. He hoped to work among the Native Americans. He became the best known missionary of the northwest portion of the United States.
·      Aug. 15, 1955: The Wisconsin Province was formed from the Missouri Province and the Detroit Province was formed from the Chicago province.
·      Aug. 16, 1649: At Drogheda, Cromwell's soldiers shot Fr. John Bath and his brother, a secular priest, in the marketplace.
·      Aug. 17, 1823: Fr. Van Quickenborne and a small band of missionaries descended the Missouri River to evangelize the Indians at the request of the bishop of St. Louis. On this date in 1829, the College of St. Louis opened.

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