Our Responsibility
to be Gently Intrusive into Others’ Suffering
The Nineteenth
Sunday in Ordinary Time
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.
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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