The Saving Smile of Jesus The Twenty-Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2021

                                             The Saving Smile of Jesus 

The Twenty-Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2021

October 10, 2021

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Wisdom 7:7-11; Psalm 90; Hebrews 4:12-13; Mark 10:17-30

 

The question at the heart of these readings is: Who can be saved? And the answer at the heart of the question is: Following in the footsteps of Jesus. We cannot merit our salvation, and it is a gift of mystery from God we cannot understand. We have to first applaud the great desire of that man who appeared before Jesus and truly desired to do what was good and right. He led a virtuous life as best he could and also had the good fortune of wealth and bounty. It is important to see his holy desires because he wanted to do what was expected of him.

 

We are a people who like to do good things because of our faith, but let’s listen to the points in the first reading from Wisdom again. The author prayed and prudence was given. The author did nothing to merit the gift. He pleaded and was given wisdom. He chose wisdom over fame and glory, and she continued to bless him, and finally, he loved her, that is Wisdom, and his whole world revolved around her gifts. All good things were given to him because of Wisdom. He did nothing to earn these gifts, but only believed that Wisdom could give them to him. 

 

Jesus looked upon the man with warmth and appreciation and asked him to go one step further to show the authenticity of his love – to orient his entire life around Jesus – and sadly, he would not do it. Perhaps Jesus tested him to see if he had fidelity to the law and teachings, or to see if he could really be motivated to love Jesus more than his deeds. Jesus gives us a choice. For those who are closed and are bound to the precepts of the law, their faces may fall just like the rich man; they cannot go the extra distance. For those who are open, the blessings of good fortune and happiness await. 

 

It is easy to picture Jesus smiling at the end of this Gospel. All of you, who have dedicate your life to me, will receive your reward a hundred times over with eternal life in the age to come. How could he not be smiling. I’m sure he is looking upon us, smile across his face, with the same look of love as he had upon the rich man, except that we have already said yes to him, and he is looking at his friends and companions who will be with him until that happy age that is to come. 

 

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

 

Monday: (Romans 1) Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an Apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God, which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, the Gospel about his Son.

Tuesday: (Romans 1) I am not ashamed of the Gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek. For in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith.

 

Wednesday: (Romans 2) You, O man, are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment. For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same things.

 

Thursday: (Romans 3) Now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, though testified to by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction

 

Friday (Romans 4) Indeed, if Abraham was justified on the basis of his works,
he has reason to boast; but this was not so in the sight of God. For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. 

 

Saturday (Romans 4) It was not through the law that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants that he would inherit the world, but through the righteousness that comes from faith.

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (Luke 11) “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.

 

 

Tuesday: (Luke 11) The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil.

 

Wednesday (Luke 11) You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb,
but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others.

 

Thursday (Luke 11) Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets 
whom your fathers killed. Consequently, you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of your ancestors, for they killed them and you do the building. 

 

Friday (Luke 12) So many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot. Jesus began to speak, first to his disciples, “Beware of the leaven–that is, the hypocrisy–of the Pharisees.

 

Saturday (Luke 12) Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

 

Saints of the Week

 

October 12: John Beyzym, S.J., priest (1850-1912), was Ukranian-born, entered the Jesuits, and petitioned to work among the people of Madagascar who had Hansen’s disease (leprosy.) Since the lepers lived in remote shanty buildings with no windows or facilities, Beyzym worked hard to improve their living conditions, build a hospital, and a church. He died after contracting the disease. 

 

October 14: Callistus I, pope and martyr (d. 222) was a slave of a Christian who put him in charge of a bank that failed. He was jailed and upon his release became a deacon and counselor to Pope Zephyrinus. He became the first overseer of the official Christian cemetery that was eventually named after him. When he was elected Pope he introduced humanitarian reforms. He died during an uprising against Christians.  

 

October 15: Teresa of Avila, doctor (1515-1582), entered the Carmelites in Avila and became disenchanted with the laxity of the order. She progressed in prayer and had mystical visions. She introduced stricter reforms through her guidance of John of the Cross and Peter Alcantara. They founded the Discalced Carmelites for men and women.

 

October 16: Hedwig, religious, at age 12 married Henry, a prince who would become king of Silesia. As a monarch, they built a Cistercian monastery for women. They soon built many other religious houses and hospitals. She chose to live in austere poverty to be in solidarity with the poor.

 

October 16: Margaret Mary Alocoque entered the Visitation Order at Paray-le-Monial in 1671. She received visions of Christ's love and told her Jesuit spiritual director, Claude la Colombiere, who asked her to write about her experiences. They developed the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Her community resisted her promotion of the devotion at first, but later came to see the power of the prayers.

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• October 10, 1806: The first novitiate of the Maryland Mission opened as ten novices began their Long Retreat under the direction of Fr. Francis Neale (himself a novice who had entered the Jesuits that day.) 
• October 11, 1688: King Louis XIV forbade all correspondence and interchange between the French Jesuits and Fr. Thyrsus Gonzalez, the Spanish General Superior of the Society. 
• October 12, 1976: The murder in rural Brazil of Joao Bosco Burnier, SJ, who was shot and killed by soldiers for protesting the torture of two poor women. 
• October 13, 1537: At Venice the Papal Nuncio published his written verdict declaring that Ignatius Loyola was innocent of all charges which had been leveled against him by his detractors. 
• October 14, 1774: A French Jesuit in China wrote an epitaph to the Jesuit mission in China after the suppression of the Society. It concludes: "Go, traveler, continue on your way. Felicitate the dead; weep for the living; pray for all. Wonder, and be silent."
• October 15, 1582: St Teresa of Avila died on this day -- the first day of the new Gregorian calendar. She always wished to have a Jesuit as a confessor. 
• October 16, 1873: About two weeks after Victor Emmanuel's visit to Berlin, where he had long conferences with Bismark, rumors reached the Society in Rome that all of their houses in Rome were threatened.