Reset your Worldview: The Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                              Reset your Worldview

The Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 31, 2022

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Ecclesiastes 1:2, 2:21-23; Psalm 90; Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Luke 12:13-21

 

          The reading from Ecclesiastes sets the tone for today’s thoughts because it reminds us that life passes far too quickly, and we cannot rely upon illusions because they are not reality. The words from the wise man says to be happy with what you have. Find your happiness in the small moments of the day because it is in the details where we will find our true meaning of life. Bring an end to your illusions and live the reality that is before you. It gives us an opportunity to reset our worldview and place what is most important at the center of our lives. 

 

          The Gospel also urges us to reset our worldview by giving us the example of the man whose illusion was that his hoarding would provide him a sense of security and prosperity. He lived as if his concerns for himself and his immediate family were the only important matters in life, and he forgot to enjoy the moment. Because he died, he did not get to enjoy his dream, and he missed out on much happiness. Part of the mystery of happiness is that we become happier when we serve the common good, the interests of others, and help to lessen the suffering of another person. It is not about accumulating for the sake of riches, but in giving away as needed so that others may get a break in life.

 

          We have to be able to see which way the wind is blowing and make healthy and necessary changes that will lead to our happiness. St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, calls this discernment, and it is basically a way to make decisions. We can ask ourselves a fundamental question: Is this helping me or hurting me? If I continue to do things that seem to be good but are bringing me sadness, then it is hurting me, and I have to choose a different way forward. Eating dessert every night might taste good, but is it hurting me or helping me? Visiting a cemetery of a loved one every Saturday might feel like a way to be respectful, but is it bringing me joy or more sadness? Once I ask myself that question, I then must be bold enough to stop doing what hurts me so I can choose what will help me. The people who genuinely care about you will help you when you respectfully ask for their input.

 

          We must be ready for change because change is constant, and if we are stuck, then we are not moving forward. In fact, we are moving backwards while life continues to progress. We need to be freed from our stuck-ness to move towards greater freedom. We have to adapt. The Pope is adapting the church to a modern reality and he is going back to address wrongs, like his recent trip to Canada to apologize to the indigenous people for the errors in the missionary activity of church settlers. The Pope is taking the church from one that is serving its own interests, so that it can focus on reducing the suffering of others, especially when committed at the hands of church officials.

 

          Let us take advantage of this opportunity today to assess where we are in life. Are we where we want to be? If not, how are we going to move forward? Also, if I’m not where I want to be, I must ask myself whether the actions that I am taking harm me or help me. Then I need to resolve to try a different way. Come talk with us. We are willing to help. Time is fleeting. Time marches forward. Do we have enough courage to adjust our mindset and walk forward into the freedom to which Christ calls us?

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

 

First Reading: 

 

Monday: (Jeremiah 28) The prophet Hezekiah in the presence of the priests and all the people: “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will restore to this place all the vessels of the temple of the LORD which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took away from this place to Babylon. 

 

Tuesday: (Jeremiah 30) Incurable is your wound, grievous your bruise; There is none to plead your cause, no remedy for your running sore, no healing for you. All your lovers have forgotten you, they do not seek you.

 

Wednesday: ((Jeremiah 31) I will be the God of all the tribes of Israel, and they shall be my people. Thus says the LORD: The people that escaped the sword have found favor in the desert. As Israel comes forward to be given his rest, the LORD appears to him from afar: With age-old love I have loved you.

 

Thursday: (Jeremiah 31) But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Friday (Nahum 2) See, upon the mountains there advances the bearer of good news, announcing peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah, fulfill your vows! For nevermore shall you be invaded by the scoundrel; he is completely destroyed. 

 

Saturday (Daniel 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.

 

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.

 

Tuesday: (Matthew 14) Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side of the sea, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.

 

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) For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. 

 

Friday (Matthew 16) 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? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay each according to his conduct.

 

Saturday (Luke 9) 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. 

 

Saints of the Week

 

July 31: Ignatius of Loyola, priest (1491-1556), is one of the founders of the Jesuits and the author of the Spiritual Exercises. As a Basque nobleman, he was wounded in a battle at Pamplona in northeastern Spain and convalesced at his castle where he realized he followed a methodology of discernment of spirits. When he recovered, he ministered to the sick and dying and then retreated to a cave at Manresa, Spain where he had experiences that formed the basis of The Spiritual Exercises. In order to preach, he studied Latin, earned a master’s degree at the University of Paris, and then gathered other students to serve Jesus. Francis Xavier and Peter Faber were his first friends. After ordination, Ignatius and his nine friends went to Rome where they formally became the Society of Jesus. Most Jesuits were sent on mission, but Ignatius stayed in Rome directing the rapidly growing religious order, composing its constitutions, and perfecting the Spiritual Exercises. He died in 1556 and the Jesuit Order was already 1,000 men strong. 

 

August 1: Alphonsus Liguori, bishop and doctor (1696-1787), founded a band of mission priests that became the Redemptorists. He wrote a book called "Moral Theology" that linked legal aspects with kindness and compassion for others. He became known for his responsive and thoughtful way of dealing with confessions.

 

August 2: Peter Faber, S.J., priest and founder (1506-1546), was one of the original companions of the Society of Jesus. He was a French theologian and the first Jesuit priest and was the presider over the first vows of the lay companions. He became known for directing the Spiritual Exercises very well. He was called to the Council of Trent but died as the participants were gathering.

 

August 2: Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop (d. 371), was ordained bishop after becoming a lector. He attended a council in Milan where he opposed the Arians. The emperor exiled him to Palestine because he contradicted secular influences. He returned to his diocese where the emperor died.

 

August 2: Peter Julian Eymard, priest (1811-1868) left the Oblates when he became ill. When his father died, he became a priest and soon transferred into the Marists but left them to found the Blessed Sacrament Fathers to promote the significance of the Eucharist.

 

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.

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• July 31, 1556. The death in Rome of Ignatius Loyola. 
• August 1, 1938. The Jesuits of the middle United States, by Gilbert Garrigan was copyrighted. This monumental three-volume work followed the history of the Jesuits in the Midwest from the early 1820s to the 1930s. 
• August 2, 1981. The death of Gerald Kelly, moral theologian and author of "Modern Youth and Chastity." 
• August 3, 1553. Queen Mary Tudor made her solemn entrance into London. As she passed St Paul's School, Edmund Campion, then a boy of thirteen delivered an address. 
• August 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. 
• August 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. 
• August 6, 1552. The death of Claude Jay, a French priest who was one of Ignatius' original companions at the University of Paris.