Photo: A Stairwell

 

Poem: Stephen Crane

In Heaven, some little blades of grass
Stood before God. “What did you do?”
Then all save one of the little blades began eagerly to relate the merits of their lives.
This one stayed a small way behind
Ashamed.
Presently God said: “And what did you do?”
The little blade answered: “Oh, my lord, memory is bitter to me for if I did good deeds
“I know not of them.”
Then God in all His splendor arose from His throne.
“Oh, best little blade of grass,” He said.

The “Dones”: The 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

                                                           The “Dones”:

The 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

September 3, 2023

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Jeremiah 20:7-9; Psalm 63; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27

 

Jeremiah speaks plainly about his disappointment in ministry, and he feels embarrassed to have been led astray by God when he only intended to do good and follow God’s commands, but he feels isolated and disconnected, and God is not providing much support. Jesus also warns of difficult feelings and experiences as he tells his disciples that he is going to suffer, and they will witness this. He lays down the costs of discipleship so they can be forewarned about the peril in which they find themselves.

 

Let’s talk for a minute about being duped and suffering because I’m hearing a lot of it in daily conversations. Jeremiah writes, “I say to myself, I will not mention him,
I will speak in his name no more,” but that God stays in his heart, and he cannot quit God. We have a category of people who are referred to as the “dones.” They are the people who, like Jeremiah, still believe in Christ, still consider themselves to be Catholic, but feel let down by the Church and no longer attend worship services. They have left for a myriad of valid reasons, and they are satisfied that they still keep connected with Jesus through prayer. They just cannot quit God. Some do not find the Church relevant because it takes the wrong side or a distasteful tone on moral issues, or it is out of step with reasoned theological arguments, or it presents a closed attitude on having conversations, or that it trends in some parishes to a medieval European model of yesteryear, or that the priest makes himself inaccessible by clothing, physically, or by attitude. It is a Church that has told good people that they are no longer concerned for them; they are concerned only for those who come into the church and attend their liturgy. Are we just to let them walk? And if we successfully invite them back, what are we offering them as a reason to stay? We cannot give them the same old routine.

 

The long and short of it is that these people are suffering. They want to belong to the Church, but they want it to be meaningful and relevant. To know the reasons for staying away, we must ask them. We cannot presume we know the answers. Once we know what they need, we must be able to make necessary adjustments to retain them as valued members of the community. This is tricky because it means the pastor, the office staff, and the whole community must learn what it means to be open and welcoming. An open attitude is not one in which people are invited to come back if they agree with the priest’s interpretation of the faith. Truly being open means to listen to the person’s story and to go out of the way to make accommodations. Until that happens, the person remains a “done,” a person disconnected from the institutional church. We can do better than that. The stakes are high because a person’s soul is at risk. And let's not forget about the "nones," those who have not been brought up in any faith tradition. 

 

In many churches, attendance is dwindling, and the church does not look like it did twenty-five years ago. Collaborative parishes have names that people do not use, and many churches are paired up with other churches of a different character. The pastor of today needs to leave the church office and go into the community simply to encounter and to listen. That’s the only way we are going to learn. We cannot sit in the church and wait for them to come. This period of church requires a total reimagining of the way we are hospitable and welcoming, and it means we must be open to new ideas and ways of proceeding. We must go back to what the Romans would say of the early Christians, “Look at them. They are curious. Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord is welcomed and treated with mercy. Look how they love one another.” We need to move past laws and texts and regulations. We need to learn how to love one another. 

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

 

Monday: (1 Thessalonians 4) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep. Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep.

 

Tuesday: (1 Thessalonians 5) The day of the Lord will come like a thief at night.
When people are saying, "Peace and security," then sudden disaster comes upon them,
like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

 

Wednesday: (Colossians 1) We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the holy ones because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. Of this you have already heard through the word of truth, the Gospel, that has come to you.

 

Thursday: (Colossians 1) From the day we heard about you, we do not cease praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will
through all spiritual wisdom and understanding to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,
so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God.

 

Friday (Micah 5) You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times.

 

Saturday (Colossians 1) You once were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds; God has now reconciled you in the fleshly Body of Christ through his death,
to present you holy, without blemish, and irreproachable before him, provided that you persevere in the faith, firmly grounded, stable, and not shifting from the hope of the Gospel that you heard.

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (Luke 4) Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

 

Tuesday: (Luke 4) Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out in a loud voice, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?

 

Wednesday (Luke 4) After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon. Simon's mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever, and they interceded with him about her. He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and waited on them.

 

Thursday (Luke 5) While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.

 

Friday (Matthew 1) Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar.

 

Saturday (Luke 6) Some Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?" Jesus said to them in reply, "Have you not read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry?

 

Saints of the Week

 

September 3: Gregory the Great (540-604) was the chief magistrate in Rome and resigned to become a monk. He was the papal ambassador to Constantinople, abbot, and pope. His charity and fair justice won the hearts of many. He protected Jews and synthesized Christian wisdom. He described the duties of bishops and promoted beautiful liturgies that often incorporated chants the bear his name.

 

September 7: Stephen Pongracz (priest), Melchior Grodziecki (priest), and Mark Krizevcanin (canon) of the Society of Jesus were matyred in 1619 when they would not deny their faith in Slovakia. They were chaplains to Hungarian Catholic troops, which raised the ire of Calvinists who opposed the Emperor. They were brutally murdered through a lengthy process that most Calvinists and Protestants opposed.

 

September 8: The Birth of Mary was originally (like all good feasts) celebrated first in the Eastern Church. The Roman church began its devotion in the fifth century. Her birth celebrates her role as the mother of Jesus. Some traditions have her born in Nazareth while others say she hails from outside of Jerusalem.

 

September 9: Peter Claver, S.J. (1580-1654) became a Jesuit in 1600 and was sent to the mission in Cartegena, Colombia, a center of slave trade. For forty years, Claver ministered to the newly arrived Africans by giving them food, water, and medical care. Unfortunately, he died ostracized by his Jesuit community because he insisted on continuing the unpopular act of treating the slaves humanely.

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• September 3, 1566. Queen Elizabeth visited Oxford and heard the 26-year-old Edmund Campion speak. He was to meet her again as a prisoner, brought to hear her offer of honors or death. 
• September 4, 1760. At Para, Brazil, 150 men of the Society were shipped as prisoners, reaching Lisbon on December 2. They were at once exiled to Italy and landed at Civita Vecchia on January 17, 1761. 
• September 5, 1758. The French Parliament issued a decree condemning Fr. Busembaum's Medulla Theologiae Moralis. 
• September 6, 1666. The Great Fire of London broke out on this date. There is not much the Jesuits have not been blamed for, and this was no exception. It was said to be the work of Papists and Jesuits. King Charles II banished all the fathers from England. 
• September 7, 1773. King Louis XV wrote to Clement XIV, expressing his heartfelt joy at the suppression of the Society. 
• September 8, 1600. Fr. Matteo Ricci set out on his journey to Peking (Beijing). He experienced enormous difficulties in reaching the royal city, being stopped on his way by one of the powerful mandarins.
• September 9, 1773. At Lisbon, Carvalho, acting in the king's name, ordered public prayers for the deliverance of the world from the "pestilence of Jesuitism."

Los “hechos”: El 22º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario

                                                                 Los “hechos”:

El 22º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario

3 de septiembre de 2023

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Jeremías 20:7-9; Salmo 63; Romanos 12:1-2; Mateo 16:21-27

 

Jeremías habla claramente de su desilusión en el ministerio y se siente avergonzado de haber sido descarriado por Dios cuando su única intención era hacer el bien y seguir los mandamientos de Dios, pero se siente aislado y desconectado, y Dios no le brinda mucho apoyo. Jesús también advierte sobre sentimientos y experiencias difíciles cuando les dice a sus discípulos que va a sufrir y que ellos serán testigos de ello. Él establece los costos del discipulado para que puedan estar advertidos del peligro en el que se encuentran.

 

Hablemos por un minuto sobre ser engañado y sufrir porque escucho mucho de eso en las conversaciones diarias. Jeremías escribe: “Me digo a mí mismo: no lo mencionaré, 
no hablaré más en su nombre ”, pero Dios permanece en su corazón y no puede abandonar a Dios. Tenemos una categoría de personas a las que se hace referencia como los "dones". Son las personas que, como Jeremías, todavía creen en Cristo, todavía se consideran católicos, pero se sienten decepcionados por la Iglesia y ya no asisten a los servicios de adoración. Se han ido por innumerables razones válidas y están satisfechos de seguir conectados con Jesús a través de la oración. Simplemente no pueden abandonar a Dios. Algunos no encuentran a la Iglesia relevante porque toma el lado equivocado o tiene un tono desagradable en cuestiones morales, o no está en sintonía con argumentos teológicos razonados, o presenta una actitud cerrada al entablar conversaciones, o que en algunas parroquias tiende a un modelo europeo medieval de antaño, o que el sacerdote se hace inaccesible por la vestimenta, físicamente o por la actitud. Es una Iglesia que ha dicho a la gente buena que ya no se preocupan por ellos; sólo se preocupan por aquellos que vienen a la iglesia y asisten a su liturgia. ¿Debemos simplemente dejarlos caminar? Y si logramos invitarlos a regresar, ¿qué les ofreceremos como razón para quedarse? No podemos darles la misma vieja rutina.

 

En resumidas cuentas, estas personas están sufriendo. Quieren pertenecer a la Iglesia, pero quieren que sea significativa y relevante. Para conocer los motivos para alejarnos debemos preguntarles. No podemos suponer que conocemos las respuestas. Una vez que sepamos lo que necesitan, debemos poder hacer los ajustes necesarios para retenerlos como miembros valiosos de la comunidad. Esto es complicado porque significa que el pastor, el personal de la oficina y toda la comunidad deben aprender lo que significa ser abierto y acogedor. Una actitud abierta no es aquella en la que se invita a las personas a regresar si están de acuerdo con la interpretación de la fe que hace el sacerdote. Ser verdaderamente abierto significa escuchar la historia de la persona y hacer todo lo posible para hacer adaptaciones. Hasta que eso suceda, la persona sigue siendo un “terminado”, una persona desconectada de la iglesia institucional. Podemos hacerlo mejor que eso. Hay mucho en juego porque el alma de una persona está en riesgo. Y no nos olvidemos de los "nones", aquellos que no han sido criados en ninguna tradición religiosa.

 

En muchas iglesias, la asistencia está disminuyendo y la iglesia no luce como hace veinticinco años. Las parroquias colaborativas tienen nombres que la gente no usa y muchas iglesias están emparejadas con otras iglesias de carácter diferente. El pastor de hoy necesita dejar la oficina de la iglesia e ir a la comunidad simplemente para encontrar y escuchar. Sólo así vamos a aprender. No podemos sentarnos en la iglesia y esperar a que vengan. Este período de la iglesia requiere una reinvención total de la forma en que somos hospitalarios y acogedores, y significa que debemos estar abiertos a nuevas ideas y formas de proceder. Debemos volver a lo que los romanos dirían de los primeros cristianos: “Mírenlos. Son curiosos. Cualquiera que invoca el nombre del Señor es bienvenido y tratado con misericordia. Mira cómo se aman”. Necesitamos dejar atrás las leyes, los textos y las regulaciones. Necesitamos aprender a amarnos unos a otros.

 

Escritura para la misa diaria

 

Lunes: (1 Tesalonicenses 4 ) Porque si creemos que Jesús murió y resucitó, así también Dios, por medio de Jesús, traerá consigo a los que durmieron. En verdad, os decimos esto, en palabra del Señor, que nosotros, los que vivimos, los que quedamos hasta la venida del Señor, ciertamente no precederemos a los que durmieron.

 

Martes: (1 Tesalonicenses 5 ) El día del Señor vendrá como ladrón en la noche. 
Cuando la gente dice: "Paz y seguridad", entonces les sobreviene un desastre repentino, 
como los dolores de parto a la mujer encinta, y no escaparán.

 

Miércoles: (Colosenses 1) Siempre damos gracias a Dios, Padre de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, cuando oramos por vosotros, porque hemos oído hablar de vuestra fe en Cristo Jesús y del amor que tenéis por todos los santos a causa de la esperanza reservada para vosotros en el cielo. Esto ya lo habéis oído por la palabra de verdad, el Evangelio, que ha llegado a vosotros.

 

Jueves: (Colosenses 1) Desde el día que supimos de vosotros, no cesamos de orar por vosotros y de pedir que seáis llenos del conocimiento de la voluntad de Dios, con toda sabiduría y entendimiento espiritual, para andar como es digno del 
Señor , 
para que sean plenamente agradables, dando fruto en toda buena obra y creciendo en el conocimiento de Dios.

 

Viernes (Miqueas 5 ) Tú, Belén-Efrata, demasiado pequeña para estar entre los clanes de Judá, de ti me saldrá el que será gobernante en Israel; Cuyo origen es desde antiguo, desde la antigüedad.

 

Sábado (Colosenses 1 ) En otro tiempo estabais alienados y hostiles de mente a causa de las malas obras; Dios ahora os ha reconciliado en el Cuerpo carnal de Cristo mediante su muerte, 
para presentaros santos, sin mancha e irreprochables delante de él, con tal que perseveréis en la fe, firmemente cimentados, estables y sin desviaros de la esperanza del Evangelio. que escuchaste.

 

Evangelio: 

Lunes: (Lucas 4 ) Jesús vino a Nazaret, donde había crecido, y entró según su costumbre en la sinagoga en el día de reposo. Se levantó para leer y le entregaron un rollo del profeta Isaías.

 

Martes: (Lucas 4) Jesús descendió a Capernaum, un pueblo de Galilea. Les enseñaba en sábado, y estaban asombrados de su enseñanza, porque hablaba con autoridad. Estaba en la sinagoga un hombre que tenía un espíritu de demonio inmundo, y gritó a gran voz: "¿Qué tienes que ver con nosotros, Jesús Nazareno?

 

Miércoles (Lucas 4 ) Después de salir Jesús de la sinagoga, entró en casa de Simón. La suegra de Simón tenía mucha fiebre, y intercedieron ante él por ella. Él se paró junto a ella, reprendió la fiebre y ésta la abandonó. Ella se levantó inmediatamente y los atendió.

 

Jueves (Lucas 5 ) Mientras la multitud apretujaba a Jesús y escuchaba la palabra de Dios, él estaba de pie junto al lago de Genesaret. Vio dos barcos junto al lago; Los pescadores habían desembarcado y estaban lavando sus redes.

 

Viernes (Mateo 1) Abraham fue el padre de Isaac, Isaac el padre de Jacob, 
Jacob el padre de Judá y sus hermanos. Judá engendró a Pérez y Zera, 
cuya madre era Tamar.

 

Sábado (Lucas 6 ) Algunos fariseos dijeron: "¿Por qué hacéis lo que no está permitido en sábado?" Jesús les respondió: "¿No habéis leído lo que hizo David cuando él y los que con él estaban tuvieron hambre?

 

Santos de la semana

 

3 de septiembre: Gregorio el Grande (540-604) era el magistrado principal de Roma y renunció para convertirse en monje. Fue embajador papal en Constantinopla, abad y papa. Su caridad y justicia justa se ganaron los corazones de muchos. Protegió a los judíos y sintetizó la sabiduría cristiana. Describió los deberes de los obispos y promovió hermosas liturgias que a menudo incorporaban cánticos que llevan su nombre.

 

7 de septiembre: Stephen Pongracz (sacerdote), Melchior Grodziecki (sacerdote) y Mark Krizevcanin (canónigo) de la Compañía de Jesús se casaron en 1619 cuando no negaron su fe en Eslovaquia. Eran capellanes de las tropas católicas húngaras, lo que provocó la ira de los calvinistas que se oponían al Emperador. Fueron brutalmente asesinados mediante un largo proceso al que se opusieron la mayoría de los calvinistas y protestantes.

 

8 de septiembre: El Nacimiento de María se celebraba originalmente (como todas las buenas fiestas) primero en la Iglesia Oriental. La iglesia romana inició su devoción en el siglo V. Su nacimiento celebra su papel como madre de Jesús. Algunas tradiciones dicen que nació en Nazaret, mientras que otras dicen que proviene de fuera de Jerusalén.

 

9 de septiembre: Pedro Claver, SJ (1580-1654) se convirtió en jesuita en 1600 y fue enviado a la misión en Cartagena, Colombia, un centro de trata de esclavos. Durante cuarenta años, Claver ministró a los africanos recién llegados brindándoles comida, agua y atención médica. Desafortunadamente, murió condenado al ostracismo por su comunidad jesuita porque insistió en continuar con el impopular acto de tratar humanamente a los esclavos.

 

Esta semana en la historia jesuita

 

• 3 de septiembre de 1566. La reina Isabel visitó Oxford y escuchó hablar a Edmund Campion, de 26 años. Iba a encontrarse con ella nuevamente como prisionero, llevado a escuchar su oferta de honores o muerte.
• 4 de septiembre de 1760. En Pará, Brasil, 150 hombres de la Sociedad fueron enviados como prisioneros, llegando a Lisboa el 2 de diciembre. Inmediatamente fueron exiliados a Italia y desembarcados en Civita Vecchia el 17 de enero de 1761.
• 5 de septiembre de 1758. El Parlamento francés emitió un decreto condenando al P. Medulla Theologiae Moralis de Busembaum .
• 6 de septiembre de 1666. En esta fecha estalló el Gran Incendio de Londres. No hay mucho por lo que no se haya culpado a los jesuitas, y ésta no fue la excepción. Se decía que era obra de papistas y jesuitas. El rey Carlos II desterró a todos los padres de Inglaterra.
• 7 de septiembre de 1773. El rey Luis XV escribe a Clemente XIV, expresando su más sincera alegría por la supresión de la Sociedad.

Faculty-Staff Liturgy – Memorial of St. Augustine

 It would be quite fitting for the first reading to be the homily itself because it is filled with the affection we have for you and the joy that we are gathered in mission to carry out the work the Lord has entrusted to us. We have missed you. Today is also the Memorial of Augustine, whose views subsequently strongly influenced Western theology, and we honor a disciple who wrestled with the moral life until God settled his restless heart and he became a Christian. Augustine believed that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom. When the Roman Empire began to disintegrate, Augustine imagined the Church as a spiritual City of God distinct from the material earthly City. A contemporary disciple, Jerome, who translated Scripture into Latin, remarked the Augustine “established anew the ancient Faith.”

            What does this have to do with us? Well, Pope Francis is establishing anew the faith similarly to Augustine, and updating brings about resistance to mission. For so many, the Church has been attractive since it endured solidly for over two thousand years while other kingdoms and nations have perished. Catholicism in Europe guided by Augustine and Aquinas is now moving beyond its European roots as it becomes a global, internationalist, and cosmopolitan representation of God’s reign. As we think of church, we can no longer think of a parish-based reality or even to think the U.S. version of Church is the only way or the right way. The faith is vibrant across the globe, and it is now listening from the voices on the periphery, not only geographically, but to those voices who have felt disregarded or left out. The church is experiencing a major shift in self-understanding, with regards to the development of theological thought, pluralization within the religious world, its exploration of moral issues such as marriage, gender, biopolitics, a feminist theology of empowerment, and identity politics. We don’t own Jesus. Jesus is not only the Jesus of Catholics, but of other Christian denominations. The church is examining its relationship with the world with its emphasis of pluralism of cultures and overcoming the model of medieval Christendom. 

Pope Francis rejects Catholic traditionalism and clericalism, even among the laity, and he focuses his work on the poor, especially the migrants and refugees who are in a process of global resettlement. He is concerned for the displaced of all types where his language is one of dialogue and mercy rather than force, judgment, and exclusion. We are in a worldwide village that is like a global city – complex, multifaceted, multicultural, and multireligious. We now see Protestants as siblings; we have a new relationship with our Islamic cousins, and we see goodwill in other faiths. Secular society is seen as a place where God is at work amid its many challenges and where people are suffering. The church of its European roots is giving way to a vibrant pluralistic church, and I think Augustine would be pleased with its self-understanding.

            But as a dutiful preacher, I must turn to the Gospel passage filled with woes. Woe to us if we do not open our hearts, minds, and imaginations to the curious work of God at hand. We are at an exciting time filled with rich opportunities, and we need new solutions for new challenges. The mission is more enjoyable and with less friction if we simply say “yes,” “yes to new creative possibilities,” “yes to the promptings that we do not yet recognize as Christ’s invitations.” Woe to us if we do not live up the sentiments we heard in Thessalonians. Christ chose us for this mission and has given us the care of tender souls who are in search of God, in search of what is lasting and meaningful, in search of positive examples of discipleship to help them become the saints and righteous ones we were created to be. Woe to us if we do not heed to call to serve the living God, who calls us into friendship, and helps us to discern complicated choices to find God’s greater glory. 

However, we know that God does not operate through threats or coercion, so let us be free to say “yes” to mystery, to dialogue, to inclusivity, to partnership, to active engagement, and to appreciation. St. Paul’s heart was filled with joy and gratitude as he wrote to the Thessalonians. May our hearts swell with this same tenderness as we greet one another again, or for the first time, as we recognize the awesome privilege granted to us – the work of saving souls. May we lead the church in its mission of bringing souls to Christ. May we take this moment to realize how deeply we are loved by God, truly admired, the God who is sincerely proud of who we are and who we are becoming, and this God is one who wants to spend each minute of this new academic year with us. It is right that we begin with this moment of praise and worship.

Photo: One Last Swim

 

Prayer: Augustine of Hippo

God, our true life, to know you is life, to serve you is freedom, to enjoy you is a kingdom; to praise you is the joy and happiness of the soul. I praise and bless and adore and thank and glorify you. I beg you to live with me, to reign in me, to make this heart of mine a holy temple, a fit habitation for your divine majesty.

Photo: The Church of St. James, Manhattan

 

Prayer: Augustine

Look on us, Jesus, and let all the darkness of our souls disappear before the beams of your brightness. Fill us with your holy love, and open to us the treasures of your wisdom. You know all our desire, so bring to perfection what you have started and what the Holy Spirit has awakened us to ask in prayer.

Prayer: Clement of Alexandria

Even if we speak with a low voice, even if we whisper without the opening the lips, even if we call to God only from the depths of the heart, our unspoken word always reaches God and God always hears.

Photo: Madonna and Child

 

Poem: "Everything is Waiting for You" by David Whyte

 Your great mistake is to act the drama

as if you were alone. As if life

were a progressive and cunning crime

with no witness to the tiny hidden

transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny

the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,

even you, at times, have felt the grand array;

the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding

out your solo voice. You must note

the way the soap dish enables you,

or the window latch grants you freedom.

Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.

The stairs are your mentor of things

to come, the doors have always been there

to frighten you and invite you,

and the tiny speaker in the phone

is your dream-ladder to divinity.

 

Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into

the conversation. The kettle is singing

even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots

have left their arrogant aloofness and

seen the good in you at last. All the birds

and creatures of the world are unutterably

themselves. Everything is waiting for you.

Who is the Jesus of Today?: The 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time

                                                Who is the Jesus of Today?:

The 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time

August 27, 2023

www.johnpredmoresj.com | predmore.blogspot.com

predmoresj@yahoo.com | 617.510.9673

Isaiah 22:19-23; Psalm 138; Romans 11:33-36; Matthew 16:13-20

 

I could take the easy trite route as a preacher and simply say Jesus never changes, but I realize when I read Scripture, each time I read a familiar passage, I am different, so I understand it differently. Likewise, whenever I reread a book or rewatch a movie, I notice distinctive points that I had not notice before. I have changed, so the words have changed. With that said, I cannot answer the question “Who do you say that I am?” with the same confidence I did when I was 25 or 30 or 40. No, to answer this question confidently would be disingenuous of me. The answer becomes more complex each year.

 

The Gospels were written at a time when the Mediterranean world was the universe. Most people believed the world to be flat, and Rome was the center of power with Persians and Babylonians to the East and Egyptians to the southwest. Israel was fighting to be faithful to life under God’s rule and to find its place in the sun. The world has changed since biblical times. We have learned the earth is round and is one dot in a constellation of galaxies and universes that date back 13.1 billion years ago. Quantum physics has us searching for quarks as we fuse and fission atoms together. We dive deep into cellular structures within the human body and the human mind is thirsty for more knowledge. The more knowledge we gain, the less we seem to know. Who is the Jesus who helps us to deal with our discoveries and further questions?

 

His Church is evolving as it tries to manage change. It has become a global, internationalist, and cosmopolitan representation of God’s reign. The church is experiencing a huge shift in self-understanding, with regards to the development of theological thought, pluralization within the religious world, its exploration of moral issues such as marriage, gender, biopolitics, a feminist theology of empowerment, and identity politics. Jesus is not only the Jesus of Catholics, but of other Christian denominations. The church is examining its relationship with the world with its emphasis of pluralism of cultures and overcoming the model of medieval Christendom. 

 

Jesus is concerned for the migrants and refugees who are in a process of global resettlement. He tells us that he is concerned for the displaced where his language is one of dialogue and mercy rather than force and judgment and exclusion. The Jesus who interacts with us today sees a worldwide village that is like a global city – complex, multifaceted, multicultural, multireligious and engages with a secular society that it finds to be good and with unique challenges. The church of its European roots is giving way to a vibrant pluralistic church. 

The Church of Jesus is not a set of doctrines and rules, texts and traditions. It is a living body of saints like you who are gathered around the Christ and who builds up the reign of God one heart at a time. It is easy to say Jesus is the Christ, but in a complex world of today, what do we mean when we say that? What do we expect of him? As much as the human mind searches for answers and explores new depths of thought, there is one essential that I depend upon. I realize human limitations. Amid our quest for meaning, the only one who seems to answer that question is Jesus. I don’t have the answers, but only questions and ponderings. I comprehend my limitations, and I come to realize I need a savior – the one who provides meaning to my experiences, the one who will bring me into God’s reign, the one who will sustain me in a new reality. I don’t quite know how that will happen, but it is the moment when I experience a radical solidarity with the cosmic Christ and I feel satisfaction that our friendship gives my life meaning.

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

 

Monday: (1 Thessalonians 1) We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father

 

Tuesday: (1 Thessalonians 2) Rather, after we had suffered and been insolently treated, as you know, in Philippi, we drew courage through our God to speak to you the Gospel of God with much struggle. Our exhortation was not from delusion or impure motives, nor did it work through deception.

 

Wednesday: (1 Thessalonians 2) Working night and day in order not to burden any of you, we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God. You are witnesses, and so is God,
how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers.

 

Thursday: (1 Thessalonians 3) What thanksgiving, then, can we render to God for you, for all the joy we feel on your account before our God? Night and day we pray beyond measure to see you in person and to remedy the deficiencies of your faith.

 

Friday (1 Thessalonians 4) This is the will of God, your holiness: that you refrain from immorality, that each of you know how to acquire a wife for himself in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion as do the Gentiles who do not know God.

 

Saturday (1 Thessalonians 4) Nevertheless we urge you, brothers and sisters, to progress even more, and to aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (Matthew 23) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.

 

Tuesday: (Mark 6) Herod was the one who had John the Baptist arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."
Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.

 

Wednesday (Matthew 23) You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth.
Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.

 

Thursday (Matthew 24) Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.

 

Friday (Matthew 25) The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.

 

Saturday (Matthew 25) A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one–to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five.

 

Saints of the Week

 

August 27: Monica (332-387) was born a Christian in North Africa and was married to a non-Christian, Patricius, with whom she had three children, the most famous being Augustine. Her husband became a Christian at her urging and she prayed for Augustine's conversion as well from his newly adopted Manichaeism. Monica met Augustine in Milan where he was baptized by Bishop Ambrose. She died on the return trip as her work was complete.

 

August 28: Augustine, bishop and doctor (354-430),  was the author of his Confessions, his spiritual autobiography, and The City of God, which described the life of faith in relation to the life of the temporal world. Many other writings, sermons, and treatises earned him the title Doctor of the church. In his formative years, he followed Mani, a Persian prophet who tried to explain the problem of evil in the world. His mother’s prayers and Ambrose’s preaching helped him convert to Christianity. Baptized in 387, Monica died a year later. He was ordained and five years later named bishop of Hippo and defended the church against three major heresies:Manichaeism, Donatism, and Pelagianism.

 

August 29: The Martyrdom of John the Baptist recalls the sad events of John's beheading by Herod the tetrarch when John called him out for his incestuous and adulterous marriage to Herodias, who was his niece and brother's wife. At a birthday party, Herodias' daughter Salome danced well earning the favor of Herod who told her he would give her almost anything she wanted. 

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• August 27, 1679: The martyrdom at Usk, England, of St. David Lewis, apostle to the poor in his native Wales for three decades before he was caught and hanged. 
• August 28, 1628: The martyrdom in Lancashire, England, of St. Edmund Arrowsmith. 
• August 29, 1541: At Rome the death of Fr. John Codure, a Savoyard, one of the first 10 companions of St. Ignatius. 
• August 30, 1556: On the banks of the St. Lawrence River, the Iroquois mortally wounded Fr. Leonard Garreau, a young missionary. 
• August 31, 1581: In St. John's Chapel within the Tower of London, a religious discussion took place between St. Edmund Campion, suffering from recent torture, and some Protestant ministers. 
• September 1, 1907. The Buffalo Mission was dissolved, and its members were sent to the New York and Missouri Provinces and the California Mission. 
• September 2, 1792. In Paris, ten ex-Jesuits were massacred for refusing to take the Constitutional oath. Also in Paris seven other fathers were put to death by the Republicans, among them Frs. Peter and Robert Guerin du Rocher.

¿Quién es el Jesús de hoy?: El XXI Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario

                                                     ¿Quién es el Jesús de hoy?:

El XXI Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario

27 de agosto de 2023

www.johnpredmoresj.com | predmore.blogspot.com

predmoresj@yahoo.com | 617.510.9673

Isaías 22:19-23; Salmo 138; Romanos 11:33-36; Mateo 16:13-20

 

Podría tomar el camino fácil y trillado como predicador y simplemente decir que Jesús nunca cambia, pero me doy cuenta de que cuando leo las Escrituras, cada vez que leo un pasaje familiar, soy diferente, por lo que lo entiendo de manera diferente. Del mismo modo, cada vez que releo un libro o vuelvo a ver una película, noto puntos distintivos que no había notado antes. He cambiado, entonces las palabras han cambiado. Dicho esto, no puedo responder a la pregunta “¿Quién dices que soy?” con la misma confianza que cuando tenía 25, 30 o 40 años. No, responder a esta pregunta con confianza sería falso por mi parte. La respuesta se vuelve más compleja cada año.

 

Los Evangelios fueron escritos en una época en que el mundo mediterráneo era el universo. La mayoría de la gente creía que el mundo era plano y que Roma era el centro del poder con los persas y los babilonios al este y los egipcios al suroeste. Israel luchaba por ser fiel a la vida bajo el gobierno de Dios y por encontrar su lugar en el sol. El mundo ha cambiado desde los tiempos bíblicos. Hemos aprendido que la tierra es redonda y es un punto en una constelación de galaxias y universos que datan de hace 13.100 millones de años. La física cuántica nos hace buscar quarks a medida que fusionamos y fisionamos átomos. Nos sumergimos profundamente en las estructuras celulares dentro del cuerpo humano y la mente humana está sedienta de más conocimiento. Cuanto más conocimiento adquirimos, menos parecemos saber. ¿Quién es el Jesús que nos ayuda a lidiar con nuestros descubrimientos y otras preguntas?

 

Su Iglesia está evolucionando mientras intenta gestionar el cambio. Se ha convertido en una representación global, internacionalista y cosmopolita del reino de Dios. La iglesia está experimentando un enorme cambio en su autocomprensión, con respecto al desarrollo del pensamiento teológico, la pluralización dentro del mundo religioso, su exploración de cuestiones morales como el matrimonio, el género, la biopolítica, una teología feminista del empoderamiento y la política de identidad. Jesús no es sólo el Jesús de los católicos, sino de otras denominaciones cristianas. La Iglesia está examinando su relación con el mundo con su énfasis en el pluralismo de culturas y la superación del modelo de la cristiandad medieval.

 

Jesús se preocupa por los migrantes y refugiados que se encuentran en un proceso de reasentamiento global. Nos dice que está preocupado por los desplazados, donde su lenguaje es de diálogo y misericordia en lugar de fuerza, juicio y exclusión. El Jesús que interactúa con nosotros hoy ve una aldea mundial que es como una ciudad global: compleja, multifacética, multicultural, multireligiosa y que se relaciona con una sociedad secular que considera buena y con desafíos únicos. La iglesia de raíces europeas está dando paso a una iglesia pluralista vibrante.

La Iglesia de Jesús no es un conjunto de doctrinas y reglas, textos y tradiciones. Es un cuerpo vivo de santos como tú que están reunidos alrededor de Cristo y que edifican el reino de Dios con un corazón a la vez. Es fácil decir que Jesús es el Cristo, pero en el complejo mundo de hoy, ¿qué queremos decir cuando decimos eso? ¿Qué esperamos de él? Por mucho que la mente humana busque respuestas y explore nuevas profundidades de pensamiento, hay algo esencial del que dependo. Me doy cuenta de las limitaciones humanas. En medio de nuestra búsqueda de significado, el único que parece responder a esa pregunta es Jesús. No tengo las respuestas, sólo preguntas y reflexiones. Comprendo mis limitaciones y me doy cuenta de que necesito un salvador: el que le da sentido a mis experiencias, el que me llevará al reino de Dios, el que me sostendrá en una nueva realidad. No sé muy bien cómo sucederá eso, pero es el momento en que experimento una solidaridad radical con el Cristo cósmico y siento la satisfacción de que nuestra amistad le da sentido a mi vida.

 

Escritura para la misa diaria

 

Lunes: (1 Tesalonicenses 1 ) Damos siempre gracias a Dios por todos vosotros, acordándonos de vosotros en nuestras oraciones, recordando sin cesar vuestra obra de fe y vuestro trabajo de amor y paciencia en la esperanza de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, delante de nuestro Dios y Padre

 

Martes: (1 Tesalonicenses 2) Más bien, después de haber sufrido y haber sido tratados con insolencia, como sabéis, en Filipos, cobramos ánimo por medio de nuestro Dios para hablaros con mucha lucha el evangelio de Dios. Nuestra exhortación no fue por engaño ni por motivos impuros, ni funcionó mediante engaño.

 

Miércoles: (1 Tesalonicenses 2) Trabajando noche y día para no ser gravosos a ninguno de vosotros, os proclamamos el Evangelio de Dios. Vosotros sois testigos, y Dios también, 
de cuán devota, justa e irreprensiblemente nos comportamos con vosotros los creyentes.

 

Jueves: (1 Tesalonicenses 3) ¿Qué acción de gracias, pues, podemos dar a Dios por vosotros, por todo el gozo que sentimos por vosotros delante de nuestro Dios? Noche y día oramos sin medida para verte en persona y remediar las deficiencias de tu fe.

 

Viernes (1 Tesalonicenses 4 ) Esta es la voluntad de Dios, vuestra santidad: que os abstengáis de la fornicación, que cada uno de vosotros sepa adquirir para sí una mujer en santidad y honra, no en pasiones lascivas como hacen los gentiles que no conocer a Dios.

 

Sábado (1 Tesalonicenses 4 ) No obstante, os exhortamos, hermanos y hermanas, a progresar aún más y a aspirar a vivir una vida tranquila, a ocuparos de vuestros propios asuntos y a trabajar con vuestras propias manos, como os hemos instruido.

 

Evangelio: 

Lunes: ( Mateo 23 ) ¡Ay de vosotros, escribas y fariseos, hipócritas! Tú encierras el Reino de los cielos ante los hombres. No entráis vosotros mismos, ni dejáis entrar a los que intentan entrar.

 

Martes: (Marcos 6) Herodes fue quien hizo arrestar y encarcelar a Juan Bautista a causa de Herodías, la esposa de su hermano Felipe, con quien se había casado. Juan le había dicho a Herodes: "No te es lícito tener la mujer de tu hermano". 
Herodías le guardaba rencor y quería matarlo, pero no pudo hacerlo.

 

Miércoles (Mateo 23 ) Sois como sepulcros blanqueados, que por fuera se ven hermosos, pero por dentro están llenos de huesos de muertos y de toda clase de inmundicia. 
Aun así, por fuera parecéis justos, pero por dentro estáis llenos de hipocresía y maldad.

 

Jueves (Mateo 24 ) ¡Mantente despierto! Porque no sabéis en qué día vendrá vuestro Señor. Estad seguros de esto: si el dueño de la casa hubiera sabido la hora de la noche en que el ladrón iba a venir, se habría quedado despierto y no habría dejado que entraran en su casa.

 

Viernes (Mateo 25) El Reino de los cielos será como diez vírgenes que tomando sus lámparas y salieron al encuentro del novio. Cinco de ellos eran tontos, y cinco eran sabios. Las insensatas, al tomar sus lámparas, no traían aceite consigo, pero las prudentes traían alforjas de aceite con sus lámparas.

 

Sábado (Mateo 25 ) Un hombre que iba de viaje llamó a sus sirvientes y les confió sus bienes. A uno le dio cinco talentos; a otro, dos; a un tercero, uno, a cada uno según su capacidad. Luego se fue. Inmediatamente el que había recibido cinco talentos fue y negoció con ellos, y ganó otros cinco.

 

santos de la semana

 

27 de agosto: Mónica (332-387) nació cristiana en el norte de África y se casó con un no cristiano, Patricio , con quien tuvo tres hijos, siendo el más famoso Agustín. Su marido se convirtió al cristianismo a instancias de ella y ella oró por la conversión de Agustín también de su recién adoptado maniqueísmo. Mónica conoció a Agustín en Milán, donde fue bautizado por el obispo Ambrosio. Murió en el viaje de regreso cuando su trabajo estaba completo.

 

28 de agosto: Agustín, obispo y médico (354-430 ), Fue autor de sus Confesiones, su autobiografía espiritual y La ciudad de Dios, que describía la vida de fe en relación con la vida del mundo temporal. Muchos otros escritos, sermones y tratados le valieron el título de Doctor de la iglesia. En sus años de formación, siguió a Mani, un profeta persa que intentó explicar el problema del mal en el mundo. Las oraciones de su madre y la predicación de Ambrosio le ayudaron a convertirse al cristianismo. Bautizada en el año 387, Mónica murió un año después. Fue ordenado y cinco años más tarde nombrado obispo de Hipona y defendió a la iglesia contra tres herejías principales: el maniqueísmo, el donatismo y el pelagianismo.

 

29 de agosto: El martirio de Juan Bautista recuerda los tristes acontecimientos de la decapitación de Juan por Herodes el tetrarca cuando Juan lo llamó por su matrimonio incestuoso y adúltero con Herodías, quien era su sobrina y la esposa de su hermano. En una fiesta de cumpleaños, la hija de Herodías, Salomé, bailó muy bien ganándose el favor de Herodes, quien le dijo que le daría casi todo lo que ella quisiera.

 

Esta semana en la historia jesuita

 

• 27 de agosto de 1679: El martirio en Usk , Inglaterra, de San David Lewis, apóstol de los pobres en su Gales natal durante tres décadas antes de ser capturado y ahorcado.
• 28 de agosto de 1628: El martirio en Lancashire, Inglaterra, de St. Edmund Arrowsmith.
• 29 de agosto de 1541: En Roma la muerte del P. John Codure , saboyano, uno de los 10 primeros compañeros de San Ignacio.
• 30 de agosto de 1556: A orillas del río San Lorenzo, los iroqueses hirieron de muerte al P. Leonard Garreau , un joven misionero.
• 31 de agosto de 1581: En la Capilla de San Juan dentro de la Torre de Londres, tuvo lugar una discusión religiosa entre San Edmund Campion, que había sufrido torturas recientes, y algunos ministros protestantes.
• 1 de septiembre de 1907. La Misión Buffalo se disolvió y sus miembros fueron enviados a las Provincias de Nueva York y Missouri y a la Misión de California.
• 2 de septiembre de 1792. En París, diez ex jesuitas fueron masacrados por negarse a prestar el juramento constitucional. También en París otros siete padres fueron ejecutados por los republicanos, entre ellos los PP. Peter y Robert Guerin du Rocher.