We’ve got to be carefully taught:
The 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 17, 2023
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Sirach 27:30-28:7; Psalm 103; Romans 14:7-9; Matthew 19:21-35
The Wise Man, Sirach, reminds us that a faithful person cannot hold onto or nourish anger, and he even says that it is a commandment. We cannot allow hate into our lives, but it seems to creep in too easily. Matthew tells us a parable about the imperative for a disciple of Jesus to be ready to forgive, and in the parable, the king’s heart was moved to compassion to his debtor who showed great remorse. There’s something about compassion that is the key to lessening our attitudes that gives rise to unnecessary anger. Anger we must see as an indicator of an imbalance. Compassion is our response to someone else’s suffering or difficulty.
Segments of our society exhibits violent, aggressive behavior today. It is evidenced in road rage or emboldened driving and the disregard for safety protocols or through chance interactions with strangers who flare up with microaggressions. We see many instances of this behavior in videos or on Tik Tok, and often we are appalled at the ways we treat one another. This cannot be our way forward. At some point we have to say, “enough.” Violence is not of God and it is not our way forward. We must decide that we have a contract with God and society to care for one another better, to follow safety customs, to preserve life, and to provide dignity to our neighbor. It is essential that we acknowledge the dignity of each person, who is created in the image of God.
As a faith, we are in a globalized world where we are discovering people and cultures that appear different from our own. I hear language to speak about others that are filled with violence and fear, and I am reminded of some of the words of that song in the South Pacific musical.
You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught from year to year,
It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear— You’ve got to be carefully taught!
You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
To hate all the people your relatives hate— You’ve got to be carefully taught!
If that is the case, then education is key to our becoming loving, forgiving Christians who have no place for hate and fear. We’ve got to be carefully taught how to forgive and to welcome someone who is different from us. We’ve got to be taught how to appropriately express our anger so we will not have it come out sideways. We’ve got to be taught that someone who presents differently from us is much more like us than we suspect. In this worldwide communion, we are seeing that there are Catholic Mongolians, Arab Catholics, Thai, Vietnamese, Nepalese, or Bolivian Catholics because of the papal trips. The recent deaths in Libya and Morocco ought to move our hearts to compassion. We have much in common and we need to begin to look at our interconnectedness rather than those characteristics that make us seem different. In a sense, we need to rediscover the world and to re-educate ourselves that we exist in a global communion and that we are responsible for one another.
In a few weeks, another encyclical on the environment will be released. It will emphasize our inter-dependency upon one another. If we are going to solve some of our problems, we need to know that our salvation depends upon our choosing to come together to address our issues. It means putting aside some of our uptightness and discovering the suffering that people are facing. It means putting aside documents, texts, and rules and learning what mercy teaches us. It means putting aside our absolute judgments so that we can hear the experiences of faith filled people. It means putting aside policy and ideas and dealing with the human being in front of us. We may have to do some unlearning, so we can learn what Jesus teaches us about compassion. Our church is an unfinished product and it is changing before our eyes, and we need new ideas for new solutions. We must learn how the Spirit is launching us forward into 21st century realities. We’ve got to be carefully taught by the Spirit, who is creating all things new. We’ve got to learn how this compassion and mercy will transform the world and lead to our salvation.
Scripture for Daily Mass
Monday: (1 Timothy 2) First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.
Tuesday: (1 Timothy 3) Therefore, a bishop must be irreproachable, married only once, temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not aggressive, but gentle, not contentious, not a lover of money.
Wednesday: (1 Timothy 3) Undeniably great is the mystery of devotion, Who was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed to the Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.
Thursday: (Ephesians 4) I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace.
Friday (1 Timothy 6) Teach and urge these things. Whoever teaches something different and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the religious teaching is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes.
Saturday (1 Timothy 6) I charge you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate for the noble confession, to keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel:
Monday: (Luke 7) A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die, and he was valuable to him. When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave.
Tuesday: (Luke 7) Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.
Wednesday (Luke 7) To what shall I compare the people of this generation?
What are they like? They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, 'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.'
Thursday (Matthew 9) As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
Friday (Luke 8) Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities.
Saturday (Luke 8) The seed is the word of God. Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root.
Saints of the Week
September 17: Robert Bellarmine, S.J., bishop and doctor (1542-1621) became a Jesuit professor at the Louvain and then professor of Controversial theology at the Roman College. He wrote "Disputations on the controversies of the Christian faith against the Heretics of this age," which many Protestants appreciated because of its balanced reasoning. He revised the Vulgate bible, wrote catechisms, supervised the Roman College and the Vatican library, and was the pope's theologian.
September 19: Januarius, bishop and martyr (d. 305), was bishop of Benevento during his martyrdom during the Diocletian persecution. He was arrested when he tried to visit imprisoned Christians. Legend tell us that a vial that contains his blood has been kept in the Naples cathedral since the 15th century liquefies three times a year.
September 20: Andrew Kim Taegon, priest, martyr, Paul Hasang, martyr, and companion martyrs (19th century), were Korean martyrs that began to flourish in the early 1800’s. The church leadership was almost entirely lay-run. In 1836, Parisian missionaries secretly entered the country and Christians began to encounter hostility and persecutions. Over 10,000 Christians were killed. Taegon was the first native-born priest while the rest were 101 lay Christians.
September 21: Matthew, evangelist and Apostle (first century), may be two different people, but we have not historical data on either man. Since Matthew relies heavily upon Mark’s Gospel, it is unlikely that the evangelist is one of the Twelve Apostles. The Apostle appears in a list of the Twelve and in Matthew’s Gospel he is called a tax collector. The Evangelist is writing to Jewish-Christians who are urged to embrace their Jewish heritage and to participate in their mission to the Gentiles. To Matthew, Jesus is the fulfillment of the hopes of Jews and the inaugurator of a new way to relate to God.
September 22: Tomas Sitjar, S.J. and the martyrs of Valencia (1866-1936), were killed in the Spanish Civil War just a week after the war broke out. Sitjar was the Rector of Gandia and was formerly the novice director and metaphysics professor. The Jesuit Order was suppressed at the beginning of the war, which sent the men to disperse into apartments, but since they were known to the community, they were sought out, imprisoned, and later executed because of their belief in God.
September 23: Pio of Pietrelcina, priest (1887-1968) was affectionately named Padre Pio and was a Capuchin priest who received the stigmata (wounds of Christ) just as Francis of Assisi did. He founded a hospital and became the spiritual advisor to many at a monastery at San Giovanni Rotondo.
This Week in Jesuit History
- September 17, 1621. The death of St Robert Bellarmine, bishop and doctor of the Church.
- September 18, 1540. At Rome, Pedro Ribadeneira, aged fourteen, was admitted into the Society by St Ignatius (nine days before official papal confirmation of the Society).
- September 19, 1715. At Quebec, the death of Fr. Louis Andre, who for 45 years labored in the missions of Canada amid incredible hardships, often living on acorns, a kind of moss, and the rind of fruits.
- September 20, 1990. The first-ever Congregation of Provincials met at Loyola, Spain, on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of the approval of the Society and 500th anniversary of the birth of St Ignatius.
- September 21, 1557. At Salamanca, Melchior Cano wrote to Charles V's confessor, accusing the Jesuits of being heretics in disguise.
- September 22, 1774. The death of Pope Clement XIV, worn out with suffering and grief because of the suppression of the Society. False stories had been circulated that he was poisoned by the Jesuits.
- September 23, 1869. Woodstock College of the Sacred Heart opened. With 17 priests, 44 scholastics, and 16 brothers it was the largest Jesuit community in the United States at the time.
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