Letters to Priests
The 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time
November 5, 2023
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Exodus 22:20-26; Psalm 18; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Matthew 22:34-40
Priests get admonished in the First Reading and Gospel this week, and they are instructed in the Second Reading. It strikes me that to be a priest of God, who is faithful to the Gospel, one must remain open – open to really hearing Scripture, open to discerning how the Gospel is to be lived in daily life, and open to the needs and suffering of the people to whom he is entrusted. It entails daily reflection and prayer, and it means to be letting oneself be formed by the People of God. The priest, after all, is one of us, called forth from the community to lead prayers and a way of life that corresponds to the Reign of God. It is only right that he remains accessible to the daily care of the people and to the community’s buildup.
St. Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians says that the priest is to be gentle among you, with the same type of care a parent provides for her children. St. Francis de Sales says that there is nothing so powerful in the world as gentleness. He is a hard worker and is one to share his very self devotedly to the people with heartfelt affection. Pope Francis says that priests and bishops must get their hands dirty and be so entrenched with the people that they have the smell of the sheep on their souls. That is proof of priesthood.
The prophet Malachi and the evangelist Matthew warn against clericalism and hypocrisy. Clericalism leads to elitism and rigorism. Both biblical figures warn that listening to the God and the people is essential. Listening thoughtfully in the first instant and responding with care and compassion is the task of priesthood. The fundamental attitude of a priest is to be one of service, not primarily to the altar, but first to the needs of the people. It is only after one knows the people well that the priest can represent the community to God at the altar.
What does clericalism look like today? It happens when a priest separates himself from the people in distinct ways, perhaps by wearing medieval cassocks and garments or choosing to install an altar rail in a church that forbids people to enter the sanctuary. It looks like an attitude that responds to a person who suggests they include certain contemporary topics in their homily and then responding, “If you don’t like my cup of tea, go elsewhere.” Pope Francis last week noted that “when church ministers mistreat the people of God, they disfigure the face of the church with sexist and dictatorial attitudes.’ It seems the Gospel needs to be reinterpreted in each age and priests need to be immersed in the lives of those around them – to be out in the world engaging in places where you work, live, and play.
The Church is to be the servant of all, not just to Catholics, but to all people, especially the least fortunate or those who are struggling. We are to be a Church that welcomes, serves, and loves – to be a Church with open doors that is a haven of mercy. The love shown by a priest ought not to be exclusionary, but inclusive, a love that listens meaningfully and is patient and trusting of dialogue. It is not one of power, but true power lies in gentleness and kindness. Whereas today’s human family is wounded by so many injustices, divisions, and wars, humanity needs the good news of the salvation of Christ, who reconciles us to one another in peace and unity, and calls us to see each other’s dignity in a loving acceptance. This is a love that is incarnational. As God chose to dwell within our world through Jesus of Nazareth, our priests must choose to dwell in the complexities of our world, in all the messiness, turbulence, and chaos, and still find us lovable, still find something more in us, still choose belonging and acceptance. Then we know that love is from God, of God, and with God. God today, with a vulnerable heart, still chooses us and wants us.
Scripture for Daily Mass
Monday: (Romans 11) Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy.
Tuesday: (Romans 12) Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor.
Wednesday: (Romans 13) Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.
Thursday: (Ezekiel 47) This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah, and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh. Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live, and there shall be abundant fish, for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Friday (Romans 15) In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast in what pertains to God. For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to lead the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God.
Saturday (Romans 16) Now to him who can strengthen you, according to my Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith, to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever.
Gospel:
Monday: (Luke 14) On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors.
Tuesday: (Luke 14) A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, 'Come, everything is now ready.' But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.
Wednesday (Luke 14) If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Thursday (John 2) "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking about the temple of his Body.
Friday (Luke 16) 'What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.' The steward said to himself, 'What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?
Saturday (Luke 16) The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. And he said to them, "You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.
Saints of the Week
November 5: All Saints and Blessed of the Society of Jesus are remembered by Jesuits on their particularized liturgical calendar. We remember not only the major saints on the calendar, but also those who are in the canonization process and hold the title of Blessed. We pray for all souls of deceased Jesuits in our province during the month by using our necrology (listing of the dead.)
November 9: The dedication of Rome's Lateran Basilica was done by Pope Sylvester I in 324 as the pope's local parish as the bishop of Rome. It was originally called the Most Holy Savior and was built on the property donated by the Laterani family. It is named John Lateran because the baptistry was named after St. John. Throughout the centuries, it was attacked by barbarians, suffered damage from earthquakes and fires, and provided residence for popes. In the 16th century, it went through Baroque renovations.
November 10: Leo the Great, pope and doctor (d. 461) tried to bring peace to warring Roman factions that were leaving Gaul vulnerable to barbarian invasions. As pope, he tried to keep peace again - in particular during his meeting with Attila the Hun, whom he persuaded not to plunder Rome. However, in Attila's next attack three years later, Rome was leveled. Some of Leo's writings on the incarnation were influential in formulating doctrine at the Council of Chalcedon.
November 11: Martin of Tours, bishop (316-397), became an Roman soldier in Hungary because he was born into a military family. After he became a Christian, he left the army because he saw his faith in opposition to military service. He settled in Gaul and began its first monastery. He was proclaimed bishop in 371 and worked to spread the faith in at time of great uncertainty and conflict. He divided sections of his diocese into parishes.
This Week in Jesuit History
- November 5, 1660. The death of Alexander de Rhodes, one of the most effective Jesuit missionaries of all time. A native of France, he arrived in what is now Vietnam in 1625.
- November 6, 1789. Fr. John Carroll of Maryland was appointed to be the first Bishop of Baltimore.
- November 7, 1717. The death of Antonio Baldinucci, an itinerant preacher to the inhabitants of the Italian countryside near Rome.
- November 8, 1769. In Spain, Charles III ordered all of the Society's goods to be sold and sent a peremptory demand to the newly elected Pope Clement XIV to have the Society suppressed.
- November 9, 1646. In England, Fr. Edmund Neville died after nine months imprisonment and ill-treatment. An heir to large estates in Westmoreland, he was educated in the English College and spent forty years working in England.
- November 10, 1549. At Rome, the death of Paul III, to whom the Society owes its first constitution as a religious order.
- November 11, 1676. In St James's Palace, London, Claude la Colombiere preached on All Saints.
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