Saturday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
Leviticus 25:1,8-17  +  Matthew 14:1-12

“His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother.”

On August 29, the Church celebrates the Passion of St. John the Baptist, and on that memorial we hear his passion narrative according to Saint Mark.  Today’s Gospel Reading offers us this narrative according to St. Matthew the Evangelist. Continue reading →

St. John Vianney, Priest
Leviticus 23:1,4-11,15-16,27,34-37  +  Matthew 13:54-58
August 4, 2017

“‘A prophet is not without honor except in his native place….’”

The last sentence of today’s Gospel passage presents something of a conundrum.  No matter how we interpret the fact that Jesus “did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith”, we are challenged. Continue reading →

Thursday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 13:47-53

“The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

Every so often in the history of the Church, there arises interest in what’s called “universalism”.  This is the belief that all human persons will eventually be saved.  There’s an even broader version of this belief which claims that all spiritual persons (that is, both human and angelic) will eventually be saved.  The consistent teaching of Christ’s Church, however, draws upon His clear preaching about both the afterlife in general and the Last Judgment more specifically.

Today’s Gospel passage is taken from St. Matthew’s Gospel account, which is the longest of the four.  In this account, most of Jesus’ teaching about eschatology (that is, the “Four Last Things”:  Heaven, Hell, death, and judgement) is found at the end of His public ministry, shortly before Holy Week begins and Jesus approaches His own death.  The Church proclaims Jesus’ teaching about the Last Things especially in the final weeks of the Church year, leading up to the feast of Christ the King.

However, today’s Gospel passage comes from Chapter 13 of Matthew, in the midst of His three years of public ministry.  Here, also, Jesus makes clear the sort of judgment that will take place.  The Lord does not use conditional language, but instead declares:  “The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous”.  This teaching is sobering, yet at the same time it highlights the importance of the One who offers wicked humans the gift of salvation during their earthly days.

Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
Exodus 34:29-35  +  Matthew 13:44-46

“‘Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.’”

Jesus offers us two brief parables today, both metaphors describing “the Kingdom of Heaven”.  Either parable and its imagery would suffice for a day’s meditation.  Perhaps we could meditate, though, upon common threads between the two. Continue reading →