The Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time [B]
Ez 2:2-5  +  2 Cor 12:7-10  +  Mk 6:1-6
July 8, 2018

So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there….

This past week, as we’ve celebrated Independence Day, we’ve reflected on one of the things nearest and dearest to us Americans:  freedom, or as our Founding Fathers described it, liberty.  The Declaration of Independence is founded upon the God-given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  After the most fundamental human right—the right to life—comes the human right to liberty.

We can think about the morality of human freedom by using an image from C.S. Lewis:  that of a ship sailing out to sea.  Call it the U.S.S. Liberty.  Imagine that in your moral life as a Catholic, you are the first mate on this ship.  This image reflects three different dimensions of Catholic morality and freedom.

The first dimension is carried out by keeping your ship in shape:  this is personal morality, and is based on the virtues.  The second dimension is when you keep your ship from running into other ships that are out there at sea:  this is social ethics, and is based upon the Commandments, especially the latter seven.  The third dimension comes from knowing that you are at sea on a mission.  You’ve been sent to go somewhere, not just to float on the waters.  This is our final morality, which shows how our earthly choices are connected to where we will spend eternity.  Our final morality is based especially upon the four Last Things.

But none of these three sides of morality—personal, social, or final—makes any sense until we recognize what our human freedom really is, and what it is not.

Today’s Gospel passage proclaims that God’s love for us is absolute.  God respects our freedom absolutely.  He does so in a way which can be hard for us to understand.  Often, our drawing closer to someone else means coming under that person’s influence or even control, and from that experience we tend to flinch.  We believe that you can’t draw closer to another without some measure of your freedom being taken away.  Love is a tie that binds, we believe.

In fact, our most base instincts tell us that freedom means only “freedom from” others.  These base instincts try to convince us to stay stuck in the adolescent stage of life.  Of course, it’s only natural that the first several years of human life are spent in the process of separation from others.

Unfortunately, some people spend their entire lives pursuing only this “freedom from” others.  They see independence as the “be all and end all” of freedom, rather than as a means to a more profound type of freedom.  This is the “freedom for”:  the freedom to exercise the capacities we bear within.  As Christians, we understand our capacities as capacities to serve others:  God and neighbor.  The “freedom from” is meant to serve this “freedom for” others.

Those who pursue only the former type of freedom end up separating themselves from others.  As a result, they end their lives in isolation.  This gives us an insight into the meaning of the eternal Hell that results from mortal sin:  Hell is complete isolation, the result of a human person being turned in upon himself.

Christian freedom is unique.  The union between a human being and God doesn’t mean being absorbed by God, or being controlled by Him.  At every step of our journey towards God, we are fully free to accept or reject Him.  So ask for God’s grace, to accept Him more fully, in order to serve Him more fully by loving Him, your neighbors and yourself in an authentic, selfless way.

Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time [II]
Amos 9:11-15  +  Matthew 9:14-17
July 7, 2018

“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?”

It’s the disciples of St. John the Baptist—and not the saint himself—who appear and speak in today’s Gospel passage.  Nonetheless, today’s passage offers us similarities and contrasts between these two cousins:  one of them the voice of the Word, and the other the Word made Flesh.

One of the more obvious contrasts concerns fasting, and the fact that John’s disciples fast while Jesus’ do not.  But John’s disciples misunderstand the reason for this difference.  They misunderstand the relationship between John and Jesus.  Perhaps they thought of them as two equally inspiring religious figures.  Perhaps they thought of them as two equally valid paths leading to God’s righteousness.

In fact, John leads to Jesus.  John himself preached this clearly, but his disciples did not hear John clearly.

The last four sentences of today’s Gospel passage offer two mini-parables as a way to see these differences between John and Jesus.  Jesus is the new wine that must be poured into new wineskins.  This parable echoes His first public miracle at Cana [John 2:1-12].  To follow Jesus, a new approach to God must be accepted.  To be a disciple means to follow John in the constant need for penance and repentance.

Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time [II]
Amos 8:4-6,9-12  +  Matthew 9:9-13
July 6, 2018

“I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Today’s Gospel passage presents to us the vocation of Saint Matthew.  The word “vocation” literally means a “calling”.  A vocation is something “vocal”, which comes from the Voice of God (or perhaps better, the Word of God).  That might not seem earth-shattering news.  But what we sometimes forget is that a Christian vocation is not announced by Christ to a Christian at a single initial moment, as the old TV series began each week with the explanation of the spy’s mission, should he choose to accept it.

Rather, a Christian vocation is “declared” to the Christian in an on-going, unfolding manner.  Of course, it’s true that in the beginning a specific form of vocation is made known:  marriage or life as a vowed religious, for example.  But that is only the beginning of Christ’s announcement of one’s vocation.  That is only the beginning of Christ’s guidance.

Throughout the course of living out one’s Christian vocation, the Christian must expect, listen for, and heed God’s Word.  Each of these is a different skill in the skill-set required to flourish in one’s vocation.

Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time [II]
Amos 7:10-17  +  Matthew 9:1-8
July 5, 2018

“The Lord took me from following the flock, and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”

Amos, the Old Testament prophet from whose book we hear in today’s First Reading, was considered obnoxious because he preached the need of repentance on the part of everyone in Israel, including the king and the priests.  Amaziah tried to get the king to get rid of Amos:  not only because he took offense at Amos’ preaching, but also because he held Amos in contempt.

Amaziah considered Amos a “nobody”.  Amos actually admitted that he was not a prophet in his own right.  Nor did he belong to the official guild of prophets, which was a considerably large group.  Amos was just a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.  On top of that, Amos was not even from Israel:  he was from the southern land of Judah, which had not yet been combined with Israel into one kingdom.  So he was a foreigner in Israel.

But in spite of all appearances, Amos had credentials of the highest order.  It was the Lord Himself who had taken Amos from the south, to be a prophet in the north.  Amos’ worth was not due to his own wisdom.  It was due only to the fact that the Lord had called him.  As the old saying goes, “God does not call those who are qualified.  He qualifies those whom He calls.”

In other words, we trust that when the Lord gives us a job to do, He’s also going to give us the grace needed to complete that job.  This is true of any small, daily job the Lord might hand one of His sons or daughters.  God probably has such a job in mind for you this day.  So expect that job, but also trust that God will grant you the grace to complete it.

Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time [II]
Amos 5:14-15,21-24  +  Matthew 8:28-34
July 4, 2018

…when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.

As we Americans celebrate Independence Day, it’s important for us to consider the spiritual independence from evil that each of us needs, and which only Jesus can give.  Today’s Gospel helps us reflect on the conflict required to achieve spiritual independence.

While some in our day and age dismiss the possibility of demonic possession, suggesting that reported cases of possession are only psychological disorders, the Church takes today’s Gospel passage at its word.

One striking point in this passage is the reaction of people to the swineherds’ report:  “they begged [Jesus] to leave their district.”  Why do the people react this way?  One might expect the people instead to express gratitude to Jesus, and invite Him to stay as their protector.

Perhaps the people were in shock, never before imagining that demons might dwell among them.  However, demonic possession in the Holy Land was not uncommon in Jesus’ day.  The reaction of the people might reflect a belief that demonic possession only happens to “other” people, much as people in our own day think that tragedy only strikes others.  Some people today, when tragedy strikes in their own lives, react by blaming God, regardless of who truly—if anyone—was to blame.  Some people even stop practicing their religion after being struck by tragedy, so difficult is it for them to understand God’s providential Will.

While each of us needs to practice prudence in order to deter sin, violence and death in our lives, we should have no illusions of escaping them altogether.  Instead of praying to avoid suffering, we need to stand fast with Our Savior on Calvary, knowing that suffering is an essential part of achieving freedom from evil.

St. Thomas, Apostle
Ephesians 2:19-22  +  John 20:24-29
July 3, 2018

“…bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”

The Scriptures for the Mass of St. Thomas’ feast actually focus on him very little.  It’s not uncommon for the First Reading on the feast of an apostle to be either written by him or at least refer to him in passing.  However, today’s First Reading from St. Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians does not mention Thomas.  Its focus is the Church.

What is the Church, and what is her relation to Christ?  One might argue that today’s First Reading was chosen for this feast because it refers to the Church’s “foundation of the Apostles and prophets”.  But St. Paul links these apostles and prophets directly to Christ.  This foundation is related to Christ who is the Church’s “capstone”.

This capstone—Christ—is the Church’s source of unity.  The last sentence of today’s First Reading uses the word “together” twice.  It’s through Christ that the Church’s members are “held together” and grow “into a temple”.  In Him the Church’s members are “built together” as “a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”  You yourself are a member of this great work of God!  Give thanks today for God’s gift of the Church, and for the spiritual growth that God offers you through this “dwelling place”.

Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time [II]
Amos 2:6-10,13-16  +  Matthew 8:18-22
July 2, 2018

… He gave orders to cross to the other shore.

Several times during His public ministry, Jesus acts in a way that might be called “anti-social”.  This would be a mistaken perception, of course, but we still might wonder why Jesus acts as He does in these cases.

In today’s brief Gospel passage, when “Jesus saw a crowd around him, He gave orders to cross to the other shore.”  This prefaces the interaction between Jesus and two disciples.  We might be tempted to wonder whether this scene took place on a Monday morning.  The scribe sounds like an idealistic young person, while Jesus seems to splash cold water on his enthusiasm.  The other disciple expresses concern for a deceased loved one, a concern which Jesus seems to dismiss.

Have you ever felt that your enthusiasm for God has gone unmet?  To your desire for a deep spiritual life, have you perceived a sort of shrug on God’s part, if not a rebuke?  If so, you are in good company.  The story is told that Saint Teresa of Avila, suffering persecution because of her reform of the Carmelite order, complained to God about the hostility and gossip she faced.  Jesus told her, “Teresa, that’s how I treat my friends,” to which she responded, “No wonder you have so few.”

It’s not a good idea to banter with God as Teresa did without first possessing her level of holiness.  Still, we might be tempted to agree with her.  More importantly, however, we need to agree with the Lord.

We can speculate that there are two reasons for the distance that Jesus creates between Himself and others during His public ministry.  One is that “distance makes the heart grow fonder”.  The other is more practical:  Jesus doesn’t want to give others more than they can chew.  In other words, we often aren’t ready for what God has to give us.  Even during Holy Week, after three years with Jesus, all but one of His apostles fled from the Cross.  When we agree with the Lord that His Will—even His Cross—is what’s best for us, the distance between ourselves and God will diminish.

The Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time [B]
Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24  +  2 Cor 8:7,9,13-15  +  Mk 5:21-43
July 1, 2018

For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of His own nature He made him.

Both the little girl who was healed, as well as her loved ones, likely had a question on their minds after Jesus worked the miracle in today’s Gospel passage:  “Who is this man?”

This is the question that our lives revolve around if Christ is at the center of our lives.  “Who is this man?”  Every Gospel passage during the Sundays of Ordinary Time looks at this Jesus from a different perspective.  It’s like turning a diamond in your hand as you hold it up to the light and gaze upon one facet after another.  Each is beautiful.  Each is brilliant.  Each shines.  Each Gospel passage shows us one more reason to give thanks for being able to know and love this divine person named Jesus.

But St. Paul in today’s Second Reading insists that this Jesus is not to be known and loved as if He were on a pedestal that we small, tiny human beings cannot reach.  Jesus is not to be worshipped from afar.  If that were what God wanted, this Second Person of the Trinity—God the Son—would have remained always in Heaven, far above us poor sinners.

We do worship Jesus Christ because He is the only-begotten Son of God, Light from Light, True God from True God.  But we worship Him also as our personal Redeemer, who for us men and our salvation came down from Heaven so that we could worship God up close.  “Who is this man?”  He is true man, but also True God.  He reigns eternally as God in Heaven, but He also enters into human misery, suffering, and death through His human nature.  That tension between Jesus’ divine nature and His human nature is what makes this such a mysterious question:  “Who is Jesus?”

This is what St. Paul is trying to get across to us, proclaiming:  “…you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ:  that though He was rich, for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich.”  Saint Paul is not talking about material wealth, of course.  He’s talking about spiritual wealth:  in other words, the grace that is a share in divine life.

But Jesus only offers us the wealth of divine life through the Cross:  through His poverty, by abandoning His life completely to the Will of God the Father.  However, although this paints a beautiful picture of Jesus, at this point we as Catholics have an important step to take.

Jesus is not just someone for us to admire.  We are asked to share directly in the sacred mysteries of His life.  Yet we are not just to imitate Jesus, as we imitate our childhood heroes.  There’s no way that any of us can imitate Jesus’ selflessness through our own efforts alone.  We can only be as selfless as Jesus if we truly and directly share His life:  if we live our lives in His life, by means of His abiding within us.

How does Jesus abide within the faithful disciple?  Today’s First Reading reminds us that “God formed man to be imperishable; the image of His own nature He made him.”  What exactly is this divine image in which man is created, and through which he abides in God and God in him?  One answer given by Doctors of the Church is that the creation of man in the divine Image involves three aspects:  two faculties and one end.

Man’s intellect and will reflect the divine image.  By these two faculties, man can transcend his animal instincts and drives and his environment.  Man can transcend his very self.  Yet men like Hitler and Nietzsche show that great intellect and great will power can end in murder, suicide and insanity.  The faculties of intellect and will must be oriented towards love, and must be oriented by love.  This orientation takes shape through self-sacrifice:  the poverty that God the Son embraced out of love for each of us.

Saturday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time [II]
Lamentations 2:2,10-14,18-19  +  Matthew 8:5-17
June 30, 2018

“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.”

Many blessings have come from the new English translation of the Roman Missal that the Church began to use in 2011.  One such blessing that comes from greater fidelity to the Latin original is the transparency with which Scripture quotations appear.

For example, in the old translation of the Missal, shortly before Holy Communion those assembled would say, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.”  Now they say, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”  Which of these more accurately reflects the words of the centurion in today’s Gospel passage:  “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed”?

The fidelity to the words of today’s Gospel passage highlights the centurion’s point:  authority.  The centurion understands the authority that Jesus bears because the centurion himself bears authority.  Because he bears it, he is willing to submit to a higher authority.  The centurion’s humility in the face of Jesus prepares for his faith, and in this he is a model for each of us to follow.