Monday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
Ezra 1:1-6  +  Luke 8:16-18

“‘…he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.’”

Tomorrow and the next two days, the First Reading comes from the Book of Ezra.  To put this book into context within the Old Testament and within salvation history, at least two things ought to be kept in mind. Continue reading →

The Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time [A]
Isa 55:6-9  +  Phil 1:20-24,27  +  Mt 20:1-16
September 24, 2017

I am caught between the two.

Saint Paul is talking about a tension that all of us feel.  But the reasons for this tension differ among various persons.  “I am caught between the two”, Saint Paul says in writing to the Philippian people.  The question he’s wrestling with is whether it’s better to live down here on earth, or to live in heaven.  If Jesus appeared before you tomorrow morning, and told you that at that very moment, He would take you up to Heaven if you wanted, would you go with Him?  Or would you be tempted to remain on earth?

Saint Paul is very straightforward:  “I do not know which I shall choose.  I am caught between the two.”  So if it’s hard for a saint to choose between this world and the next, we shouldn’t be surprised if we’re torn, also.

But St. Paul’s reason for being torn is different than the reasons that some have.  If you’re a Kenny Chesney fan, you’re familiar with his song called “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven.”  One version of the refrain goes:  “Everybody wants to go to heaven / Get their wings and fly around / Everybody want to go to heaven / But nobody want to go now.”  And to explain why this is, the singer tells how after church one Sunday he told his pastor:  “Next time you got the good Lord’s ear / Say I’m comin’ but there ain’t no hurry / I’m havin’ fun down here.”  St. Paul wouldn’t have been singing this song extolling “the good life” as he walked down the country roads to preach.  Instead, his aim was to form what today we call intentional disciples. Continue reading →

St. Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest
1 Timothy 6:13-16  +  Luke 8:4-15
September 23, 2017

“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

The parable Jesus preaches to us today is well-known.  Its meaning is clear because Jesus Himself explains the parable:  something He rarely does.  Given this explanation, we might apply the parable to ourselves as an examination of conscience.  While Jesus describes the different elements of the parable as relating to different groups of persons, one can reflect on these elements as relating to oneself at different times in one’s life. Continue reading →

Friday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
1 Timothy 6:2-12  +  Luke 8:1-3

Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another….

Today’s Gospel passage doesn’t seem much like a passage!  There’s no narrative to speak of, but mostly a description of Jesus’ entourage as He journeys while preaching.  How is such a “cast of characters” meant to tell us something as it’s preached from the pulpit on this weekday in Ordinary Time? Continue reading →

St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
Ephesians 4:1-7,11-13  +  Matthew 9:9-13
September 21, 2017

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

Among the four evangelists, only Matthew and John were members of the Twelve apostles.  Mark and Luke did not, as far as we know, ever meet Jesus during His earthly life.  Nonetheless, Mark and Luke were disciples of Peter and Paul, respectively, and from those two Mark and Luke received the apostolic witness to the Good News. Continue reading →

Sts. Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, & Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, et soc., Martyrs
1 Timothy 3:14-16  +  Luke 7:31-35
September 20, 2017

“But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

Our society today is knowledge-rich but wisdom-poor.  Contrast knowledge and wisdom.  Knowledge today, as it’s commonly considered, is thought to be facts and figures.  A recently enshrined paragon of knowledge is an IBM computer called “Watson”, which can spit forth names and dates faster than human game show champions.  While we might dispute whether facts and figures are the essence of knowledge or merely some of its components, we often educate our children according to knowledge-based systems. Continue reading →

Tuesday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
1 Timothy 3:1-13  +  Luke 7:11-17

…a bishop must be irreproachable, married only once, temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach….

Today’s First Reading, from St. Paul’s first epistle to St. Timothy, speaks to the lived reality of Holy Orders in the apostolic church.  There are three “orders” (sometimes called “grades” or “degrees”) of the Sacrament of Holy Orders.  St. Paul speaks today of the first and the last. Continue reading →

Monday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
1 Timothy 2:1-8  +  Luke 7:1-10

“I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”

With few exceptions, the translation of the Mass introduced in 2011 has been hailed by bishops, scholars and folk in the pews for its advances over the hurried translation made soon after Vatican II.  One of the key improvements in the translation is its greater fidelity to Sacred Scripture.  Today’s Gospel passage offers an example. Continue reading →

The Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time [A]
Sir 27:30—28:7  +  Rom 14:7-9  +  Mt 18:21-35
September 17, 2017

Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.

The great British convert and apologist G. K. Chesterton once said, “Forgiving means to pardon the unpardonable, or it is no virtue at all.”  By contrast, you and I often are willing only to forgive if we deem someone’s sins not too serious or offensive.  Today Jesus challenges us to go further in being instruments of His mercy.

One way to realize to what extent we ought to extend mercy to others is to turn the table.  We ought each day to consider how much God Himself has blessed us in showing us His mercy.  We ought to reflect on how each day we act sinfully, in a way that calls for God’s mercy.

All of us long to find a place where we are at home, where we are trusted.  But even more importantly, we long to find a place where we can be forgiven, for we know that there are times when we fail to live up to the trust that people place in us.  We might ask ourselves, “Which is more important to me:  trust or forgiveness?” Continue reading →