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
St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Exodus 33:7-11;34:5-9,28 + Matthew 13:36-43
August 1, 2017
“‘Whoever has ears ought to hear.’”
In today’s Gospel passage Jesus offers a point-by-point explanation of the parable that He preached in the passage proclaimed a few days earlier in the cycle of Ordinary Time weekdays. The evangelists rarely offer us examples of Jesus explaining a parable, so today’s passage is insightful not only in terms of the parable’s content, but also in terms of Jesus’ method of using parables. Continue reading
St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest
Exodus 32:15-24,30-34 + Matthew 13:31-35
July 31, 2017
“All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.”
Jesus today proclaims two parables about the Kingdom of Heaven. In wanting to understand these parables, we might wonder what exactly the Kingdom of Heaven is. Is the Kingdom of Heaven the realm of Heaven? Is it the Church, or some measure of both the Church and Heaven, or something else entirely, such as the individual Christian’s soul? Continue reading
The Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time [A]
I Kgs 3:5,7-12 + Rom 8:28-30 + Mt 13:44-52
July 30, 2017
“…all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.”
Ten centuries before Christ, the son of David became the King of Israel. Solomon was a young man. He realized his lack of experience and his lack of ability to govern Israel. The Lord told him to ask for any gift, and it would be granted.
Solomon could have asked for wealth, since with immense wealth he could buy off any kingdom that got in his way. Or he could have asked for absolute power, since he could then destroy any kingdom that got in his way. He could have asked for any number of things. But he asked for wisdom.
Wisdom is insight into the meaning of things. Such meaning manifests itself chiefly when Wisdom shows how everything fits together: how everything has its place. This wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit. It is through the providential power of the Holy Spirit that St. Paul’s words in today’s Second Reading are true: “all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” This purpose we can consider as God’s providential will, which converges in Christ. St. Paul explains this as he continues: “those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He might be the firstborn”. Continue reading
St. Martha
Exodus 24:3-8 + John 11:19-27
July 29, 2017
“‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.’”
On this feast of Saint Martha, the Gospel Reading must come from the feast day. The other readings may come from the day in Ordinary Time, which the feast supersedes. However, there are two options for the Gospel Reading on this feast. Both, of course, feature Martha. Continue reading
The Carmelite Feast of Blessed John Soreth *
July 28, 2017
Blessed John Soreth was born in Normandy in northern France in 1394 and entered Carmel as a young man. He took a doctorate of theology in Paris, and served as Regent of Studies and provincial of his province. He was Prior General from 1451 until his death at Angers, in western France in 1471. Continue reading
