The 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
Sirach 35:12-14,16-18  +  2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18  + Luke 18:9-14
Catechism Link: CCC 2559
October 23, 2022

“… the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The link between humility and divine charity helps you and me to follow Jesus.  Humility is not the most important of the virtues.  Divine charity—in Latin, caritas, meaning the love that is God’s very nature—is the most important virtue.  Divine charity is the summit towards which we Christians climb by means of the other virtues.

Humility, on the other hand, is the base of the mountain.  While divine charity is the goal that our last step brings us into the presence of, humility is the first step.  The old saying reminds us that “every great journey begins with a simple, single step.”

But if humility is so simple, why do we find it so difficult to practice?  God reveals to us in Sacred Scripture that one reason why humility is so difficult is the split in the human person that’s caused by sin.

Sin splits man in two.  Saint Paul explained this to the Romans in his long letter about sin and grace.  St. Paul taught the Romans from his own experience as a sinner, telling them, “I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want” [Romans 7:19].  He’s very blunt about his own moral failures, saying, “I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” [Romans 7:15].  Most of us, when we take a good long look at ourselves (perhaps with the help of a written examination of conscience) can identify with St. Paul in this.  He has identified for us the problem.

But what is the solution?  God is the solution, of course.  The trick, however, is that we have to acknowledge and own the problem before God can do us any good.  God so respects your free will that he allows you to remain in sin should you choose to do so.  Yet if you open your heart even the slightest to Him, a flood of grace can transform you.

Unfortunately, sin has so great a hold on us that even doing this is tremendously difficult at times.  That’s how perverse sin is:  what should be the most natural thing in the world—opening our hearts to our loving Father—becomes one of the great struggles of the spiritual life.  Jesus gives us a parable to help us see the link between humility and divine charity.  Seeing this link makes it easier to take up the struggle of opening our hearts to the Father.

The Pharisee and the tax collector are opposites.  It’s true that neither of them is at the summit.  They’re both at the base of the mountain.  But they are opposed to each other as they stand at that base because they are facing in opposite directions.

As a result, because the Pharisee stands and looks away from the mountain, every step he takes will remove him farther from the mountain’s summit.  But the tax collector is facing the mountain and looking up towards God and the summit that he has yet to climb.

He has a long road before him.  But his first step forward is an act of humility.  He is doing what you yourself need to do.  You need to face the divine Father who loves you in your sins, and who calls you to Himself by your offering Him a confession of your sins.

If you listen closely to the words of today’s Gospel Reading, you hear Jesus carefully point to the difference between the Pharisee and the tax collector.  Jesus explains that the Pharisee “spoke this prayer to himself”.  He wasn’t truly praying at all.  The Pharisee was speaking the words of a prayer to himself, not to God.  But the tax collector teaches us how to pray because he prays with humility.

The link between humility and divine charity helps you and me to follow Jesus.  This is true not only in our prayer, but in everything we do.  In everything we do, before we even take our first step, we have to act with humility by facing the right direction and looking up to God, instead of acting for our own sake.  Humility is the beginning, and divine charity—the life of God—is the end.  But without the right beginning, we cannot reach the right end:  the end for which God made us.

St. Luke the Evangelist
2 Timothy 4:10-17  +  Luke 10:1-9

“Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.”

While the word “apostle” literally means “one who is sent”, today’s Gospel passage is not about Jesus sending the Twelve.  It is about Jesus sending the 72 ahead of Him as what we might call “advance men”.  The 72 are to prepare people to receive Jesus.  Through this mission, we can relate this Gospel passage to our own lives as disciples, and to the lives of those whom we’re called to serve.

Very few members of the Church serve as successors of the apostles in the role of bishop, but by contrast, every Christian is sent by Jesus to prepare others to receive Him.  This fact is often overlooked today.  There is a confusion still, so many years after the Second Vatican Council, between the roles of the clergy and laity.

The role of the laity in the Church is largely “outside” the Church, rather than in the sanctuary.  The laity are meant by God—designed by God in His design for the Mystical Body of Christ—to carry the fruits of the Church into the wider, secular world.  The word “apostolate” is all but obsolete today in referring to the work of the laity, but it needs to be reclaimed, in order to describe the right and responsibility of the laity to engage the “world” with the Good News of Christ.

Monday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 12:13-21

“‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you ….’”

Although in meditating upon today’s Gospel passage we might choose to reflect upon either Jesus’ interaction with the jealous brother, or His parable to the crowd, consider the parable.

It illustrates what He had previously explained about the connections among “one’s life”, “greed”, and “possessions”.  Material possessions are not inherently bad.  Even person with religious vows of poverty possess their “own” clothing, even if they do not “own” them.  But possessions always tempt one—through the vice of greed—to more possessions, either in quantity or quality.  One such quality that tempts is mere novelty, and this especially is a weakness of young persons.

The rich farmer in Jesus’ parable is the antithesis to Ecclesiastes’ Qoheleth.  The rich farmer cries out to himself, “rest, eat, drink, be merry!”  This is in contrast to the king of Israel who confesses that “I said in my heart, ‘Come, now, let me try you with pleasure and the enjoyment of good things.’  See, this too was vanity.”  The rich farmer in the parable does not have the wisdom of Qoheleth, but of course, Qoheleth did not know Christ, the one who possesses all the riches of the Father’s love.

Saturday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 12:8-12

“For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”

Twice in today’s Gospel passage, God the Holy Spirit is referred to.  The first mention is somewhat ambiguous in meaning:  in its plainest sense, “blaspheming against the Holy Spirit” would refer to denying that the Holy Spirit is truly and fully God.  The Church has had to combat such denial throughout her history.

The second mention of the Holy Spirit refers to a situation that many Christians face at some point in their lives.  Whether at the point of death or with the fear of mere embarrassment, Christians at a loss as to how to defend their Faith must rely on the Holy Spirit.  Even the most brilliant Christian orator or preacher (St. Augustine of Hippo being a prime example) knows that human brilliance in any measure is dwarfed by, and comes from, the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

However, the Holy Spirit teaching the Christian what to say does not mean that the Christian becomes a puppet or megaphone of the Holy Spirit.  It is the Holy Spirit who teaches at that moment, but it’s still the Christian who must speak in his own name about the Holy Name of Jesus, making the Good News his own.

Friday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 12:1-7

“Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna ….”

In the secular culture that surrounds modern Western man, the idea that Jesus makes moral demands, or sets moral boundaries, is anathema.  How, then, can today’s Gospel passage be understood?  Jesus declares:  “I shall show you whom to fear.  Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one.”

Still, just three sentences later Jesus demands:  “Do not be afraid.”  There seems to be a contradiction, inasmuch as Jesus tells us to be afraid, and then not to be afraid.

In fact, Jesus here insists that we have a fully-rounded, rather than two-dimensional, view of God.  We may consider Jesus to be speaking of God the Father, or of Himself, when He describes whom one should fear.  As God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit condemn the one who persists in mortal sin.  Fear of God, the Just Judge, however, is a fear that helps us shape our lives.

This is a “holy fear”, upon which we need especially to meditate on this day of the week when Jesus His Passion and Death.  This holy fear gives direction to our days on this earth and to each day’s choices.  But guided by this holy fear, we can trust in the God who guides us away from sin, and to Himself.

Thursday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 11:47-54

“Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!”

On the occasions when Jesus refers to persons from the Old Testament, it’s usually Moses or Abraham of whom He speaks.  Today’s Gospel passage, though, is the only time that Jesus refers to Abel (along with the parallel passage in Matthew 23:34).

What’s intriguing about Jesus’ reference to Abel is that He speaks about him in relation to the Old Testament prophets.  Jesus speaks about “the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world”.  Clearly Jesus doesn’t agree with those modern scholars who consider the first generations of mankind in Genesis to be literary creations.  After all, why would Jesus’ own generation, as He declares, be charged with the blood of a fictional character?

Regardless, we need to reflect on why Jesus included Abel among the prophets.  Certainly, like the prophets, Abel was murdered for professing his belief in God.  But his profession was not made verbally, as prophets usually proclaim their prophecies.  In the fourth chapter of Genesis, we hear that Abel “brought to the Lord an offering… of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions.  And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering He had no regard” [Gn 4:3,4-5].

It might seem cavalier to say that Cain and Abel were engaged in the first of mankind’s “liturgy wars”.  Nonetheless, Jesus pointing our attention to the prophetic nature of right worship reminds us of the need for “orthodoxy” within the Mystical Body of Christ.

Wednesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 11:42-46

“You pay tithes … but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.”

If the scholar of the Law who interrupted Jesus’ lambasting of the Pharisees thought he would earn an apology from Jesus, he quickly realized otherwise.  Contrary to modern notions of Jesus as a sort of “spiritual teddy bear”, today’s Gospel passage splashes cold water on our souls, forcing us to ask whether Jesus might speak of us in a similar manner.

However, in addition to the sober fact of Jesus’ forthright willingness to condemn those deserving condemnation, we could consider in turn each of the “woes” that Jesus articulates today.  Here consider just the first.

“You pay tithes… but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.”  All three of these objects of religion—tithes, judgment, and love—are due to God from human persons.  They “belong” to God, we might say, each in its own manner.  Why might it be that the Pharisees are willing to give the first, but not the latter two?

There certainly is a hierarchy among the three.  “Love for God” is due God because “God is love”.  Judgment is due God in that only He—all-loving and all-knowing—can judge truly.  Tithing of materials goods such as “of mint and of rue and of every garden herb” is due God because He is the Lord of creation.  Nonetheless, the ascent to God in the practice of religion involves the ascent of a staircase with many steps.  The tithing of material goods is one of the lower steps, and the Pharisees are content to rest there.  This step is meant to lead us further upwards: closer to God, towards a higher share in God’s divine nature.

The 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
Exodus 17:8-13  +  2 Timothy 3:14—14:2  +  Luke 18:1-8
Catechism Link: CCC 101
October 16, 2022

“… proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient ….”

In Sunday’s Second Reading, Saint Paul describes how God’s Word speaks to us through the words of Scripture.  But the “Word of God” is found not only in the Bible.  We listen to the Word of God in the Bible in order to receive an even greater gift:  the Word of God made Flesh.  Opening ourselves to this greater gift is one of the chief dynamics of the Christian life.

The very structure of the Mass invites us into this spiritual dynamic.  It’s not a coincidence that Holy Mass follows the pattern that it does.  The two main parts of the Mass—in the Ordinary Form called the “Liturgy of the Word” and the “Liturgy of the Eucharist”—are not interchangeable.  That is to say, the Mass would not make sense if the Liturgy of the Eucharist were celebrated first, and then the Liturgy of the Word.  After all, the Word is proclaimed and preached as a preparation for the Word made Flesh.

We see this if we superimpose the outline of the Mass upon the outline of salvation history.  Consider what we might call the “first half” of salvation history:  the time of the Old Testament.  During this long period of time, “God spoke” his Word “in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets” [Hebrews 1:1].  But in the “second half” of salvation history—the time of Christ and His Church—“God spoke to us”, and speaks to us today, “through [His] Son” [Hebrews 1:2], the Word made flesh, who proclaimed to His followers:  “Take this, all of you, and eat it.  This is my Body, which will be given up for you.”

Catholics are at times accused of being ignorant of the Scriptures.  Unfortunately, there are times when this criticism is justified.  To that extent, we must dispel our ignorance, for St. Jerome’s words are just as true today as when he lived:  “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”

But if our devotion to Scripture does not lead us to a deeper devotion to the Eucharist, we miss the entire point of God becoming human:  the point of the divine Word becoming flesh and blood.  After all, what did God the Son say on this earth that God the Father could not have said from the heavens?  Couldn’t God the Father have spoken the Beatitudes from Heaven, rather than Jesus speaking them during the Sermon on the Mount?  Couldn’t God the Father have taught His People from Heaven how to pray to Him, rather than Jesus teaching us the “Our Father”?  What words had to be spoken by one who is both fully divine and fully human?  “Take this, all of you, and eat it.  This is my Body, which will be given up for you.”

Jesus calls us to the Supper of the Lamb—the sacrifice of the divine Word made Flesh—for two reasons.  The second and more ultimate is to give us while on earth a foretaste of what we would experience in the Banquet of Heaven if we were to persevere in the Faith until death.

The first and more immediate reason is to strengthen us through the Eucharist for the difficult work of our vocations within this world.  If our devotion to the Eucharist—whether in Adoration, or weekday Mass, or even only our Sunday obligation—does not deepen our Christian service, we’re missing an important point of the Word becoming flesh.

In Sunday’s Second Reading, St. Paul writes about the nature of the Word of God as found in the Bible.  He makes three specific points.  First:  “All Scripture is inspired by God”.  Second, Scripture “is useful for” four purposes:  “for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness”.

But then St. Paul explains that those four purposes serve a larger, overarching purpose.  All Scripture is inspired and useful “so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

As faith is meant by God to express itself in a Christian’s good works, so Scripture also orients the Christian to good works.  As the Word becomes Flesh in the Eucharist, the Eucharist strengthens the members of the Body of Christ for service in this world.  That service aims to call even more persons into the life of the Church, and through the Church’s life with Christ, into Heaven.

Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 11:37-41

“Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?”

Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel passage highlight the distinction between “the outside” and “the inside”.  The Pharisees are focused upon the outside to the exclusion of the inside, while Jesus wants His disciples to focus upon both, but in a certain order:  the inside first, and then from the inside the outside will flow fittingly.

In Christian terms, we can draw an analogy between Jesus’ words here and God calling each Christian to carry out good works.  It’s often said that the Catholic view of Christianity is not an “either/or” approach, but an approach that is “both/and”.  This is true when it comes to good works.  In the Catholic view of the spiritual and moral life, there is no division between faith and good works.  Both are necessary.  As St. James says in his New Testament epistle, “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.  … Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith” [James 2:17-18].

Speaking by analogy, authentic faith in God is the soul of authentic good works.  They ought no more be separated from each other than the soul from the body.  In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus calls the Pharisees to a more integrated view of good works.  Likewise, Christ calls each of His disciples to authentic faith, and authentic good works.