Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
Today's Scripture
Today we celebrate an unusual feast, namely, the “Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome.” While normally our feasts celebrate people or events in the lives of people, today’s feast actually commemorates a building. The Basilica of St. John Lateran is the pope’s home parish. While we usually associate the pope with St. Peter’s in Vatican City, it is here that the pope has his official ecclesiastical seat, or “cathedra.” The building itself has a long and fascinating history, which stretches back to the early centuries of Christianity.
Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today's Scripture
Today’s reading from St. Mark’s Gospel is a challenging one. In the second section when we encounter Jesus sitting across from the treasury with His disciples, we hear Him teach the disciples an important but difficult lesson. It is natural to think that the rich who are placing large sums of money into the treasury are in fact contributing the most. Jesus, however, asks us to see with God’s eyes. He explains to His disciples, and to us, that in reality the poor widow made the largest contribution, even though the numerical amount she put in was the smallest. This is a difficult and challenging message for us, because it means we should examine our own contributions, including financial.
Saturday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Scripture
In the first reading for today, Paul lists many companions of his who have aided him in spreading the Gospel. It’s easy to think about St. Paul, sometimes, as an individual on his own traveling from place to place and bringing the Gentiles to Christianity in its very early stages. At the end of his letter to the Romans, Paul identifies with the Roman community (which he has not yet met) by making connections to those in the community. The list of names is staggering. Staggering not just because of how many there are, but also because of the Gentile names, the Jewish names, the women, the men. We see that almost immediately the Good News of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection had universal, even cosmic significance. We see also how the Church, even from its earliest days, transcended national, linguistic, class, and gender boundaries.
Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Scripture
Occasionally, it happens. Not often, but enough to make it memorable and not simply a fluke. Someone cuts me some slack when I least expect it - even, sometimes, when I don't deserve it. The cashier who says, "Oh, you don't have the correct change? I'll cover it." The doctor who says, "I know you're paying for this appointment totally out of pocket so we'll bill this at the lowest level." The police officer who lets me off with a warning. The harried receptionist who detects a note of concern, even panic in my voice, and figures out a way to get an appointment on the books.
Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Scripture
Today’s gospel passage from Luke contains two analogies that Jesus uses to help the scribes and the Pharisees understand why Jesus spends time with sinners. Both comparisons involve losing something and rejoicing in finding it. And in both cases, it may seem a little silly to us that a shepherd would rejoice over one sheep out of 100, or a woman rejoice for finding one coin out of ten. Scholars debate whether Jesus is being sincere or ironic here. But if we hear these words and say, yes, it does seem a little silly to overturn a whole house looking for one little coin or yes, it is quite foolish to leave 99 sheep to search for one lost sheep, then perhaps we can better understand the power of what Jesus is saying.
Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time/ Feast of St. Charles Borromeo
Today's Scripture
Today we celebrate the feast of the St. Charles Borromeo. St. Charles was a person who lived in the 16th century. He started his religious formation at age twelve and finished his doctorate by age twenty-one. Charles spent his whole life in service of the Church and the people of God. When his father died, his family wanted to Charles to assume the titles of his family. Charles refused their request. He became a great writer and gave time talent and treasure in service of the poor in Milan at the time of the plague.
Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Scripture
In today’s reading from St. Luke’s Gospel we encounter the exclamation, “blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.” Jesus proceeds to explain who will be invited to dine in the Kingdom of God. He begins by mentioning those who are initially invited but who spurn the invitation, and so are thereby excluded from the royal banquet. What should strike the audience as odd is the company Jesus then explains are invited next to the banquet, the only ones who actually get to dine in the kingdom: the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame, and the many in the “highways” and “hedgerows.” These are not the sort of people we typically associate with royal banquets!
The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
Today's Scripture
Yesterday we celebrated the feast of All Saints’ Day, which recognizes all those unnamed saints in addition to all of the better known saints. Today we celebrate All Souls’ Day, and both of these feasts communicate something that is quite counter-cultural, namely that death is not the end of life. In the United States, we have developed quite a fear of death, and not without reason. Easily preventable deaths (a kid getting hit by a car) or unjust deaths (abortion) ought certainly to be prevented or avoided.
Solemnity of All Saints
Today's Scripture
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints Day. This Solemnity celebrates all of the Church’s Saints, both those we know about who have been formally canonized by the Church, and those we do not yet know about. The first reading for today from the Book of Revelation provides us with a magnificent glimpse into the heavenly life of the glorified Saints. This vision gives us hope of joining their numbers upon our own death and entrance into glory. An important part of this vision is found in 7:9 where we see the unity of God’s people, called from “every nation, race, people, and tongue.”
Saturday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Scripture
“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
In St. Luke’s Gospel, our Lord asks us to consider humility and it’s opposite – pride, the deadliest of the seven deadly sins. Why is it that we are called to humility? Isn’t pride a good thing? It seems that in all places we see pride held up as the ideal – pride in one’s country, pride in one’s achievements, pride in one’s work, pride in one’s children, pride in one’s status. What’s do deadly about pride? In terms of the sin, we’re not talking about caring much about people, work…etc. We’re talking about a focus on the self. The be proud is to be satisfied with oneself, to put oneself first. When one is completely satisfied with oneself, one does not need salvation, one does not see sin. Indeed, St. Augustine described sin as to be “caved in on oneself.”
Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Scripture
There is a very devout and pious woman I have often talked to often recently. She is ill and she cannot come to the Church. I have arranged for her to receive Holy Communion each Sunday. However, the person taking her Communion had to leave town on an emergency. She called her to let he know that she would bring Communion to her communicant on Monday instead. Most people find that acceptable in case of emergency. But my friend finds herself unable to make that change. I don’t blame her. She wants to do the right thing. But in her mind to receive communion on any other day except Sunday does not fulfil her Sunday obligation. While I admire her piety and sense of communion with the rest of the Catholic community, I also sense that for her, her sense of obligation has also become her burden. I tried to reason with her. I told her that in exceptional situations it is fine to receive communion whenever it was possible. But she will not succumb to my “devilish” suggestions.
Thursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Scripture
Today’s first reading contains some of the most powerful and inspiring words in the New Testament. St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, writes “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31). These words ought to be the comfort of all Christians who struggle in any way. It is possible to become discouraged in the Christian life, particularly when we encounter suffering, whether physical, mental, or emotional. We may feel persecuted or alienated as we try to journey with Christ, and we may worry about the future, especially by fearing death.
Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles
Today's Scripture
Today we celebrate the feast of the Apostles Simon and Jude. The word apostle means “one sent out”. The readings remind us that we are called to be disciples/apostles. The context for this call to discipleship is rooted in our faith community. What makes this call seem even more radical is that in many ways the cultural shifts in mobility and communications are causing people to be more isolated, more like strangers. One outward sign of this reality is the shift toward individual spirituality and away from communal religion.
Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Scripture
Today our readings highlight the connection between hope and the Kingdom of God. “Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promise and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.” (CCC 1817) For many of us, hope is something that we do not seem to possess in abundance; instead, it’s presence within us often seems small and its growth requires attention and care. But it is important to focus on hope, since it is through hope that we allow the Holy Spirit to work through us.
Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Scripture
In this 30th week of Ordinary time, we continue our daily walk with Jesus, counting and celebrating the weeks of our commitment. As we do so, we continue to hear from the gospel according to St. Luke. Today’s story strikes a familiar theme: Jesus heals on the Sabbath to the dismay of the leader of the synagogue. Jesus then defends himself, humiliating his adversaries. But certainly Jesus’ intent was not to hurt his adversaries. Instead, Jesus wanted to help them see the world as God sees it. He wanted them to understand Sabbath worship as a gift for their good, rather than as a restriction. When he drives out Satan from this woman, Jesus is reclaiming her for God. He is allowing her to live in freedom, and to worship God out of that freedom.
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today's Scripture
There are many things we can take away from today’s readings, but I only want to highlight one of them, and that is that we should learn to become more like the blind man Bartimaeus; we need to unhesitatingly cry out to the Lord when we need help. And let’s face it, we always need help, all of the time. Sometimes we may not need as much help for ourselves, but we may be moved by someone else’s difficulties. In those instances, let us join them in crying out to God for help.
Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
St. Paul begins the eighth chapter of his Letter to the Romans with an exclamation that God has done what humans were unable to do. In Christ Jesus the law of sin and death has been conquered by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Though Jesus was crucified in the manner of a common Roman criminal by the expressed sinfulness of human beings, this was not the end of the story. We know that he was raised, conquering death so that we may have life in the Spirit of God. We now live in that life according to the Spirit; the Kingdom of God has been inaugurated, but we will not know it in its fullness until Christ comes again. We are still a pilgrim Church, still “the people that longs to see [God’s] face” (Ps 24:6).
Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Scripture
I love today's passage from Paul's letter to the Romans (7:18-25a). It is just such a down-to-earth real picture of the way that human life works, at least mine. Hasn't everyone encountered some situation where they've done the evil they do not want, and not done the good they know they wanted? Paul knows that we have minds and can think through consequences of actions and make reasonable observations about what will be the better thing to do at any one moment. But that does not mean we will do it. I can plan ahead for a friend's party, for example, and think to myself that I will only eat two appetizers, because otherwise I'll be eating more calories than is good for me. But having thought through it does not guarantee that I will get to the party and find the miniature quiches so tasty that I eat five or ten of them! Likewise, I know what the hot button topics are for my friends and family members - and I know that oftentimes it is better just not to engage in that fight. Sometimes it is just so tempting, though - perhaps on the way toward "winning" an argument" - to slip in a comment I wish I hadn't made, and then my day and their day takes a turn for the worse.
Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Scripture
Today’s gospel passage from Luke is one of those that always gives us reason to pause. Isn’t Jesus associated with peace on earth? Isn’t Christianity a “family values” kind of faith? Then why does Jesus say here that he came to establish division? Why does he describe the rending of families?
Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Scripture
As a person who grew up in a scouting family and now have young scouts of my own today’s readings strike me deeply about being a prepared disciple. In the letter to the Roman’s, St. Paul reminds us that we are to present ourselves to God as people who have been raised from death to life. For Paul this means that we are dead to sin and alive to God’s law of love.