August 30, 1998Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time |
All the sacrements are of the utmost importance for a life of preparation for heaven. The Sacrement of Penance is an instrument in the hands of the Lord Jesus to rescue us from sin and the effects of sin. Every sin tends to entrench the sinner in sinfulness. Everyone needs to be rescued from sinfulness. For example, anger tends to build and become entrenched if the sinner is not saved from it. So it is with all sin. We must have the saving grace of the Lord to keep us free from sinfulness. The Sacrament of Penance is the special source of that grace. It is importanct that we use it to become secure from sin.
The readings for this Sunday's Mass lend themselves to a meditation on the virtue of humility. This is very clear in Sirach (which explicitly mentions humility), and is clear by illustration in the Gospel, in which Jesus speaks about taking the lower place first, and then being invited to the higher place. None of the virtues are easy to obtain, and humility can be an especially painful one to come to a realization of. The Navarre Bible commentary notes that "Humility is so necessary for salvation that Jesus takes every opportunity to stress its importance. Here he used the attitudes of people at a banquet to remind us again that it is God who assigns the places at the heavenly banquet. "Together with humility, the realization of the greatness of man's dignity--and of the overwhelming fact that, by grace, we are made children of God--forms a single attitude. It is not our own efforts that save us and give us life; it is the grace of God." St. John Chrysostom, probably, preaching to a group of monks, noted that "Would you like to see God glorified by you? Then rejoice in your brother's progress and you will immediately give glory to God. Because his servant could conquer envy by rejoicing in the merits of others, God will be praised." Humility is the exact opposite of envy and jealousy, which wreak havoc in relationships and life. May we each day draw nearer to the glory of God, and of all of the centuries of witnesses to the power and glory of Christ!
As sacrament, the first purpose of the Church is to signify the inner union of mankind with God, as it is in this inner union that humankind has communion with one another and makes visible the redemption accomplished by Christ. The Church is also the sacrament of the unity of the human race. It is in Her that this unity began with peoples from all nations and tribes gathered around the Word that was proclaimed and heard in the various tongues of those present. As sacrament, the Church is the instrument of Christ for the salvation of all. It is through her that Christ is manifesting and actualizing the mystery of God's love for humanity. It is in the Church that the whole human race may become one People of God, form one Body of Christ, and be built up into one temple of the Holy Spirit.
During the next several weeks we will be hearing many things about the planned visit of Pope John Paul II to Saint Louis, a two-day visit scheduled for January 1999. There will be much talk about what and whom he will visit. There will even be an economic impact statement regarding how much revenue the Pope's visit will bring into our community. I am afraid that in the midst of all this we will forget the real purpose of his visit to us, bringing us the message of Jesus Christ. In trying to keep a spiritual focus on the Pope's visit, I have asked some faithful OLS parishioners to compose a prayer that could be placed in the bulletin. I hope that during these weeks leading up to the visit of Pope John Paul II you would say this prayer often. The pastoral visit of the Pope will be a time of great spiritual awakening for all of us, truly a time of grace for our Catholic community as well as all citizens of Saint Louis.
Heavenly Father, guide and protect Pope John Paul II, the shepherd of Your people, chosen and anointed by You. Grant him wisdom and strength as he continues to lead our Catholic church into the new millenium. Open the hearts of Your people, that we may welcome his message of truth, as we welcome him to our city. Keep him healthy and safe from harm as he continues to bring Your message to all the world.
We live in an age when the world has become a "global village." As soon as something happens anywhere in the world, it is made known to us through the magic of modern mass communications. Thus our awareness of others is heightened and all human beings are brought closer together.
It is only natural, then, for contemporary Christians to have a genuine interest in all that goes on daily throughout the world. This gives them a better opportunity than their ancestors for putting Christ's command of love into practice - for they have not a few but vast numbers of people to whom they can show love. They possess a golden opportunity to "do good to all men" (Ga. 6:10) through their concern and their prayers, for in a certain sense each of us is a citizen of the world.
However, this in no way lessens the attachment of Christians to their country of origin or citizenship. If anything, it solidifies and enlarges that attachment. They have a greater sense of being part of the whole human race - but a very particular part, living in a specific land with its own traditions, laws, customs, and idiosyncrasies that can also be of help to others living in other lands.
Hence, Christians can legitimately pray for their country's welfare even as they pray for the welfare of all countries in the world. They can beseech God to make them good citizens of their country as well as upstanding members of the human race. For in the final analysis these two things go hand in hand.
The Introduction teaches that because it is through the Scriptures that God speaks to his people, the biblical readings for Mass with their accompanying chants from the Sacred Scriptures may not be omitted, shortened, or, worse still, replaced by non-biblical readings. In Masses with the people, "the readings are always to be proclaimed at the ambo" (LFM 16). The first means of effectively communicating the word of God is to assure that the readings are proclaimed in an audible, clear, and understandable voice. Thus, even the singing of a reading "must serve to bring out the sense of the words, not to obscure them." When introductory comments are given before the readings, they must be "simple, faithful to the text, brief, well prepared, and properly varied to suit the text they introduce" (LFM 16).
The reading of the Gospel is the highpoint of the Liturgy of the Word. The Evangeliary or Book of Gospels is carried in by the deacon or reader and "it is most fitting that the deacon or a priest, when there is no deacon, take the book from the altar and carry it to the ambo" (LFM 17). Such a procession is meant to solemnize the entry of Jesus as the Word of God into the assembly. The Introduction then summarizes the ritual details for proclamation of the Gospel.
Newsletter of the Committee on the Liturgy of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Volume XXXIV, February-March 1998.
The Scriptures speak to us today about humility. Of all the Christian virtues, humility is probably the most misunderstood. For centuries, the church promoted the kind of humility that encouraged us to belittle and despise ourselves. Generations thought that Christian humility called them to loathe themselves. This is not true humility. Humility is the result of knowing yourself as God knows you, all your strengths, your talents, your goodness and your dignity, as well as your shortcomings, weaknesses and sinfulness. It is only when we are truly in touch with our inner worth and value as well as our faults, that we can humble ourselves before God and others. We interact with others humbly because we know that all that we have and are comes ultimately from God.
"You have not drawn near to an untouchable mountain no, you have drawn near to Mount Zion and the city of the living God to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant." (Heb. 12:18-24) What a refreshing and reassuring image of God this author describes! By contrasting a distant God who is unapproachable with the living God revealed by Jesus, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews reassures believers of God's closeness, availability and love for us. May our worship at the Eucharist always draw us close to the living God, whose reign Jesus proclaimed, and to one another--especially the vulnerable among us.
OPEN WIDE THE DOORS TO CHRIST: The Holy Door is an actual door entering into the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome, that is ceremoniously opened by the Pope at the beginning of each Holy Year, and ramins open throughout the year as pilgrims enter St. Peter's Basilica. At the year's end, it is sealed from the inside of the Basilica with bricks and mortar, until the next Jubilee year. The Holy Door symbolically represents Christ the Savior who said: "Whoever enters through me will be saved" (John 10:9). It also represents the heart of the believer who allows God to enter and dwell within. The Holy Door tradiiton was begun in 1500 under Pope Alexander VI. The present door, a gift of the Swiss Catholics in 1949, is decorated with biblical scenes of redemption and forgiveness, with a special focus on the Mercy parables of the Gospels. In his bold statement, Pope John Paul II calls on the Church, collectively as an institution as well as individually in her members, to honestly and courageously look at past neglects and weaknesses:
The Holy Door of the Jubilee of the year 2000 should be symbolically wider than those of previous Jubilees, because humanity, upon reaching this goal, will leave behind not just a century but a millennium. The Church should make this passage with a clear awareness of what has happened to her during the last ten centuries. She cannot cross the threshold of the new millennium without encouraging her children to purify themselves, through repentance of past errors and instances of infidelity, inconsistency, and slowness to act."
To most Christians faith is important. The rub comes in when one attempts to state what he or she means by faith. For many Americans faith can mean some kind of stance in regard to life. Our Catholic tradition stresses belief in God and in Christ and in the saving significance of his death and resurrection. Faith in this context is a response to a prior act of God. God becomes involved in human history and in doing so reveals something of the divine nature and of the divine will for humanity. Faith involves an acceptance of divine revelation and a willingness to commit ourselves to God and then to the life to which God call us.
In the creed we profess our faith in the "holy Catholic Church." We believe that the Church exists as a divinely established community and as a God-given sign and instrument of salvation. There is a vital relationship between Christ and the Church that many have not internalized. Let me propose three points about faith that Father Avery Dulles, S.J. offers: (1) The Church is a witness insofar as it credibly and reliably proposes the contents of revelation. (2) The teaching office of the Church has the special function of authenticating the contents of revelation and supervising the transmission of doctrine. (3) The Church is a believer. I think that this third point is one that is lost on many of us. The revelation of God was delivered not to isolated individuals but to the believing community - initially, the people of Israel and subsequently, the Church as the New Israel. The apostles themselves came to believe within the community that Jesus gathered around himself. The Church is the believing community and each individual believes only by participating, consciously or unconsciously, in the faith of the Church. "This is our faith! This is the faith of the Church! We are proud to profess it in Christ Jesus!
May I suggest a quiet reflective completion of the following sentence: I believe . . . . . . . (Use as many words as you need.) The object(s) you select for the verb "believe" will tell you much about the quality of your faith.
Love,
Fr. Ed
Hospitality is part of Discipleship. Hospitality is also the job of the entire parish, not just the greeters, ushers and Welcome Committee. There are many ways that we can be hospitable. We can greet everyone we see with a friendly smile and a warm hello. We can move into the pew to allow room for others. We can go up to visitors and newcomers after Mass and speak with them. The list goes on and on. Let?s all be hospitable disciples.
THEME: THE RIGHT PLACE: Today's readings are a call to reflect on where we stand in relationship to God and others. We may think that we're in pretty good shape, that we "deserve" honor and credit for who we are and what we do. If so, today's readings just may knock us down a peg and cause us to reconsider our position. They may force us to discover just what is our right place, His ways and learn of him.
There is a tradition in the Hebrew scriptures that frequently highlights the irony of inverted expectations. In our first reading from Sirach today, there is a teaching that love is experienced in giving, rather than receiving; that greatness is revealed in humility; that wisdom is a better listener than talker. The Psalms tell us that God becomes the dwelling of the homeless, the liberty of prisoners, and refreshing rain for dry hearts.
The letter to the Hebrews has the same tinge of paradox. While many might think that God is as unapproachable as the highest mountain, or an all consuming furnace of rage, or an abyss of impenetrable darkness, or a booming voice so terrible one might wish it had never been heard, the God of the letter to the Hebrews is a loving parent. God's mountain is Zion, full of life, bright with light, ringing with festivity. God's sound is the voice of Jesus, through whom our maimed limbs will become whole again.
The teaching of Jesus in the gospel today takes place at a banquet of elite lawyers and Pharisees. His teaching draws upon the advice of Proverbs (25:7) that it is "better to be invited, 'Come up here,' than be humiliated in the presence of the prince." In the parable of Jesus today, He shows people seeking the place of honor who are eventually asked to move, now blushing to a lower place. "What you should do when you have been invited is go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host approaches you he will say, 'My friend, come up higher.' This might sound like a bit of advice from Dale Carnegie on how to win friends and influence people: if you want to look good, put on the mask of humility. But it is clear Jesus is not offering advice on etiquette. He is telling His listeners (including us) that those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. The setting of this teaching is with a group of people who are trying to set traps to catch Him, who seem to understand only the logic of self enhancement and self promotion. This logic runs contrary to the life and teaching of Jesus: to find life, die to self. This is the way of the Master and for us disciples who profess to follow Him. The truth is that God loves us, no matter where we sit at the table. This is the foundation and source of all true humility and it is freedom from any kind of ego agenda. Let us pray for the grace of humility.
Father James Tobin, S.M.
Pastor
1) Sirach 3, 17-18. 20. 28-29
2) Hebrews 12, 18-19. 22-24
3) Luke 14, 1. 7-14
God bless Miss Manners. That dear lady is always willing to help us understand the complexities of human interaction. What obligations come our way when others are kind to us? How do we repay the kindness others have shown us? How long do I have to send a "thank you" note? Miss Manners is always the first to admit that most of etiquette is just the application of that increasingly uncommon virtue, common sense. And what do we find in today's gospel but Jesus being sensible! "Whenever you give a lunch or dinner, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or wealthy neighbors. They might invite you in return and thus repay you. No, when you have a reception, invite beggars and the crippled, the lame and the blind. You should be pleased that they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid in the resurrection of the just."(3) True generosity is not given to build up the "favors owed to me" account. True generosity expects no repayment. (But God has never been known to forget to send a "thank you" note.)
Next Sunday the reading's will be: 1)Wisdom 9, 13-18; 2)Philemon 9-10. 12-17; 3)Luke 14, 25-33.
