A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday & Weekday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 21, n. 40)
Week 21 in Ordinary Time: August 27 – September 2, 2023
(The pastoral tool BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY & WEEKDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy from various perspectives. For the Lectio Divina on the liturgy of the past week: August 20-26, 2023 please go to ARCHIVES Series 21 and click on “Ordinary Week 19”.
Below is a LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY - WEEKDAY LITURGY:
August 27 – September 2, 2023.)
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August 27, 2023: TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Church’s One Foundation”
BIBLE READINGS
Is 22:19-23 // Rom 11:33-36 // Mt 16:13-20
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mt 16:13-20): “You are Peter, and to you I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”
The Gospel episode (Mt 16:13-20) is situated in cosmopolitan Caesarea Philippi, a city built by Philip the Tetrarch in northern Palestine to give homage to Caesar, the Roman emperor. With regards to the locale and the ensuing dialogue between Jesus and his disciples, Harold Buetow comments: “Caesarea Philippi was a place where many religions met. There was, for example, a great temple of white marble built to the godhead of Caesar that reminded you, even from a distance, of the power and splendor of Rome. And in a large cave beneath a great hill a deep lake, allegedly one of the sources of the Jordan River, was said to be the birthplace of Pan, the great Greek god of nature. In fact, the original name of the town was Panias, and even today its name is Bania. There were, besides, no fewer than fourteen temples dedicated to the worship of the ancient Syrian god Baal. It seems that, for whatever it was that he was about to do, Jesus deliberately chose the backdrop of the splendor of the world’s religions of the time and would invite comparisons. Jesus realized that his days were numbered and he wanted to do something to continue his work. He was now some time on the roads of the earth, and there were all kinds of different opinions about him. He had to know if there was anyone who recognized him for who he was and would be able to carry on after he was gone. He led up to that by first asking what people thought of him. The answers were highly complimentary … Then came the fatal question: But who do you say that I am?”
In that stage of the dialogue, Jesus does not ask for popular speculation, but the disciples’ own assessment. Peter, assuming the role of spokesman for the group, declares: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. Simon Peter’s confession of faith is remarkable. He declares not only that Jesus is the “Messiah”, that is, the long-awaited Son of David who ushers in the reign of God. Above all, he avows that Jesus is the “Son of the living God”, that is, the unique representative of God to all people, possessing God’s Spirit and enjoying an exclusive union with the Father. In today’s terms, Jesus as the “Son of the living God” means that he is divine.
Indeed, Simon Peter’s confession of faith evokes Jesus’ admiration and blessing. There is an investiture and a “nomination”. Jesus calls Simon and surnames him Peter. Simon is designated as the rock upon which Jesus builds his Church. The stone is Jesus himself, the sole foundation. But Simon is, by the solemn designation of the Lord, the stone solidly set upon the unique foundation. He is the visible “rock” joined to it by the mortar of faith that the Father has given Peter.
Concerning the keys to the kingdom of heaven entrusted to Peter, the authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 4, comment: “It goes without saying that we are not speaking here of a discretionary power but of pastoral power. Such power can be that of a trusted steward only if it is exercised according to the example and in the spirit of the Lord … This Church will know crises, persecutions, and storms, but the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it, because its leader is the Risen One, who has definitively conquered sin and death. Peter underwent martyrdom, and the other apostles have disappeared along with the first disciples and the converts of successive generations. But the Church remains, and the keys given to Peter have been transmitted to his successors. Whatever the concrete exercise of the papal ministry, the development brought to it by Christian reflection and practice, the vicissitudes it has known, this ministry draws its legitimacy from the investiture of Peter, on whom Jesus built his Church.”
The following account on the Internet concerning the recently canonized pope John XXIII gives insight into how Jesus continues to guide and build his Church through divinely instituted pastors (cf. Loyola Press Internet Service, James Martin, “My Life with the Saints”).
One night [during retreat], around ten ‘clock, I was exploring the house library, a small, wood-paneled room with the typically motley jumble of old, used, worn and downright ugly furniture that characterizes “Jesuit style”. (In fairness, the little library at Eastern Point has since been spruced up.) Poking through the selves, I came upon a book called Wit and Wisdom of Good Pope John.
Published in 1964, not long after the pope’s death, the book had torn and yellowed pages. Despite [the assistant novice director’s] warning not to lose myself in books, the temptation to peek inside was irresistible. After a few pages I was hooked: who knew John XXIII was so funny? Of course, not all the stories were laugh-out-loud funny. And I had already heard his famous answer to the journalist who asked innocently, “How many people work in the Vatican?” “About half of them,” said His Holiness.
But the passage that made me laugh in the retreat house (and drew pointed glances from more silent retreatants) was one that placed the pope in a Roman hospital called the Hospital of the Holy Spirit. Shortly after entering the building, he was introduced to the sister who ran the hospital. “Holy Father,” she said, “I am the superior of the Holy Spirit.” “You’re very lucky,” said the pope, delighted. “I’m only the Vicar of Christ!”
It was that somewhat frivolous story that drew me to John XXIII. How wonderful to keep his sense of humor, even while holding a position of such authority, when he could easily have become cold or authoritarian. How wonderful to have a sense of humor at all! A requirement of the Christian life, I think.
It reminded me of a story I had heard from a friend about Fr. Pedro Arrupe, the former superior general of the Jesuits, often called “Father General,” or, more simply, “the General.” Once, Father General was visiting Xavier High School in New York City, which has, since its founding, sponsored a military cadet corps for its boys, a sort of junior ROTC. For his visit, the school’s cadets, in full uniform, lined both sides of the street. When Father General emerged from his car, the phalanx of cadets snapped to attention and saluted crisply. He turned to my friend. “Now,” he said, “I feel like a real general!”
Pope John XXIII had a similarly wry sense of humor, and who couldn’t love a pope who had a sense of humor? Who couldn’t feel affection for a man who was so comfortable with himself that he constantly made jokes about his height (which was short), his ears (which were big), and his weight (which was considerable). When he once met a little boy named Angelo, he exclaimed, “That was my name, too!” And then, conspiratorially, “But then they made me change it!”
For his humor, his openness, his generosity, and his warmth, many people loved him: Good Pope John. But to see John XXIII as a sort of papal Santa Claus is to only partly understand him. An experienced diplomat, a veteran of ecumenical dialogue, and a gifted pastor and bishop, he brought a wealth of experience to the office of pope.…
Soon after finishing the long retreat, I decided that I wanted to know more about Angelo Roncalli than just the few funny stories I had read in the retreat house library. So I slowly made my way through Journal of a Soul and Peter Hebblethwaite’s biography John XXIII: Pope of the Century as a way of getting to know him better. In time, I realized that I was drawn to John XXIII not as much for his wit, or his writings, or his love of the church, or even his accomplishments as for something more basic: his love for God and for other people. The gentle old man seemed to be one of the most loving of all the saints: always a loving son, a loving brother, a loving priest, a loving bishop, and a loving pope. John radiated Christian love. Was it any wonder that so many people were drawn to him?
B. First Reading (Is 22:19-23): “I will place the key of the House of David upon his shoulder.”
The Old Testament reading (Is 22:18-23) contains an oracle against an abusive steward in the eighth century B.C. royal court of King Hezekiah. Shebna, the majordomo of the palace, was guilty of political maneuvering. He was one of the court officials who had tried to persuade King Hezekiah to revolt against Assyria and send for Egyptian support, which directly opposed the prophet Isaiah’s divine message of non-involvement and total reliance on the Lord. Moreover, Shebna’s penchant for luxury, power and ostentation displeased the Lord who chastised him, saying: “You are a disgrace to your master’s household. The Lord will remove you from office and bring you down from your higher position” (Is 22:18b-19).
In place of the social climber Shebna, the Lord God established Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, as successor, clothing him with the former official’s robe and sash to signify the transfer of authority to the newly appointed minister. Moreover, Eliakim would receive “the key of the House of David”, a symbol of the majordomo’s authority to grant or deny admittance to the royal presence. Having received the insignia of power and authority, Eliakim was expected to fulfill dutifully his basic role to be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the house of Judah. Eliakim, however, was another disappointment! He was not able to live up to the call and dignity of his office for he resorted to nepotism, thus loosening the firmly secured peg of office offered him by the Lord. This led to his downfall and his heavily favored family collapsed with him.
The following experiences of John Thavis, Catholic News Service (CNS) Rome Bureau Chief concerning Pope Benedict XVI illustrate the latter’s effort to live up to the challenges of his pastoral ministry and his endeavor to be Christ’s trusted steward of faith (cf. Carrie Swearingen’s “PAPA-RAZZI: Following the Man who Follows the Pope” in St. Anthony Messenger, July 2008, p. 16).
John Thavis found it stunning to see the Pope, during his tour of a Turkish mosque, turn toward Mecca and pray alongside his Muslim host. “In one gesture, he bridged the gap of misunderstanding that had arisen after his Regensburg lecture several months earlier,” says Thavis. “Of course, Christians and Muslims pray to the same God, so there was nothing really revolutionary about it. But after some media had labeled him ‘the Pope against Islam’, this was a clear illustration that Benedict was not about to play the role of anti-Islamic crusader.”
Thavis has been moved by Pope Benedict XVI’s simplicity and clarity when speaking to foreign groups. In May of 2007 the Pope and the press corps took a long bus ride through picturesque hills in central Brazil. “He addressed recovering drug addicts. It was a rousing welcome by a mostly young group of people and, when the Pope ended, they kept chanting his name. When he was getting into the popemobile, his aides telling him they had to hurry up and leave, he suddenly stopped, got out of the vehicle and walked back on the stage. He waved and gave them one last greeting. It was just a small kindness, but it meant so much to these people.” (…)
Thavis knew that this Pope would want to make an effort to be more engaging. “And he does. He makes eye contact, is always kind and says a few words to each person he meets. The world had known him as a doctrine enforcer, but that was not on his mind as Pope.” The Pope’s main goal, Thavis explains, is to reawaken a sense of God in society and a deeper faith in Christ and the Catholic Church.
C. Second Reading (Rom 11:33-36): “From God and through him and for him are all things.”
One exemplary servant of the divine saving plan is Saint Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. In today’s Second Reading (Rom 11:33-36), he acknowledges the boundless works of divine providence. Greatly awed by God’s mysterious goodness, Paul exclaims: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!”
James Weaver comments: “Romans 9-11 constitutes the core of Paul’s letter to the Church at Rome. In these chapters, Paul continues to argue his letter’s main point, that Jews and Gentiles, through the cross of Jesus Christ, stand as equals before God and are united in a single plan of redemption … Scripture bears witness that God’s fidelity to Israel has not wavered. The fact of God’s mercy to the Gentiles does not mean that God’s covenant with Israel has been scrapped. Today’s reading comes from the climactic verses of Rom 9-11. On its own, the main point of the reading is that people can do little more than marvel at the evidence of God’s thought and plans, for a full understanding of God lies well outside human’s grasp. In the context of Romans 9-11, these verses express Paul’s wonder and praise of a God who has chosen to redeem all the world, not just one nation here, or one people there! (…) For Paul, no less extraordinary is the way God has rescued the world from the powers of sin and death through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
The following story illustrates the “inscrutable” divine saving plan at work even in modern times and the contribution to it by a faithful servant of the all-knowing God (cf. “The Bishop in Prison” by Archbishop Francis Xavier Van Thuan in CATHOLIC DIGEST, July/August 2011, p. 57-59). Through God’s mysterious ways and power, the incarcerated Bishop Van Thuan was able to loosen the shackles of evil and un-freedom about him.
I was in Saigon the week that the Americans left my country. Planes and copters were hauling American troops by the thousands to ships offshore headed for America. Many of the people who had helped the Americans vainly tried to get aboard and away. There was little room, and the rush to escape was destined for American countrymen. I still see the tears and the dust and hear the cries.”
A month later I was appointed bishop of Saigon. Barely had I begun my service than the government began to pressure me. I was to instruct my clergy that they may not instruct against government policies. The authorities severely limited us from charitable care for our parishioners. The state would take care of everything. They wanted to interfere in the training of seminarians and reduced the number we could recruit. All this was accompanied by angry threats.
I refused to obey them. Within three months, they removed me from office, arrested me, and put me in prison, where I lived for the next 13 years. The last half of that imprisonment, I was in solitary confinement. There I was in a dark cell with no one to talk to other than the six guards, two every eight hours. They were forbidden to converse with me. I knew that I loved God and could continue to do so in jail. My inner life was free. But I also concluded that I have a calling to love my enemies. So I set out to show my guards that I loved them. It wasn’t easy. But gradually I found ways to show my interest in their needs. I asked them about their children, how many, their names, their ages, their health. I showed concern for their wives and parents and, gradually, the burdens of their lives both at the prison and in their neighborhoods. Somehow I was able to establish a relationship with them.
After many months I summoned the courage to ask them for a favor. Could they give me a piece of wood, some wire and – holding my breath – a knife that I could keep for a few days? Many days passed, but finally they gave me what I requested. Secretly, I carved a cross with the knife and cut my bar of soap in half, inside of which I hid the cross. Lastly, I twisted the wire into a small chain. I now possessed again the cross and chain of a bishop. I never wore it visibly until my release years later; I am wearing that gift from God here tonight. By the way, I returned the knife.
I continued to foster the relationship with the guards. There were some changes, and I had to start over with a new crew of hostile men. Eventually, I made a request. Could I have some bread and wine? My relatives could supply it. So much time passed that I believed they would not help me. Praise God, they arrived one day with a very small bit of wine and bread.
So began my Holy Thursdays and Corpus Christis and Easter Sundays to brighten up my daily Good Fridays. Each day I placed a tiny piece of bread and a few drops of wine in the palm of my hand and celebrated Mass. I had no beautiful vestments, no candle light, no polished gold chalice, no lectionary, no sacramentary, no ordo, no altar, no choir or servers, no visible congregation.
In faith, of course, I knew the Holy Trinity, the angels and saints, and the Body of Christ on Earth joined me in my cell, lent me their courage, and I offered the Eucharist to praise God and help all people to receive salvation.
By the grace of God I was finally let free. Today I work with the Vatican’s Office for Justice and Peace. They like to send me to minister to those who do not like each other. My prison training in loving my enemies is now finding a new audience.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. What is your response to Jesus’ probing question: “But who do you say that I am” (Mt 16:15)? How are you impacted by the keys of the kingdom of heaven promised to Peter?
2. What are the practical lessons you can draw from Isaiah’s oracle against undeserving stewards? Do you endeavor to be faithful to the ministry you have received?
3. Do you trust fully in God whose judgments and ways are inscrutable? Do you commit yourself to God and give him glory in all the vicissitudes of life?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Almighty God,
all authority comes from you.
It is entrusted to your servants for the good of the Church
and the advent of your kingdom upon earth.
We pray for the Pope and bishops;
cover them with your protection.
Be their light, help and consolation.
Let the “keys to the kingdom of heaven”
be used wisely in accord with your saving plan for all peoples.
How mysterious your thoughts!
How inscrutable your ways!
How deep are the riches of your wisdom and knowledge!
We love your loving design for each of us.
We submit ourselves to it for love of you.
Bless us, merciful God,
and make us instruments of your care
for all peoples and creation.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 16:19)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for the Pope and his collaborators that the pastoral power of the keys entrusted to them may be exercised, only and always, according to the example and in the spirit of the Lord Jesus. In your care for the poor, the needy and the marginalized, welcome the difficulties that come your way, trusting in the wisdom of God’s inscrutable ways.
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August 28, 2023: MONDAY – SAINT AUGUSTINE, Bishop, Doctor of the Church
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Rejects Hypocrisy … They Await Him, the Son Raised from the Dead”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Thes 1:1-5, 8b-10 // Mt 23:13-22
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mt 23:13-22): “Woe to you, blind guides.”
In today’s Gospel (Mt 23:13-22), Jesus calls for integrity of heart. When our thoughts, words and actions do correspond to our ideals, we have integrity. Jesus confronts the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy and lack of integrity. To shake them up from complacency, he pronounces a series of woes upon them. The “woe” pronouncements manifest his concern for their self-destructive ways and serve as warnings of the unfortunate things to follow unless they change their ways. The scribes and Pharisees have rejected Jesus as Savior and likewise prevent others from entering the kingdom of God through Jesus. They have been zealous missionaries, but because of their false teachings their converts become worse than before. Their ridiculous discussions on what makes an “oath” binding express their perversion and evasion of truth. In an act of love, Jesus Master attempts to tear away their “masks” to bring them back to their senses and avert dire consequences.
The following story illustrates the hapless destiny of the fraudulent and hypocrite (cf. Anthony De Mello, Taking Flight: A Book of Story Meditations, New York: Image Books, 1988, p.132-133).
A seeker in search of a Master who would lead him to the path of holiness came to an ashram presided by a Guru who, in addition to having a great reputation for holiness, was also a fraud. But the seeker did not know him.
“Before I accept you as my disciple”, said the Guru, “I must test your obedience. There is a river flowing by the ashram that is infested with crocodiles. I want you to wade across the river.”
So great was the faith of the young disciple that he did just that. He walked across the river, crying, “All praise to the power of my Guru!” To the Guru’s astonishment, the man walked to the other bank unharmed.
This convinced the Guru that he was more of a saint than he himself had imagined, so he decided to give all his disciples a demonstration of his power and thereby enhance his reputation for holiness. He stepped into the river, crying, “All praise to me! All praise to me!”
The crocodiles promptly seized him and devoured him.
B. First Reading (1 Thes 1:1-5, 8b-10): “You turned to God from idols to await his Son, whom he raised from the dead.”
In today’s First Reading (1 Thes 1:1-5, 8b-10), Saint Paul bubbles with gratitude for the wonderful response of the Thessalonians to the Gospel. The community of believers in Thessalonica is marked by works of faith, labors of love and firm hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Their commitment, concern and constancy inspire Paul to declare that God loves them and he has chosen them to be his own. The Thessalonians are imitators of Paul and of the Lord. They are also models for all believers. The news about their faith in God has gone everywhere. The people in Macedonia and Achaia speak of their hospitality and, above all, of their conversion: how they turned away from idols to God, to serve the true and living God and to await his Son Jesus, raised from the dead to be our deliverer.
The life of the poet Francis Thompson gives us insight into the conversion experience of the Thessalonians (cf. Wikipedia on the Internet).
Francis Thompson (16 December 1859 – 13 November 1907) was an English poet and ascetic. Born in Preston, Lancashire, his father Charles was a doctor who converted to Roman Catholicism, following his brother Edward Healy Thompson, a friend of Cardinal Manning. Thompson was educated at Ushaw College near Durham and then studied medicine at Owens College, now University of Manchester. He took no real interest in his studies and never practiced as a doctor, moving instead to London in 1885 to try to become a writer. Here he was reduced to selling matches and newspapers for a living.
During this time, he became addicted to opium, which he first had taken as medicine for ill health. Thompson started living on the streets of Charing Cross and sleeping by the River Thames, with the homeless and other addicts. He was turned down from Oxford University, not because he was unqualified, but because of his drug addiction. He would pick up newspapers and send letters to the editor. The editors would reply saying that there is a genius greater than Milton among us. Thompson left no return address, however, so the newspaper could not contact him.
Thompson lived a life of destitution until 1888 when he was “discovered” after sending his poetry to the magazine Merrie England. He was sought out by the editors of Merrie England, Wilfred and Alice Meynell, and rescued from the verge of starvation and self-destruction. Recognizing the value of his work, the couple gave him a home and arranged for the publication of his first book Poems in 1893. The book attracted the attention of sympathetic critics in St. James’ Gazette and other newspapers, and Coventry Patmore wrote a eulogistic notice in the Fortnightly Review of January 1894.
Thompson subsequently lived as an invalid in Wales at Storrington. A lifetime of extreme poverty, ill-health, and an addiction to opium took a heavy toll on Thompson, even though he found success in his last years. Thompson attempted suicide in his nadir of despair, but was saved from completing the action through a vision which he believed to be that of a youthful poet Thomas Chatterton, who had committed suicide almost a century earlier. Shortly afterwards, a prostitute – whose identity Thompson never revealed – befriended him, gave him lodgings and shared her income with him. Thompson was later to describe her in his poetry as his savior. She soon disappeared, however, never to return. He would eventually die from tuberculosis at the age of 48.
His most famous poem “The Hound of Heaven” describes the pursuit of the human soul by God. (…) The 182-line poem was the source of much of Thompson’s posthumous reputation. One of the most loved and possibly one of the more difficult Christian poems to read, “The Hound of Heaven” has been loved for over a century. It is not, however, a poem that most people can read without some background.
The following explanation is offered: “The name is strange. It startles one at first. It is so bold, so new, so fearless. It does not attract, rather the reverse. But when one reads the poem this strangeness disappears. The meaning is understood. As the hound follows the hare, never ceasing in its running, ever drawing nearer in the chase, with unhurrying and imperturbed pace, so does God follow the fleeing soul by His Divine Grace. And though in sin or in human love, away from God it seeks to hide itself, Divine Grace follows after, unwearyingly follows ever after, till the soul feels its pressure forcing it to turn to Him alone in that never ending pursuit. (cf. Neumann Press, Book of Verse, 1988)
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do I have sentiments and attitudes that do not build up integrity of heart? Am I guilty of hypocrisy? If so, what do I do to overcome this?
2. Like the Thessalonians, have we really turned to God from idols to await his Son, whom he raised from the dead?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus,
you love us deeply.
You care for our well-being.
You wish to convert us
from our hypocrisy and evil ways.
Help us to have integrity of heart
and seek true holiness in you.
Live in us that we may live in you.
Teach us to be steadfast in faith
even in trials and persecutions.
Let us be glorified in you, and you in us,
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
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Loving God,
we thank you for the Gospel
that has come to us through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Help us to turn away from idols to serve you,
the true and living God.
Bless us with your wisdom and grace
as we await your Son Jesus Christ,
raised from the dead as our Redeemer.
We bless and glorify you, now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Woe to you, blind guides.” (Mt 23:16) //“You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” (1 Thes 1:9)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Today make a conscious effort to unite with Jesus every act of charity that you do, every kind word that you speak, every gracious thought that you think and every compassionate sentiment that you feel. // Pray for those suffering from drug addiction and substance-alcohol abuse. Do what you can to help them overcome their addiction and be completely healed of their brokenness.
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August 29, 2023: TUESDAY – THE PASSION OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Calls Us to Greater Authenticity … His Disciples Share the Gospel and Their Very Selves”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Thes 2:1-8 // Mt 23:23-26
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mt 23:23-26): “But these you should have done, without neglecting the others.”
In today’s Gospel (Mt 22:23-26), we continue to listen to Jesus’ “woe” pronouncements that are meant to lead us on the path of authenticity and integrity. He laments the legalism and externalism of the scribes and Pharisees. They are preoccupied with minutiae like paying the tithe on seasoned herbs, but neglect the really important teachings of the Law, such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness. The perversion of their priorities is such that they are virtually straining out the gnat while swallowing the camel. Their concern for external observance is symbolized by vessels that are washed merely on the outside. Inner purity, however, is not obtained by external correctness in religious observance, but by cleaning up our inner dispositions. Sometimes we have moments of hypocrisy when we try to appear what we are not, especially in the area of personal worth. We also tend to have recourse to legalism because it presents the easy way out of our moral obligations. Indeed, trying to be good is more demanding than merely looking good. It is also easier to fulfill religious observances than concern ourselves with works of justice and compassion and to endeavor to translate our faith into action.
The following story gives insight into the Christian call for greater authenticity and charity (cf. Anthony De Mello, Taking Flight: A Book of Story Meditations, New York: Image Books, 1988, p. 33-34).
There was once a woman who was religious and devout and filled with love for God. Each morning she would go to church. And on her way children would call out to her, beggars would accost her, but so immersed was she in her devotions that she did not even see them.
Now one day she walked down the street in her customary manner and arrived at the church just in time for service. She pushed the door, but it would not open. She pushed it again harder, and found the door was locked.
Distressed at the thought that she would miss service for the first time in years, and not knowing what to do, she looked up. And there, right before her face, she found a note pinned to the door.
It said, “I’m out there!”
B. First Reading (1 Thes 2:1-8): “We were determined to share with you not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well.”
In the reading (1 Thes 2:1-8), we hear of the generous and selfless service of Saint Paul and his companions. The apostles share the Good News and their very selves. They evangelize by word and deed – by their life and teaching. The apostles are upright and without deception. They are men of integrity and sterling qualities. Hence, they are marvelous models for all who must transmit the Gospel through ages to come. The response of the Thessalonians to the Gospel and to the personal witnessing of Saint Paul and his companions is marvelous. They rightly discern that what they hear is the word of God and not merely human words. The apostles are grateful to God for their faith response and heartened that God works in those who believe.
The life of Saint Monica is an example of how a Christian believer shares with others, especially with her family, the Gospel of God and her very self as well (cf. Wikipedia on the Internet).
Saint Monica (AD 331-387), also known as Monica of Hippo, was an early Christian saint and the mother of St. Augustine of Hippo. She is honored in the Roman Catholic Church where she is remembered and venerated for her outstanding Christian virtues, particularly her suffering caused by the adultery of her husband and a prayerful life dedicated to the reformation of her son, who wrote extensively of her pious acts and life with her in his Confessions. Popular Christian legend recalls Saint Monica to have wept every night for her son Augustine.
Because of her name and place of birth, Monica is assumed to have been of Berber origin. She was married early in life to Patricius, who held an official position in Tagaste (present-day Souk Ahras, Algeria). Patricius was a pagan, though like so many at that period, his religion was no more than a name. His temper was violent and he appears to have been of dissolute habits. Consequently Monica’s married life was far from being a happy one, more especially as Patricius’ mother seems to have been of a like disposition with himself. There was, of course, a gulf between husband and wife. Her alms, deeds and her habits of prayer annoyed him, but it was said that he always held her in a sort of reverence. Monica was not the only matron of Tagaste whose married life was unhappy, but, by her sweetness and patience, she was able to exercise a good example amongst the wives and mothers of her native town. They knew that she suffered as they did, and her words and example had a proportionate effect.
Monica had three children: Augustine the eldest, Navigius the second, and a daughter Perpetua. Monica had been unable to secure baptism for her children and she experienced much grief when Augustine fell ill. In her distress she asked Patritius to allow Augustine to be baptized. Patricius agreed, but on the boy’s recovery withdrew his consent.
All Monica’s anxiety now centered in Augustine. He was wayward and, as he himself tells us, lazy. He was sent to school at Madaraus. Her husband Patricius subsequently became a Christian. Meanwhile, Augustine had been sent to Carthage to pursue his studies, and here he lived dissolutely. Patricius died very shortly after converting to Christianity and Monica decided not to marry again.
At Carthage Augustine had become a Manichean and when on his return home he shared his views regarding Manichaeism, Monica drove him away from her table. However, she is said to have experienced a strange vision that convinced her to reconcile with her son.
It was at this time that she went to see a certain holy bishop, whose name is not given, but who consoled her with the now famous words, “the child of tears shall never perish”. Monica followed her wayward son to Rome where he had gone secretly. When she arrived he had already gone to Milan, but she followed him. Here she found St. Ambrose and through him she ultimately had the joy of seeing Augustine convert to Christianity, after seventeen years of resistance.
In his book Confessions, Augustine wrote of a peculiar practice of his mother in which she “brought to certain oratories, erected in the memory of the saints, offerings of porridge, bread and wine”. When she moved to Milan, the bishop Ambrose forbade her to use the offering of wine since “it might be an occasion of gluttony for those who were already given to drink”. So Augustine wrote of her: “In place of a basket filled with fruits of the earth, she had learned to bring to the oratories of the martyrs a heart full of purer petitions, and to give all that she could to the poor – so that the communion of the Lord’s body might be rightly celebrated in those places where, after the example of his passion, the martyrs had been sacrificed and crowned” (Confessions 6.2.2).
Mother and son spent six months of true peace at Rus Cassisiacum (present-day Cassago Brianza) after which time Augustine was baptized in the church of St. John the Baptist at Milan. Africa claimed them, however, and they set out on their journey, stopping at Civitavecchia and at Ostia. Here, death overtook Monica and the finest pages of Augustine’s Confessions were penned as the result of the emotion he then experienced.
St. Monica is a patroness of those experiencing difficult marriages and disappointing children, victims of adultery or unfaithfulness, victims of verbal abuse, and the conversion of relatives.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. How do we respond to the Christian call to greater authenticity, interiority and charity?
2. Like Saint Paul are we determine to share with others the Gospel of God and our very selves as well?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Jesus Master,
you call us to greater authenticity, interiority and charity.
Help us to purify our inner dispositions.
Grant us honesty and integrity of heart.
Be with us Jesus.
Let your spirit of love shape our life.
May we witness to the world
the beauty of being a true Christian.
May we hold fast to the sacred traditions handed on to us
in and through the Church.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
***
O loving God,
we thank you for the example
of Saint Paul the Apostle and all the saints
in sharing with others the Gospel and their very selves.
Help us to bring to fruition
the message of salvation you have entrusted to us.
Give us the grace
to give the light of hope to the world.
Make us true and loving disciples of Jesus Christ.
We give you glory and praise, now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“You have neglected the weightier things of the law.” (Mt 23:23) //“We were determined to share with you not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well.” (1 Thes 2:8)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Open your eyes to the people around you today. Thank the Lord for the goodness you see. Beg the Lord for the grace to assist those who are lonely and needy. // Pray for greater harmony in family relationships. Be a channel of peace for feuding family members and those experiencing misunderstanding.
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August 30, 2023: WEDNESDAY – WEEKDAY (21)
N.B. Today is the anniversary of the definitive pontifical approval of the PDDM Congregation.
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Teaches Us the Meaning of True Religion … Working Night and Day His Disciples Proclaim the Gospel”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Thes 2:9-13 // Mt 23:27-32
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mt 23:27-32): “You are the children of those who murdered the prophets.”
In today’s Gospel reading (Mt 23:27-32) Jesus completes his litany of woes against the scribes and Pharisees. To pronounce a “woe” on someone or some groups is to express grief at their sorry state and to warn them of the dire consequences to follow. Indeed, it is terrible for the scribes and Pharisees because on account of their hypocrisy they are like whitewashed tombs that look fine on the outside, but are full of bones and decaying corpses on the inside. So wide is the gap between external appearance and internal reality that Jesus’ opponents may be compared to “whitewashed tombs”, the interior of which is the supreme degree of rottenness and uncleanness. They appear righteous, but inside they are filled with wrongdoing.
In the last “woe” that Jesus pronounces against the scribes and Pharisees, he condemns their practice of building fine tombs for the prophets and of decorating the monuments of the righteous. They do not really honor them, but instead perpetuate the violence committed by their ancestors. As descendants of those who have persecuted the prophets, they do not make an effort to renounce their wicked ways. They continue to persecute and shed the blood of the innocent. This final “woe” evokes the violent death that Jesus would suffer on the cross through the instigation of the scribes and Pharisees and of the persecution that the Christian community would endure through the ages.
The following story and lesson give insight into the perversion of religion and into the meaning of true religion (cf. Anthony de Mello, Taking Flight: A Book of Story Meditations, New York: Image Books, 1988, p. 73).
A Hindu Sage was having The Life of Jesus read to him When he learned how Jesus was rejected by his people in Nazareth, he exclaimed, “a rabbi whose congregation does not want to drive him out of town isn’t a rabbi.”
And when he heard how it was the priests who put Jesus to death, he said with a sigh, “It is hard for Satan to mislead the whole world, so he appoints prominent ecclesiastics in different parts of the globe.”
The lament of a bishop: “Wherever Jesus went there was a revolution; wherever I go people serve tea!”
When a million people follow you, ask yourself where you have gone wrong.
B. First Reading (1 Thes 2:9-13): “Working night and day we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God.”
Today’s First Reading (1 Thes 2:9-13) underlines the deep concern of Paul and his fellow missionaries for the Thessalonians. They are so full of love for them that they not only want to share with them the Good News from God but even their own lives. Saint Paul and his companions show concern for their converts by their working for their keep so as not to be a burden to them. It is easy to imagine Paul, the tentmaker, preaching the Gospel even while he is employed in his workshop. He toils from sunrise to sunset and he prays “night and day”. They also show their concern by their upright and blameless conduct toward the believers and by exhorting and encouraging them as a father treats his children. The Thessalonians respond positively to the work of evangelization. They have accepted the Gospel not as man’s message but as God’s message that is at work in those who believe. And for this reason they are filled with praise and thanksgiving to God.
The life of Saint Augustine illustrates both the dynamic of conversion as well as the loving concern of the apostles in their work of evangelization (cf. Wikipedia on the Internet).
Augustine was born in 354 in the municipium of Tagaste (now Souk Ahras, Algeria) in Roman Africa. His father, Patricius, was a pagan and his mother Monica was a Christian. It is assumed that his mother Monica was of Berber origin on the basis of her name, but as his family were honestiores, an upper class of citizens known as honorable men, Augustine’s first language is likely to have been Latin. At the age of 11, he was sent to school at Madaurus (now M’Daourouch), a small Numidian city about 19 miles south of Tagaste. There he became familiar with Latin literature as well as pagan beliefs and practices. His first insight into the nature of sin occurred when he and a number of friends stole fruit they didn’t even want from a neighborhood garden. This echoes nicely with his conversion which also involved a garden later in life.
At age 17, through the generosity of fellow citizen Romanianus, Augustine went to Carthage to continue his education in rhetoric. Although raised as a Christian, Augustine left the Church to follow the Manichaean religion, much to the despair of his mother Monica. As a youth Augustine lived a hedonistic lifestyle for a time, associated with young men who boasted of their sexual exploits with women and urged inexperienced boys, like Augustine, to seek out experiences or to make up stories about experiences in order to gain acceptance and avoid ridicule. It was during this period that he uttered his famous prayer, “Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.”
At a young age, he began an affair with a young woman in Carthage. Possibly because his mother wanted him to marry a person of his class, the woman remained his lover for over thirteen years and gave birth to his son Adeodatus, who was said to have been extremely intelligent. He abandoned her finally on his conversion in 389 when the boy was 17.
During the years 373 and 374, Augustine taught grammar in Tagaste. The following year he moved to Carthage to conduct a school of rhetoric and would remain there for the next nine years. Disturbed by the unruly behavior of the students in Carthage, in 383 he moved to establish a school in Rome, where he believed the best and brightest rhetoricians practiced. However, Augustine was disappointed with the Roman schools where he was met with apathy. Once the time came for his students to pay their fees, they simply fled. Manichaean friends introduced him to the prefect of the City of Rome Symmachus, who had been asked to provide a professor of rhetoric for the imperial court of Milan.
While still in Carthage, he had begun to move away from Manichaeism, in part because of a disappointing meeting with the Manichaean bishop Faustus of Mileve, a key exponent of Manichaean theology. In Rome he is reported to have completely turned away from Manichaeism and instead embraced Scepticism of the New Academy movement. At Milan his mother pressured him to become a Christian. Augustine’s own studies in Neoplatonism were also leading him in this direction and his friend Simplicianus urged him that way as well. But it would be the bishop of Milan, Ambrose, who had the most influence over Augustine. Like Augustine, Ambrose was a master of rhetoric, but older and more experienced.
Ambrose baptized Augustine, along with his son Adeodatus on the Easter Vigil in 387 in Milan. A year later, in 388, Augustine completed his apology “On the Holiness of the Catholic Church”. That year Adeodatus and Augustine returned to Africa, Augustine’s home country, during which trip Augustine’s mother Monica died. Upon their arrival, they began a life of aristocratic leisure at Augustine’s family property. Soon after, Adeodatus, too passed away. Augustine then sold his patrimony and gave the money to the poor. The only thing he kept was the family house, which he converted into a monastic foundation for himself and a group of friends.
He became a famous preacher (more than 350 preserved sermons are believed to be authentic) and was noted for combating the Manichaean religion to which he had formerly adhered. In 395 he was made coadjutor Bishop of Hippo and became full Bishop shortly thereafter, hence the name “Augustine of Hippo”, and gave his property to the Church of Tagaste. He remained in that position until his death in 430.
Augustine worked tirelessly in trying to convince the people of Hippo to convert to Christianity. Though he had left the monastery, he continued to lead a monastic life in the Episcopal residence. He left a Rule for his monastery that led to his designation as the “patron saint of regular clergy”.
Much of Augustine’s later life was recorded by his friend Possidius, bishop of Calama (present-day Guelma, Algeria), in his Sancti Augustini Vita. Possidius admired Augustine as a man of powerful intellect and a stirring orator who took every opportunity to defend Christianity against its detractors. Possidius also described Augustine’s personal traits in detail, drawing a portrait of a man who ate sparingly, worked tirelessly, despised gossip, shunned the temptations of the flesh, and exercised prudence in the financial stewardship of his See.
Augustine was canonized by popular acclaim and later recognized as a Doctor of the Church in 1298 by Pope Boniface VIII. His feast day is 28 August, the day on which he died. He is considered the patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, those with sore eyes, and a number of cities and dioceses.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Are we, too, guilty of some blatant hypocrisy that we could be called “whitewashed tombs”? If so, what can be done about it?
2. Like Saint Paul and Saint Augustine, do we work ceaselessly to proclaim the Gospel? Do we show true concern for the people being evangelized?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Almighty God,
your ways are just and merciful.
Teach us the meaning of religion
and give us the grace to worship you in spirit and truth.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
***
Lord God,
we thank you for the ceaseless toil
of Saint Paul and all the apostles
for the spread of the Gospel.
Help us to give witness to the Good News
by our pure conduct and blameless life.
Teach us to encourage
those called to share in the kingdom glory.
We thank you for the positive response
of many peoples to the Gospel,
welcoming it as your life-giving message.
We give you glory and praise, now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Woe to you, hypocrites” (Mt 23:27) //“We proclaimed to you the Gospel of God.” (1 Thes 2:9)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
At the Eucharistic celebration, participate in the ritual action consciously, actively and meaningfully so that you may be able to translate the meaning of the Eucharist into daily life. // To enhance the process of evangelization, introduce your family and friends to the practice of Lectio Divina, the prayerful reading of the Word of God.
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August 31, 2013: THURSDAY – WEEKDAY (21)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Urges Us to Stay Awake … He Makes Us Abound in Love”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Thes 3:7-13 // Mt 24:42-51
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mt 24:42-51): “Stay awake!”
For nearly 20 years, Secret Agent Jerry Parr had guarded presidents and vice-presidents, always on the lookout for one pair of crazed, hate-filled eyes; always at the ready. He had to pass target practice every month as a requirement for his job. According to Jerry, prayer was an essential part of his life and job. In a way, Christian discipleship is similar to his job – something requiring watchfulness and constant vigilance.
Today’s Gospel reading (Mt 24:42-51) underlines the need for vigilance and watchfulness in preparation for the coming of Christ. The disciples of Jesus through all times are to keep in mind his urgent admonition, “Stay awake!” The Christian disciples are to be ready to open their hearts to the “essential One” who came to save us, who continually comes in our daily life, and will come again at the end time to restore all things. We must be prepared to welcome the kingdom of glory that he brings to fulfillment. Therefore, we must stay awake! For we do not know on which day our Lord will come.
For the Christian disciples, Advent – the time of hopeful waiting – is a year-round season and an ongoing experience. Aelred Rosser asserts: “Every task, every little job, every good word, every kind deed – all of these are the Lord at work in us, enabling us to prepare for his coming – now and finally. Blessed is that servant whom the master finds ready – busily waiting.” Indeed, the life of Christian disciples is dynamically driven by the expectation of the full realization of the kingdom inheritance and the definitive coming of our Lord Jesus. The spirit of Advent expectation helps us to carry out faithfully our task and mission on behalf of the reign of God upon earth.
B. First Reading (1 Thes 3:7-13): “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all.”
In today’s First Reading (1 Thes 3:7-13), Saint Paul, who is anxious to know how the faith of the Thessalonians is bearing up under pressure and persecution, gets Timothy’s assurance that the converts have remained steadfast. Their faith is so consoling to Paul in the midst of his own trouble and suffering. Paul is full of thanksgiving to God for the joy he has received from the Thessalonians and for the mutual encouragement. Paul prays constantly that he will be able to see them personally and thus supply them with whatever is still lacking in their faith. Above all, he prays that the Lord may make them increase and abound in love for one another and for all. As the believers flourish in love they will also grow in holiness and thus be ready to be in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all the saints in heaven.
The following story gives insight into the profound dimensions of Christian love (cf. Michael Massano, “Missioner Tales” in Maryknoll, September-October 2011, p.11).
About 10 years ago Samueli came to our House of Compassion, where the poorest of the poor are welcomed here in Musoma, Tanzania. He had been a pushcart worker loading sugar, rice and wood to be carried to local stores. When he began drinking heavily, his family abandoned him.
One of our volunteers discovered Samueli in a hospital, where he had been brought after he was found unconscious in the street. Father Godfried Biseko, founder of our home, asked the hospital to release Samueli to come and live with us.
Recently he became too weak to walk and is now confined to a wheelchair. But he loves to go outside to greet the sun. At the end of the day, as I get him ready and promise to see him tomorrow, he smiles. I smile too, having watched Samueli grow more content and self-confident as he has felt welcome.
The breastplate prayer of St. Patrick says, “Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ around me, Christ within me”. I cannot help but rejoice in the presence of Jesus shining through a man called Samueli.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. How do we prepare for the Lord’s coming in mystery in the events of our life? How do we prepare for his definitive coming in glory? In word and deed, do we strive to enkindle the faith that the kingdom of God is come? Is our dynamic vigilance a source of inspiration for others?
2. Does our faith bear up under troubles and duress? Do we turn to God and to the community of faith for inner strength and encouragement?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Father,
we want to prepare for Christ’s coming in glory.
As we wait for his coming
you have enriched us in every way
and filled us with spiritual gifts.
Help us to stay awake
for we do not know which day the Lord will come.
Teach us to use our gifts
with love and creativity.
Bless us and make us faithful servants
who wait for Christ’s glorious return.
He lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen.
***
Heavenly Father,
we thank you for the inner strength you give us
when our faith is subjected to trials.
We thank you for the mutual encouragement we receive
as a community of faith.
Lord of mercy and compassion,
make us increase and abound in love for one another.
Help us to be blameless in holiness
for the coming of your Son Jesus Christ.
We give you glory and praise, now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.” (Mt 24:42) //“May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all.” (1 Thes 3:12)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
List three events in your life for which you were prepared and three other events for which you were unprepared. Pray over these events and ask the Lord to strengthen your vigilant expectation for his coming. If possible, help an elderly and/or seriously ill person prepare to receive Jesus at the hour of death. // Resolve to bring God’s strength and consolation to a person who is deeply distressed and discouraged.
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September 1, 2023: FRIDAY – WEEKDAY (21)
N.B. Today is the WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE CARE OF CREATION.
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Wants Us to Keep the Lamp Burning … He Calls His Disciples to Holiness”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Thes 4:1-8 // Mt 25:1-13
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mt 25:1-13): “Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!”
The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 4, comment on today’s parable of the Ten Virgins (Mt 25:1-13): “Like many others, this parable is based on a fact, a situation of ordinary life. It tells of a custom connected with the wedding celebration … A parable is not a narrative of an event, retold with exactitude down to its minutest details. Storytellers can legitimately put in exaggerated traits that fit their purposes. This is done knowingly and fools no one. This being understood, the lesson of the parable is clear. We shall be kept waiting for the Lord’s coming; unforeseeable, it will happen suddenly. At that moment, everything will be lost for those who were taken by surprise. Others will not be able to help them. The improvident ones will find a closed door in the kingdom where the wedding of the Son of Man is celebrated.”
Today we are invited to prepare for our final encounter with God. If our eyes are focused on that glorious goal, we are more likely to keep our spiritual lamps lit for that reception. The bridegroom is on his way. We must rise to meet him. The liturgical scholar Adrian Nocent remarks: “Each is called, during the night of faith, to stand ready for the final encounter unto which God calls. This invitation and summons is most important. Everything else must take second place when it comes to having one’s lamp lit and trimmed.”
The following story illustrates a person’s ultimate encounter with the Lord at the hour of death (cf. Patricia Normile, “Caregivers Need Care Too” in Saint Anthony Messenger, May 2010, p. 22-26).
A hospice visitor, Deacon Amado Lim of Blue Ash, Ohio, knew Richard well. World War II veteran, great story teller, a man with a fine sense of humor, Richard (name has been changed) was a joy to visit. Then one evening Deacon Lim noted that he looked unusually sad. “I asked him why”, says the deacon. He said, “I was afraid.”
Richard continued, “I’ve shared many stories, but there’s one story I’ve not told you or anyone.” When Richard’s unit attacked a Nazi hiding place in Belgium, they met heavy fire and his best friend was mortally wounded. “I became livid”, Richard said. “I entered the building with my gun blazing. I saw two Nazi soldiers fall. I rushed toward them. They sprawled on the floor, covered with blood. I saw their faces. They were barely 12 years old – children! They didn’t say anything, just looked at me. Their faces were pleading, begging for mercy. My adrenaline pumped furiously. I shot them both. The faces of those boys have haunted me ever since. I cannot erase their images from my mind. Now I’m dying. I’m afraid to stand before God. He’ll never forgive me for what I did to those boys.”
Deacon Lim invited Richard to describe God. To Richard, God was a just God who rewards good and punishes evil. Voice trembling, Richard said that he couldn’t imagine God forgiving anyone who hurts children. Deacon Lim asked Richard to read aloud Bible stories describing God’s mercy. When the repentant criminal crucified on Calvary begged, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”, Jesus replied, “Amen I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk 23:42-43). Richard wept.
When Deacon Lim returned later, Richard smiled. “I’m no longer afraid. Jesus forgave the criminal. He forgives me because he knows how sorry I am.” Richard died two days later.
B. First Reading (1 Thes 4:1-8): “This is the will of God, your holiness.”
In today’s First Reading (1 Thes 4:1-8), Saint Paul exhorts the Thessalonians to live a life pleasing to God by following the instructions he and his companions gave by the authority of the Lord Jesus. He urges them to progress even more. The will of God is their sanctification. The goal of God’s call is for them to be holy. This entails living a life of sexual restraint and fidelity in a world of immoral and godless Gentiles “who do not know God”. It calls for proper ethical behavior that rejects greed and exploitation of our brothers and sisters. God has given us the Holy Spirit that we may grow in holiness. Whoever rejects Paul’s teaching rejects God, whose word the apostle makes known.
Saint Paul’s instruction on the Christian call to holiness is even more urgent and relevant in today’s society. The following article gives us an interesting insight into the need for holiness (cf. “Sinners Set on Being Saints” in Alive! July/August 2013, p. 3).
Matthew Warner blogs about things Catholic. Recently he questioned why the world doesn’t take Catholicism seriously. The blog provided much food for thought.
“We can talk about catechesis and community and leadership and orthodoxy”, he said. “We can complain about politics and how we need more preaching from the pulpit. But here is the core of the problem, the practical reason why people are not convinced of the Catholic faith anymore. We Catholics don’t look or act any differently to non-Catholics. It’s that simple.”
He spelt it out a bit more. “If we believe our faith and action in this life have eternal consequences, why don’t we act like it? If the Creator of everything is truly present in the Eucharist, why don’t our actions show this? If our relationship with God is truly the most important relationship, why don’t our daily schedules reflect that? If our marriages and families are our greatest blessings, why do we sacrifice them for our careers?”
And there was a lot more along that line. “Not only is our religion a fraud, but so are we Christians”, he said. “That’s what Catholics as a whole communicate about Catholicism.” His parents’ generation, he argued, left the Church without leaving the pews. Now they wonder why their kids find it silly to stand in the pews of a Church that never really understood, professing creeds that they never really believed.
Warner recognized that the Church needs inspirational leadership and solid catechesis and so on. But above all the Church must focus on what she does best, her competitive advantage: creating saints. “How many saints is your parish creating? That is the ultimate metric”, he said. “A saint is a powerful weapon in this culture war. They are compelling in every age and from every angle.” But saints are made, above all, by example. “As children we learn more by what we see our parents do than any words they say. We’ve forgotten this when it comes to handing on the faith.”
Putting it simply he said, “if we want the world to take Catholicism seriously, we must first take it seriously ourselves. That means making radical changes to the way we live our lives. When the world sees you, they don’t have to see a saint, but at least let them see a sinner set on sainthood.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. What is the personal significance of the wedding feast of the Bridegroom mentioned in today’s Gospel? In what ways are we the foolish bridesmaids? In what ways are we the wise bridesmaids? How do we deepen our spirit of preparedness for the Lord’s coming?
2. What is the personal meaning for us of Paul’s assertion that it is the will of God that we become holy? How will this change our life?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus,
let our lamps be burning at your return.
Help us to prepare worthily for our encounter with you
at the hour of our death.
We resolve to follow
the path of holiness and righteousness.
We commit ourselves
to do acts of mercy and justice,
of goodness and love,
so that the final “hour”
will be an encounter with your saving grace
and a joyful participation in the wedding banquet.
We love and serve you, now and forever.
Amen.
***
Gracious Father,
we thank you for revealing to us your gracious will.
This is your will: our sanctification.
Help us to live a life of integrity
that befits our call to holiness.
Help us to trust in the power of the Holy Spirit
who helps us grow in holiness.
Transform us into the likeness of Christ day by day
and let us be a sign to the world of our true destiny.
We give you glory and praise, now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“The bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.” (Mt 25:1-13) //“This is the will of God, your holiness.” (1 Thes 4:3)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
In order to keep our lamps burning for the Lord’s coming, participate actively, consciously and fruitfully in the Eucharist and offer an act of charity daily on behalf of the weak and the needy. // Pray to the Lord to help you overcome your personal defects and sinful passions. In your own little way show to the world what it means to be holy and receptive to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who transforms us into the likeness of God day by day.
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September 2, 2023: SATURDAY – WEEKDAY (21); BVM ON SATURDAY
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Wants Us to Be His Enterprising Servants … His Disciples Are to Grow in Love”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Thes 4:9-11 // Mt 25:14-30
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mt 25:14-30): “Since you have been faithful in small matters, come share your master’s joy.”
In today’s Gospel reading (Mt 25:14-30), Jesus tells us the story of the master who distributed various amounts of money to three servants before going away on a journey. The Greek word that describes these amounts is “talents”. From this is derived the English term “talent” to describe the natural ability that can be improved by diligent practice. Two servants invested their talents and doubled the amount; the other one dug a hole in the ground and buried the talent entrusted to him by the master. The master returned and demanded a reckoning. The point of the story is not the uncertainty of the time of the Lord’s final coming, but the reckoning that will come and the responsibility expected of us. The Parable of the Talents teaches us not to be complacent and lazy, but to be diligent and enterprising. God want us to be creatively involved in the work of the kingdom. We need to be courageous and trustworthy servants in this time of waiting for the Master’s return.
The following testimony of Eli Doroteo of Antipolo City, Philippines, gives insight into the personal implication of today’s Gospel.
It is still fresh in my memory the spiritual exercise we had with Sr. Mary Celine, PDDM, during our retreat sometime in April 1999. The exercise was to divide our life into three segments and list in each of the three segments our experiences, most especially the downside in our life. Also, in each of the segments, we had to write God’s graces that helped us through those trials.
I was moved to tears when I discovered that in the three segments of my life, God was always present in my life in my MUSIC MINISTRY. In the first and second segments, I was a church choir member that started in Aklan and next in my stint with MIESCOR and in Muntinlupa. In the third segment (and until now), I sing the Responsorial Psalm during the Eucharistic celebrations. I realized that this is my calling – God gifted me with a talent of singing and of serving him in the Church.
As indicated in the Gospel of today, each of us has a God-given talent. The more we receive from God, the more we should be responsible to him at the judgment hour. This reminds me of the movie “Spiderman”. Peter’s uncle said, “With great power comes great responsibility”. In capsule form, this is what the Gospel of today is all about. A man who left his precious possessions to his servants represents God in the parable; he is a risk-taker here. This, I think, is God’s way when he calls a person to answer a particular need; he endows the person with a specific charism. The specific charism, when nurtured, becomes his distinctive identity. When exercised to its full potential, the charism becomes the person’s contribution to the Church and becomes his special mission.
B. First Reading (1 Thes 4:9-11): “You have been taught by God to love one another.”
In today’s First Reading (1 Thes 4:9-11), Saint Paul continues to exhort the Thessalonians to live a life of holiness through fraternal charity. They certainly know that they are to love one another. God himself has taught them through the apostles who have proclaimed God’s word among them. They have in fact responded by their love for one another and by their love for their fellow Christians in Macedonia. But Paul asserts: “Nevertheless we urge you, brothers and sisters, to progress even more.” Taking note of a problematic situation in the community where “idlers” and “busybodies” who, in expectation of the Lord’s imminent coming, neglect their own work to disturb others and live at their expenses, Paul urges them to grow in love by living quietly, by minding their own affairs, and by working with their own hands. Growth in love is important not only for the Christian community itself but also for the edification of non-Christians.
The following poem “The Handwriting on the Wall”, circulated on the Internet, gives us an example of growth and progress in charity.
A weary mother returned from the store,
Lugging groceries through the kitchen door.
Awaiting her arrival was her 8-year old son,
Anxious to relate what his younger brother has done.
“While I was out playing and Dad was on a call,
T.J took his crayons and wrote on the wall!
It’s on the new paper you just hung in the den
I told him you’d be mad at having to do it again.
She called his full name as she entered the room.
He trembled with fear – he knew that meant doom!
For the next ten minutes, she ranted and raved
About the expensive wallpaper, and how she had saved.
Lamenting all the work it would take to repair,
She condemned his actions and total lack of care.
The more she scolded, the madder she got,
Then stomped from his room totally distraught!
She headed for the den to confirm her fears.
When she saw the wall, her eyes flooded with tears.
The message she read pierced her soul with a dart.
It said, “I love Mommy”, surrounded by a heart.
Well, the wallpaper remained, just as she found it.
With an empty picture frame hung to surround it.
A reminder to her, and indeed to all,
Take time to read the handwriting on the wall.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. In this time of vigil for the Lord’s coming at the end time, am I his enterprising servant? Do I endeavor to make the talents I have received bear abundant fruits for the glory of God and the good of the Church? Have I failed to maximize the talents and grace given me by the Lord?
2. Do we endeavor to love and to progress in fraternal charity? What are the difficulties we experience? How do we overcome them?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
O loving God,
we thank you for enriching us with many talents.
Help us to be enterprising and creative in using them
for your glory and for the sake of your kingdom.
Help us to entrust ourselves totally to Jesus Christ.
In him, you have chosen us – lowly and despised –
for your own saving purpose.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
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Lord,
you have taught us to love in Christ.
Give us the grace
to respond to the Spirit of love at work in our heart.
Help us to progress even a little each day
that we may be able to say at the end:
“We have loved like Christ!
We have loved our brothers and sisters to the end!”
We give you glory and praise, now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Well done, my good and faithful servant … Come, share your master’s joy.” (Mt 25:21) //“You have been taught by God to love one another.” (1 Thes 4:9)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
List five talents you have received from the Lord, which you have utilized fully at the service of the Church and on behalf of the community. Thank the Lord for all these gifts received. List five talents, which you have failed to use wisely for the benefit of all. Beg God’s mercy and pardon for your failure to invest them fully. // Today, endeavor to give an example of patient loving and generous giving in the spirit of our Savior Jesus Christ.
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Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US