A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday & Weekday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 22, n. 48)
Week 30 in Ordinary Time: October 27 – November 2, 2024
(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: October 20-26, 2024 please go to ARCHIVES Series 21 and click on “Ordinary Week 28”.
Below is a LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY - WEEKDAY LITURGY: October 27 – November 2, 2024.)
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October 27, 2024: THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Makes the Blind See”
BIBLICAL READINGS
Jer 31:7-9 // Heb 5:1-6 // Mk 10:46-52
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A, Gospel Reading (Mk 10:46-52): “Master, I want to see.”
The need for true spiritual sight is the subject of this Sunday’s Gospel reading, which narrates the healing of the blind beggar Bartimaeus (Mk 10:46-51). The Gospel passage begins with an interesting geographical reference and a touch of local color: “As Jesus was leaving Jericho, with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging” (Mk 10:46). The main road to Jerusalem ran right through Jericho, which is 15 miles northeast of Jerusalem and 5 miles west of the Jordan River. The messianic journey of Jesus that began in Caesarea Philippi (Mk 8:27-30) is reaching its destination: Jerusalem. The departure of Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, from Jericho evokes the movement of a large group of pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem for the Passover. The crowd that is moving towards Jerusalem, the place of sacrifice, does not, however, comprehend the meaning of Jesus’ paschal destiny. The disciples and the crowd are figuratively “blind” with regards to the destiny of this remarkable man who had just avowed: “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45). Indeed, it is more convenient to see him as a wonderful miracle worker, a powerful political ruler and a generous breadbasket king. In comparison to the blind beggar Bartimaeus, they seem to be fortunate for they could see with their physical eyes. But there is a deeper reality than physical sight.
Mark portrays Bartimaeus as sitting by the roadside begging. With undaunted hope, the blind beggar resolutely cries out his invocation, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me” (Mk 10:47). Ignoring the rebuke of the many unsympathetic people who are trying to silence him, he keeps calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me” (Mk 10:48). Bartimaeus’ use of the expression “Son of David” is the first public application of that messianic title to Jesus. The title “Son of David” designates Jesus as the heir of the promise made to David through Nathan (cf. II Sam 7:12-16). The biblical scholar Philip Van Linden remarks: “The title Bartimaeus gives Jesus, ‘Son of David,’ indicates that he, a blind beggar, actually sees who Jesus is more clearly than the disciples and crowd who have been with him all along!”
Jesus responds with compassion to Bartimaeus. Hearing his vigorous plea and witnessing his pitiful plight by the road of Jericho, Jesus stops and orders, “Call him” (Mk 10:49). Mark narrates that the crowd becomes involved in the compassionate act of Jesus and becomes an instrument of the divine call. They tell the blind man to take courage, get up, and meet Jesus who calls for him. Bartimaeus responds with alacrity. According to Mark’s account: “He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus” (Mk 10:50). The “cloak” that he throws may have been used formerly to receive the people’s alms. Indeed, the many references to garments in Mark’s Gospel suggest that Bartimaeus is leaving behind the “old order” and embracing a new life.
When the blind beggar comes up, Jesus’ question to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” echoes the earlier question he addressed to James and John. The sons of Zebedee were bent on appropriating for themselves a glorious place in the messianic kingdom (cf. Mk 10:35-40). Whereas the appeal of James and John was tainted with an ambitious streak, the petition of the blind man comes from a humble heart that puts its trust in Jesus. The question becomes an occasion for Bartimaeus to profess his faith in the power of Jesus to heal. The blind man addresses Jesus with sure hope and confident trust: “Master, I want to see” (Mk 10:51). Bartimaeus is the one and only person in Mark’s Gospel who calls Jesus “Master”. Jesus is veritably the Master who enkindles in him the light of faith. The words of Jesus are magnanimous: “Go your way; your faith has saved you” (Mk 10:52). Jesus does not need to touch Bartimaeus, whose prayer and actions reveal deep faith. Philip Van Linden remarks: “Jesus is his Master! It is just such profound trust in Jesus that Mark wants to elicit from the Christian recipients of his Gospel.”
The Gospel reading of this Sunday ends with a joyful note of healing and a decisive movement of discipleship: “Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way” (Mk 10:52). The one who used to sit by the roadside or “the way” is healed by Jesus and makes a radical choice to follow him on the way of discipleship. According to Virgil Howard and David Peabody, “Bartimaeus is intended to serve as an example of a person with ‘sight’ and such a person follows Jesus into his passion.” His response to Jesus’ command, “Go your way” is to embrace the way of the Divine Master, a way that leads from Jericho to Jerusalem, and ultimately – the way of the Cross. His response challenges the community of Christian believers today.
Like Bartimeaus, Sam Vaughe experienced a faith journey to healing (cf. Sam Vaughe, “Healed” in Heaven Sent: More Than Coincidence, New York: Guideposts, 2015, p. 92-94). Sam had suffered an occlusion that left him blind in the right eye. The doctor told him that macular degeneration would cause his left eye to go blind as well. The possibility of getting blind blotted out his soul and what he hoped to be the “golden” years of his life in retirement had turned “black”. In the town’s annual ramp festival he attended, he met a blind woman who had accepted her blindness joyously, gratefully and with grace. Inspired by the blind “seeing woman”, he allowed himself to be healed of the darkness that blotted his soul. He started to sing at churches and nursing homes. He savored the sounds, the warmth of a touch, the sweetness of smell, and a world that is rich, full and beautiful as any he could see. One evening at church the congregation prayed over him. Two weeks later as he and his wife Shirley were driving down the highway, suddenly the road, the cars and the trees became crystal clear – on either side of them. Sam regained the vision of his blind right eye!
B. First Reading (Jer 31:7-9): “The blind and the lame I will bring back: I will console them.”
Our dear friend Marietta came to visit us in our convent in Cebu Island, in the Philippines. With her was her ten-year old nephew, Philip who was sick with brain tumor. The malignant disease took his sight away and stunted his growth. The incredibly handsome blind boy looked about six years old. His face was innocent and trusting, his sightless eyes fascinating, and his disposition very lovable. I took his little hands and led him up the stairs to our refectory on the second floor. When we reached the top, he asked me how many steps there were. Greatly amused by his keen sense of observation, I confessed with some embarrassment that I never paid attention to the number of steps on the stairs. He laughed good-naturedly and brightly told me the answer. He then played the organ for us. Since his legs were too short to reach the pair of bellows to pump air, one Sister did it for him as his nimble fingers ran across the keys, producing harmonious sounds. The blind boy also played the guitar like a virtuoso, with the body of the guitar resting on his lap since he was too small to hold the guitar properly. A priest, who came to our Liturgical Center that morning, spent some few precious moments with little Philip. With tears in his eyes, he told the blind boy to remember him when he would “see” Jesus – for Philip knew that he would soon be with Jesus in heaven. Notwithstanding his blindness and sickness, Philip felt loved and marvelous. Indeed, he had received from God the grace of consolation and a special gift of spiritual vision. When the blind boy bid us goodbye, I was overwhelmed with emotion. I had witnessed in Philip a spiritual vision, more perspicacious than I could ever imagine.
This Sunday’s Old Testament reading (Jer 31:7-9) fills us with the warmth of consolation. It depicts the triumphal march of “the remnant of Israel” through the desert, for Yahweh had bestowed salvation on his suffering and chastised people. The privileged group of returning exiles includes the blind and the lame in their midst, the mothers and those with child. The caravan of weak people is an eloquent sign of the magnificent and miraculous nature of God’s saving intervention in the lives of his chosen people.
Harold Buetow comments: “Jeremiah’s first 25 chapters represent a message of doom against his people for their dried-up hearts that refused to listen to God’s word. But God wanted Jeremiah also to build and to plant. Today’s passage is taken from the section that represents the ‘sunny side’, Jeremiah’s ‘Little Book of Comfort’. Jeremiah’s warning had gone unheeded, and the destruction he had foretold had come true. Addressing the people of Judah who were exiled to what is the north of modern Iraq, Jeremiah now optimistically looked to future days when his people would come back to the land (30:3). Today’s central theme is the exuberant joy of the return – of an odyssey from spiritual blindness to sight. Opening with a solemn call to joy, the hymn uses strong words like shout, proclaim, and praise. Jeremiah speaks of the remnant (v. 7). In this case the term remnant referred to the small number of those who escaped the calamity of defeat and exile and had been purified to constitute the new Israel, faithful to her God. The term has, however, referred ever since to all those small numbers who remain faithful through all calamities. The returning caravan will consist of the blind, the lame, mothers, those with child, and other physically vulnerable people. The return would be a new exodus, but in a much more glorious form. By saying that they departed in tears (v. 9), Jeremiah begins with allusions to the first Exodus. Unlike the incident in the first Exodus, however, in which water came from a rock, the desert will see brooks of water constantly flowing; unlike the rough going of the first Exodus, here God will lead them on a level road, providing an easier march … Jeremiah had the mission of leading his people along a journey to God, and Jesus had the same mission. Jesus, however, eclipsed Jeremiah in many ways.”
In the light of the prophet Jeremiah’s vision of the gathering of the exiles, the Gospel episode of this Sunday (Mk 10:46-52) concerning the healing of the blind Bartimaeus underlines the great truth that Jesus is our light and salvation, the font of consolation and healing – the restorer and re-newer of all things. Jesus is the great deliver and the leader of the ultimate Exodus. He gathers the great assembly of those who have faith in him and initiates the great paschal journey towards eternal light. He is the way to be followed - the way to salvation – for he is the truth that leads to life. Bartimaeus followed Jesus on the way – the way of the cross, the way of love and service to others, the way we must travel as his disciples. We too must follow Jesus on the way, just like the restored and healed Bartimaeus.
C. Second Reading (Heb 5:1-6): “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
In our paschal journey to eternal life, no one is excluded. Jesus, the Priest forever and for all, leads the way in this voyage of return to the Father (Heb 5:1-6). Sharing our human weakness, except sin, and chosen by divine will, he is our sterling and exquisite representative before God the Father. Prefigured by Melchizedek, the mysterious priest of Salem who offered Abraham bread and wine and blessed him after a victorious battle, Jesus Christ transcends and surpasses human priesthood. By sacrificing his own body and blood, Jesus atones for our sins and brings us back to God. All the finest qualities of priestly ministry are summed up in Jesus Christ: total identity, compassion and divine vocation-origin.
Aelred Rosser remarks: “The most compelling aspect of Jesus is his total identity with the people for whom he functions as a priest. He has shared their weakness; the ultimate offering of his body on the cross was a sin offering for himself as well as for the people. Now enthroned at God’s right hand, this priest is patient in dealing with others in their sins, for he knew full well the struggles they face.”
Here is a beautiful story of how a Vietnamese priest led an anguished and guilt-laden war veteran to experience the peaceful light of forgiveness and grace (cf. “Confession Heals a Vet” by Joan Broussard in St. Anthony Messenger, August 2009, p. 25-27). Father Vu helped Brad Broussard dispel the dark memory of the Vietnam War by advising him to put it in God’s hands. Through the sacrament of reconciliation, the compassionate priest led Brad in the latter’s return journey to God – into the light of life.
I recall an instance when Brad was awakened by a nightmare. He was terrified. He could not speak about it aloud, so he whispered the story to me, even though we were the only ones at home. He told me there was belief among the Viet Cong that a human body must remain intact after death for the deceased to rest in peace. If any part of the body were missing, the deceased would never be at peace. So, to express their hatred for the Viet Cong, some soldiers in Brad’s squad would decapitate their enemies with a shovel. Brad did not want to participate in this gruesome practice, but he was pressured to do so by members of his squad. Though it was dark in our room, I knew Brad was crying as he expressed remorse and guilt over having taken part in this barbaric act. He prayed for forgiveness from God and from the men he and his comrades had mutilated.
Brad was a sniper in the war, and a very accurate one, from what he told me. He killed quite a number of the enemy – from a distance. He would shoot and they would drop. He never got close to the bodies to confirm the kill, but he knew they were dead from the way they went down. I don’t think he felt a lot of remorse about killing the enemy. After all, it was a war. But I do believe he lived with a nagging fear that he might have shot some innocent civilians. It was difficult to distinguish a Viet Cong combatant from a civilian because the Viet Cong didn’t wear uniforms. Brad explained to me that a sniper’s targets aren’t always clear, but when his superior ordered him to shoot, he shot. Just the possibility that some of the people he killed could have been civilians was one of the things that burdened Brad; that weighed heavily on his conscience. (…)
About two and a half years after Brad had forced himself to stand near the Vietnamese priest for our son’s wedding, I again found myself turning to this very same priest for his help on a family matter. This time, however, was not a happy occasion. It was Saturday, October 23, 1999. As I dialed Father Vu’s numbers, I was hoping he wouldn’t remember the wedding and how Brad seemed to ignore him the whole time. “Good morning, Father. This is Joan Broussard”, I said. “Yes, Joan, how are you? What can I do for you today?” he answered in his usual cheerful voice. “Father, my husband, Brad, would like you to hear his Confession. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor yesterday and will undergo surgery next week. We’ve been told the tumor is most likely malignant and the surgery is very risky. Brad asked me to call you to see if he could come for Confession before going to surgery”, I said. “Why, of course. When would he like to come?” Father Vu replied. “Actually, he is ready right now. If you are free this morning, we would come right over”, I said, hoping he didn’t have any other commitments. “Yes, I am free all morning. You can come now. I’ll be waiting.”
We drove to St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Youngsville, which is less than a mile from our house. The church staff does not work on Saturdays, so it was quiet and peaceful when we arrived to find Father Vu waiting at the door. We exchanged greetinga and I quickly excused myself to wait outside to allow Brad and Father Vu their privacy. I walked every sidewalk in the church cemetery several times over. I circled the church grounds numerous times, all the while praying that Brad’s confession would be satisfying and nourishing to his mind and his soul. I also prayed for myself that I would not fail him. Nearly two hours after they went into the rectory, Brad and Father Vu came out. Brad was smiling from ear to ear. His Confession was complete and God’s forgiveness total. The look of exhilaration on his face was matched only by the spring in his step, knowing that he was forgiven for all the things he’d ever done that offended God and other people.
Brad’s joyful mood was contagious. We said good-bye to Father Vu and were both smiling as we walked, hand in hand, to the car. “Hey, sweetie, I think I made Father Vu’s eyes pop out”, Brad said, still smiling. “Why is that?” I asked. “Because of some of the stuff I confessed to him. I am finally able to start telling it. I am really glad I came today. I feel good inside. Father Vu is a really good man. I like him.” Brad held his head high as we walked. I sensed confidence in his step. I knew he was ready for surgery. (…)
Brad’s attitude toward Father Vu had come full circle. It had gone from distrust and avoidance to respect and true friendship. Brad had developed a sense of brotherly love for this gentle man from Saigon. Brad died on May 3, 2000. He lost his battle with cancer, but received the peace he had longed for all his adult life.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Do we recognize and identify the blindness within us that needs to be healed? Do we turn to Jesus and say, “Master, I want to see”? In our experience of blindness and hopelessness, do we have the courage and the faith to cry out with Bartimaeus: “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me”? When Jesus sees us by the wayside and calls us to himself, what is our response? Do we throw aside the cloak of our old habits, get up, and run to meet him? Do we follow him on the way?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus, we are blind.
We close our eyes to our paschal destiny
and the radical demands of discipleship.
We turn to you for inner healing
and for the light of faith.
You are good and compassionate,
the healer of our infirmities.
You are the Divine Master,
the kindly Light to lead us to Jerusalem,
to the saving way of the Cross.
We put our trust in you
for you are the font of light and healing.
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.
“He received his sight and followed him on the way.” (Mk 10:52)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray in thanksgiving for the many good people who endeavor to relieve the painful and difficult situations of the vision-impaired. Offer some help to various institutions for the blind.
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October 28, 2024: MONDAY – SAINTS SIMON AND JUDE, APOSTLES
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Chooses the Apostles … He Builds the Church upon the Apostolic Witnessing”
BIBLE READINGS
Eph 2:19-22 // Lk 6:12-16
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
In today’s Gospel (Lk 6:12-16), we hear that Jesus goes up to the mountain to pray and he spends the night in prayer to God. The night is fascinating. It can be a moment of deep commune with God and a time of profound prayer. Once again, before making a decisive decision crucial to his messianic mission, Jesus prays. When the day comes, he calls his disciples to himself and chooses the twelve apostles, who represent the “twelve” tribes of the New Israel, the Church. Among the “Twelve” are Simon called the “Zealot” and Jude Thaddeus. Prayer is likewise an important element in the life of the apostles. By the help of prayer, they are able to learn the wisdom of the cross and to fully embrace Christ’s paschal mystery.
As we celebrate the feast of Saints Simon and Jude, apostles, today’s First Reading (Eph 2:19-22) underlines that we are built upon the foundation laid down by the apostles and the prophets whose saving message is centered on the Christ-event. Through the power of Christ, we grow into a spiritual temple sacred in the Lord. We are no longer strangers or sojourners. Because of the reconciling activity of Jesus Christ, we have become fellow citizens with God’s people and his family members. The Gospel proclamation and apostolic witnessing are very important for the growth of the Church, whose glorious capstone and binding force is Jesus Christ himself.
The apostolic message goes out through all the earth. Saints Simon and Jude have carried the “light of faith” to the ends of the world, as the following biographical sketches show (cf. Wikipedia in the Internet).
Simon the Zealot is one of the most obscure among the apostles of Jesus. Little is recorded of him aside from his name. The name of Simon occurs in all of the synoptic gospels and Acts that give a list of apostles. He is called “zealot” because, in seeing the miracle at Cana, Simon left his home, parents and his bride and followed Christ. It is also said that after Pentecost, his mission was in a place called Mauretania in Africa.
In later tradition, Simon is often associated with St. Jude, as an evangelizing team. They share their feast day on 28 October. The most widespread tradition is that after evangelizing in Egypt, Simon joined Jude in Persia and Armenia or Beirut, Lebanon, where both were martyred in 65 A.D. This version is found in the Golden Legend.
He is buried in the same tomb as St. Jude Thaddeus, in the left transept of the St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, under the altar of St. Joseph. In art, Simon has the identifying attribute of a saw because according to legend, he was put to death by a saw.
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Jude was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. He is generally identified with Thaddeus. The Armenian Catholic Church honors Thaddeus along with Saint Bartholomew as its patron saints. In the Roman Catholic Church he is the patron saint of desperate cases or lost causes.
Saint Jude’s attribute is a club. He is also often shown in icons with a flame around his head. This represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles. Another common attribute is Jude holding an image of Jesus Christ. In some instances he may be shown with a scroll or a book or holding a carpenter’s rule.
The legend reports that Saint Jude was born into a Jewish family in Panea, a town in Galilee later rebuilt by the Romans and renamed Caesarea Philippi. In all probability he spoke both Greek and Aramaic, like most of his contemporaries in that area, and was a farmer by trade. According to the legend, Saint Jude was a son of Clopas and his wife Mary, a cousin of the Virgin Mary. Tradition has it that Jude’s father, Clopas, was martyred because of his forthright and outspoken devotion to the Risen Christ.
Tradition holds that Saint Jude preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia and Libya. He is also to have visited Beirut and Edessa. The apostles Jude and Bartholomew are traditionally believed to have been the first to bring Christianity to Armenia, and are therefore venerated as the patron saints of the Armenian Catholic Church. In his History Ecclesiastica, Eusebius relates that King Abgar of Edessa (now Sanhurfa in Turkey) sent a letter to Jesus seeking a cure for an illness afflicting him. With the letter he sent his envoy Hannan, the keeper of the archives, offering his own home city to Jesus as a safe dwelling place. The envoy painted a likeness of Jesus with choice paints (or alternatively, impressed with Abgar’s faith, Jesus pressed his face into a cloth and gave it to Hannan) to take to Abgar with his answer. Upon seeing Jesus’ image, the king placed it with great honor in one of his palatial houses. After Christ’s execution, Thomas the Apostle sent Jude to King Abgar and the king was cured. Astonished, he converted to Christianity, along with many people under his rule.
According to tradition, after his martyrdom, pilgrims came to his grave to pray and many of them experienced the powerful intercession of Saint Jude and thus the title, “The Saint for the Hopeless and the Desperate”. Saint Bridget of Sweden and Saint Bernard had visions from God asking each to accept Saint Jude as “The Patron Saint of the Impossible”.
Here is a novena to Saint Jude: “O Holy Saint Jude! Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor for all who invoke you, special patron in time of need; to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart, and humbly beg you, to whom God has given such great power, to come to my assistance; help me now in my urgent need and grant my earnest petition. I will never forget thy graces and favors you obtain for me and I will do my utmost to spread devotion to you. Amen.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
What does it mean personally to be a community of faith based on “the foundation of the Apostles and the prophets?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
(cf. Opening Prayer of the Mass – feast of Sts. Simon and Jude)
Father,
you revealed yourself to us
through the preaching of your apostles Simon and Jude.
By their prayers,
give your Church continued growth
and increase the number of those who believe in you.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, 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.
“You are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and the prophets.” (Eph 2:20)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Continue the apostolic witnessing and the Gospel proclamation in today’s world by living a life of Christian charity that is manifested in compassion and care for the poor and vulnerable.
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October 29, 2024: TUESDAY – WEEKDAY (30)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Blesses Small Beginnings … He Loves the Church”
BIBLE READINGS
Eph 5:21-33 // Lk 13:18-21
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Lk 13:18-21): “When it was fully grown, it became a large bush.”
The first parable in today’s Gospel reading (Lk 13:18-21) is about the mustard seed, the smallest seed in the world. Planted in the ground, it grows and becomes a large bush. Birds come and make their nests in its shady branches. In this parable, Jesus contrasts the insignificant beginning of the extremely small seed and the enormous size of the full-grown bush. The image of a tiny mustard seed growing into the grandiose bush underlines the universal expanse of God’s kingdom that would encompass all nations, as well as Israel. The second parable is about the yeast’s leavening force that makes the dough rise. Even a minimal amount of yeast has a natural tendency to expand, producing a great change in the dough to make it fit to be baked into a loaf of bread. Likewise, there is something inherently dynamic in the kingdom of God. Its power of good is transforming.
Jesus invites us to extol the power of small beginnings. We are called to sow the seed of the kingdom in today’s world as well as to trust in the power of the Holy Spirit who animates the growing kingdom. Let us do our part in sowing the seed and in manifesting to the world the dynamic and transforming power of the heavenly kingdom. We are to be seeds of the kingdom and to exhibit the transforming power of good in today’s world. The experience of Mike McGarvin, the founder of the Poverello House in Fresno, gives insight into the mustard seed beginning and the dynamic power of his compassionate ministry to the poor and needy (cf. Mike McGarvin, PAPA MIKE, 2003, p. 73-74).
My job was with a local newspaper, the Fresno Bee … There was a void in my life, because I had been so used to serving the Pov, and now I wasn’t doing anything. It was this restlessness, and the unbearable heat in our trailer, that compelled me to start checking out Chinatown. Fresno’s Chinatown is a tiny area southwest of downtown proper. It was near to where the Fresno Bee building was located, and it piqued my interest. In many ways, it reminded me of the Tenderloin district in San Francisco. There were small struggling businesses, a lot of cheap bars, single room occupancy hotels, prostitutes, and homeless people everywhere. It had a few mysterious and charming street names, such as “Fagan’s Alley” or “China Alley”, but it was dreary and gritty rather than romantic.
It was 1973, just a few months after we had moved back to Fresno. I went to a day-old bread store, loaded up on loaves, got some peanut butter and jelly, and went to work. I took it all back to our trailer, and Mary and I made up a bunch of sandwiches. I got some disposable cups, a jug of ice water, and drove the short distance to Chinatown. I was working nights, so I had days free, and I started going to Chinatown daily, taking the sandwiches and the water, walking and giving them out. People were suspicious at first, but as time went on, they started warming up to me. It helped that I was big, had a black belt in judo, and wasn’t intimidated.
The homeless people I encountered had no place to go. There was a rescue mission in town, but at that time it didn’t have a day program. Most of these folks were typical skid row types – older alcoholics and drug addicts, worn-out prostitutes, and poor, disabled men. They hung out on the streets in the summer heat and the winter cold because there was nowhere to turn. They weren’t wanted by anyone. The businesses didn’t want them around, because they scared customers away and littered the area. The police didn’t want them around, because they were nothing but trouble. I had stumbled onto a whole community of outcasts. That old Poverello spirit was starting to take hold of me again. I loved going out and seeing the smiles on the faces when I handed out sandwiches. I enjoyed the jokes and stories I’d hear. I liked getting to know people by name, and many of them seemed to crave not only the food, but also the attention.
My routine in Chinatown started out just a few days a week, but like the Pov up in San Francisco, it slowly became a bigger part of my life. It wasn’t long before I was going seven days each week. It was getting a little pricey on my new salary, so I started hitting up my church, Mount Carmel, to donate some money to buy bread and the peanut butter. That got some people interested. I figured out pretty quickly that I might be able to get more than money out of the church. I was meeting some good-hearted people and some of them wanted to join me. After about a year, I was ready for help, although I wasn’t sure how these church folks would react to some of the hardened street characters. There weren’t many who hit the streets with me, but quite a few helped by preparing the food.
B. First Reading (Eph 5:21-33): “This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.”
The reading (Eph 5:21-33) underlines that the personal relationship between wife and husband is based on Christ’s self-sacrificing love for others. Marriage between a man and a woman draws its strength and meaning from the covenant love of Christ and his Body, the Church. The mutual submission and sacrificial aspect that animates the love relationship of spouses testify to the presence and fullness of the Spirit in their lives. Their marriage covenant is thus modeled on the “great mystery” of union between Christ, the Head, and his Body, the Church. The New Covenant ratified in Christ’s blood enhances the love relationship and nuptial bond of a man and a woman with beauty, fidelity and grace.
Moreover, the marriage of man and woman, when nurtured at the Eucharist and nourished by “the bread of the covenant”, can serve as a reflection, however imperfect, of the union between Christ, the Bridegroom, and his Bride, the Church. Such a marriage can be a model of self-giving love in today’s world and a sacrament of God’s covenant love and intimate relationship with his people on earth.
The following article in the Irish newspaper, Alive! (July/August 2009 issue, p. 6) extols the decision of a young Catholic couple to trust in God and accept the divine will. The moral commitment of Austin and Nuala Conway gives us an insight into Christian marriage as sacrament-covenant and inspired by God’s fidelity.
The parents of Ireland’s first ever set of sextuplets decided to put their trust in God rather than follow doctors’ immoral advice during their pregnancy. “These babies are a wonderful gift from God. Whatever God laid out for our lives we were taking it”, said 26-year-old Nuala Conway of Dunamore Co Tyrone. Doctors warned the married couple about the risks of a multiple pregnancy, and “more or less” advised them to have several of their unborn babies aborted. But the young Catholic couple rejected such a heartless solution and opted to trust in God and accept his will. “Doctors gave us a couple of days to think about it, but we knew without discussion what we both wanted”, said Nuala. “Whatever God laid out for our lives, we were taking it.”
The four girls and two boys, weighing between 1 lb 7 oz and 2 lb 7 oz, were delivered by Caesarian section 14 weeks early at Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital, with the aid of 30 medical staff. In an interview with the Sunday Express, Mrs. Conway said, “I prayed as much as I could for a child. I would have been happy with one, but God blessed us with six, which is amazing.” It wasn’t until just three months before the birth that a scan showed she was carrying six babies. “I’m in love with every single one of them. I fell in love when they were in the womb. When one moved they would all move and I could definitely feel 24 limbs kicking”, she said.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we believe in the power of small beginnings and in the transforming power of the kingdom of God? Do we trust greatly in God who can do all things in us?
2. In the Eucharist do we renew our covenant with the Eucharistic Master, avow our faith in him and make an act of unconditional fidelity in him? How do we live out our covenant bond with our wife/husband?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Father,
we are fascinated how a mustard seed,
can grow into a large bush to shelter the birds of the sky.
We are awed
by the leavening power of a small amount of yeast.
We thank and praise you
for the miracle of the mustard-seed beginning of your kingdom,
which continues to extend its life-giving fruitfulness
to all peoples of the earth.
We thank you for the dynamic power
of the heavenly kingdom.
Help us to appreciate small beginnings
and to believe in the dynamic power of the Gospel.
You are our hope and our joy, now and forever.
Amen.
***
Lord Jesus,
may we love and serve you alone.
We pray for married couples
that they may mirror limpidly the love relationship
between Christ and his body the Church.
Let us promote the integrity of family life
and holiness of Christian marriage in today’s world.
We adore you as our Eucharistic Master,
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.
“What is the kingdom of God like?” (Lk 13:18) //“Christ loved the Church.” (Eph 5:25)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray that people who sow the seed of the heavenly kingdom in today’s world may be blessed by the Lord. By your compassionate acts of love and service, and by trusting in the dynamic power of the Gospel, do your part in making the kingdom of God come. // By your personal dedication and service to one another as husband and wife and/or as family members, promote the integrity and holiness of marriage and family life.
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October 30, 2024: WEDNESDAY – WEEKDAY (30)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Calls Us to Enter through the Narrow Gate … We Are in Intimate Relationship with Him”
BIBLE READINGS
Eph 6:1-9 // Lk 13:22-30
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Lk 13:22-30): “And people will come from the east and the west and will recline at the table in the Kingdom of God.”
In the Poverello News (February 2004), I read this beautiful story, which illustrates the reality of a personal, total response to God’s offer of salvation presented in today’s Gospel reading.
On May 10, 1748, a ship was being violently buffeted by a brutal storm. The captain of the vessel, thinking that death was imminent, prayed in desperation. The captain, John Newton, was not the praying kind. Nicknamed “The Great Blasphemer”, he was a debauched, profane seaman who plied the most despicable trade imaginable: he was a slave trafficker. After his fervent prayer, the storm ceased and the sea calmed. Newton’s deliverance from death had a profound effect on him. He contemplated his life and saw, perhaps for the first time, the full extent of his misery, corruption, and moral ruin. That day was a turning point in his life, a day that ultimately led him to reject his loathsome profession, enter Christian ministry, and later become a key influence in the life of William Wilberforce, a man who had a major role in abolishing slavery in England. However, Newton is not known for his biography. He is best remembered for a hymn he composed. That hymn is today sung all over the world, heard mournfully played by bagpipes at funerals, and is still powerful enough to bring tears to many who hear it. The hymn is “Amazing Grace”. Perhaps it has so much force because it is Newton’s heart-felt confession:
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
John Newton’s conversion beautifully depicts the realization of Jesus’ words: “And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. For behold some are last who will be first, and some who are first who will be last” (cf. Lk 13: 29-30). His wholehearted response to God’s “amazing grace”, which saved a “wretch” like him, enabled him to participate in the feast of God’s kingdom.
Today’s Gospel reading (Lk 13:22-30) continues to underline the rich significance of the Lord’s journey to Jerusalem. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to undergo the death that leads to glory. Within the context of this paschal journey, someone asks: “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” Rather than answer him directly, Jesus prods him with a challenge: “Strive to enter through the narrow gate for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough”. The narrow gate is open to all, but only for those who seek it. Indeed, the gift of salvation is not an indiscriminate prerogative. It must be willingly and fully embraced. We need to make a choice for the kingdom.
The biblical scholar, Samuel Oyin Abogunrin explains that the term “strive” (in Greek, agonizesthe) is the word from which the English “agony” is derived. According to him: “The struggle to enter must be so singularly motivated and focused as to be described as agony that involves the whole person: body, soul, and spirit. Christian life is a daily struggle to rise to a higher spiritual plane. It is wrong to sit back and relax after we have made a personal commitment to Christ. We cannot remain stagnant in our loyalty to God’s kingdom; unless we move forward we shall move backward.”
B. First Reading (Eph 6:1-9): “Willingly serving the Lord and not human beings.”
Today’s First Reading (Eph 6:1-9) contains a household code to regulate the relations between children and parents and between slaves and master. Just like the relation between wives and husbands, the spiritual principle to animate these relationships is Christ’s self-sacrificing love for others. There must be a reverence for fellow members in Christian families and households. By his victorious exaltation, the Risen Lord fills the universe. The glorified Christ brings his power and presence to bear in all human institutions. It is the Christian duty of children to obey their parents and thus enjoy God’s promise of abundant life. The parents are not to provoke their children to anger, but rather raise them with Christian discipline and instruction. The “slaves of Christ” are to carry out their duties responsibly and willingly, remembering that the Lord will reward everyone for the good work he does. The masters have responsible obligations to their subjects and realize that they also belong to the same Master in heaven, who judges everyone by the same standard. Indeed, in the context of the new life in Christ, the domestic relations take on a new meaning of love, reverence and respect.
In a funny vein, the following story gives insight into a beautiful relationship in a Christian household (cf. Fran-Alice Aberle, “Not by Bread Alone” in Guideposts, August 2014, p. 21).
Mom had a huge family, especially to my 11-year-old eyes. So when she decided to hold a family reunion at our house there was a lot to be done. My 12-year-old brother, 9-year-old sister and I had to pitch in. “There are four loaves of bread in the oven.” Mom said as she and Dad got ready to go into town for last minute supplies. “Do not start playing and forget to check on them. Take them out when they’re nice golden brown. If you burn the bread, you’re all in big trouble. It has to be perfect.”
We all promised. We knew how important the family bread recipe was. Richard, Lucia and I settled on the couch to wait. And wait. Finally we decided to wait outside. Surely a little playing to pass the time wouldn’t hurt.
Well, we lost track of how much time had passed until I smelled something burning. “The bread!” I screamed. “We forgot about Mom’s bread!”
We rushed inside and held our breath as Richard opened the oven door. There was the bread black and smoking. Richard slammed the door shut. We couldn’t bear to look at it.
“What are we going to do?” I cried. I was literally wringing my hands. “Mom says all things are possible with God”, Lucia piped up. “Let’s pray.” We all put a hand on the warm oven door and bowed our heads. “God, please heal Mom’s bread to a light golden brown like she told us”, I said. “If you don’t we’ll be in big trouble!” added Richard. “In Jesus’ name, amen”, Lucia said.
Tentatively, Richard opened the oven door again. Four golden brown loaves! We couldn’t believe it. They were perfect.
“Where’d you get the recipe for this bread?” one of my Mom’s sisters asked the next day. “It’s delicious!” “It’s the same recipe we’ve all used for years”, Mom said with a laugh. “No, this definitely tastes different”, her brother said. “It’s the best bread I’ve ever had!”
Everyone agreed. Finally we kids brought Mom into the kitchen and explained just why the bread tasted so good. It had a special ingredient – answered prayers!
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Am I willing to enter through the narrow gate that leads to the feast of God’s kingdom? Do I respond to the “amazing grace” that comes from his forgiving love? Do I believe that God wants all to be saved? What do I do personally and concretely to contribute to the mystery of universal salvation? Do I participate in the feast of God’s kingdom with joy and gratitude?
2. Do I allow the principle of Christ’s sacrificial love to animate my human and social relations? Do I promote harmonious relationship in the domestic setting?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Father,
your Son Jesus Christ invites us
to enter through the narrow gate to salvation.
Help us to share in his paschal sacrifice
and the feast of the kingdom.
Let us experience your “amazing grace”
and make us respond to it wholeheartedly.
Enable us to satisfy the world’s hunger
for the bread of life and the cup of salvation.
Let us promote harmony and unity
in the family and in the society
to help us prepare for the coming of your kingdom.
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.
“Strive to enter through the narrow gate.” (Lk 13:24) // “You have a Master in heaven and with him there is no partiality.” (Eph 6:9)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray in thanksgiving for God’s “amazing grace” in your life> Do something nice and kind for a person who is despondent.
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October 31, 2024: THURSDAY – WEEKDAY (30)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Resolves to Journey to Jerusalem … He Gives Us Strength in our Spiritual Warfare”
BIBLE READINGS
Eph 6:10-20 // Lk 13:31-35
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Lk 13:31-35): “It is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem.”
Today’s Gospel reading (Lk 13:31-35) is filled with pathos and drama. Tension mounts as Jesus continues his journey to Jerusalem. Some Pharisees bring the word that Herod wants to kill him. Marked by hostility, their intent is to daunt rather than to help him. But Jesus does not flinch in the face of danger. He remains firm on the course of his divine mission. In accordance with God’s saving plan, it is necessary that Jesus must continue his journey toward Jerusalem and embrace his paschal destiny of passion, death and resurrection. Jesus, however, will not go to Jerusalem before the allotted time. In the meantime he continues his public ministry of healing and exorcism. When eventually he enters the walls of Jerusalem, the praises “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” will resound within the city in his honor. Sadly, the “Hosanna” praises will turn into a note of rejection.
The inevitable suffering Jesus will endure does not cancel his tender love for Jerusalem, which symbolizes the heart of the chosen people. He laments: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets. You stone the messengers God has sent you! I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings but you would not let me!” Jesus bemoans the destruction that will come upon the obstinate people. However, at the end of his Jerusalem journey – after treading the way of the cross – Jesus Life triumphs!
The following modern day story gives a glimpse into Jesus’ resolve to embrace the paschal mystery (cf. Elizabeth Sherrill in Daily Guideposts 2014, p. 390).
Dr. Li, Chinese Physician: We’d gone to China in 1981 to investigate a rumor that churches were reopening. In Shanghai, sure enough, we attended Sunday service in a redbrick church with a standing-room-only congregation. Afterward, we talked with an elderly physician who’d studied in the United States in the 1930s. For two decades, Dr. Li said, this church had been boarded up. Three months before our visit, it had reopened. “Our first service in twenty-two years.”
The first service, that is, inside … The first Christmas Eve after the church closed in 1959 was just an ordinary night shift at the hospital for Dr. Li. It was cold and drizzly when he returned to his apartment at 10:30. He took off his damp coat – then, suddenly, put it back on. His wife put hers on too, and followed him outside. Through the icy drizzle they walked, left at the corner, across a square, turn right … headed to church. As they drew closer, they became aware of other silent walkers. From every side-street they came, alone or in twos or threes, until hundreds were standing shoulder to shoulder before the locked door. For two hours they stood in the rain. No hymns. No sermon. “But it was Communion all the same.”
For twenty-two years, this was their Christmas service. No one planned any of it. “Just, that night, year after year, we put on our coats and came.”
B. First Reading (Eph 6:10-20): “Put on the armor of God, that you may be able, having done everything, to hold your ground.”
Today’s First Reading (Eph 6:10-20) is Saint Paul’s conclusion to his ethical exhortations. The apostle urges Christians to pray, stand alert and be ready to fight the evil forces around them. Christ is the head over all for God put all things under his feet and gave him to the Church as the supreme lord of all things (cf. Eph 1:22). Moreover, God has saved us in Christ, whose paschal victory is radical and complete. Our paschal mystery as Christians, however, is an ongoing endeavor towards completion. A spiritual warfare rages on. Paul exhorts us to build up our strength in union with Jesus. He advises us to put on the “armor of God” so that we may be able to resist the wiles of the devil and overcome the malevolent cosmic powers. The “armor of God” consists of truth as a belt, righteousness as a breastplate, the Gospel of peace as footgear, faith as a shield, salvation as helmet, and the word of God as the sword that the Holy Spirit gives.
Putting on the “armor of God” and standing ready to fight the spiritual battle need to be completed by prayer. The Christian soldiers need to pray on every occasion as the Spirit leads. Moreover they must pray for all God’s people, including the apostle Paul, who for the sake of the Gospel as its ambassador is now in prison. With humble trust, Saint Paul asks the beloved Ephesians to pray that he may proclaim the Gospel boldly as he should.
The following article gives insight into the meaning of putting on the “armor of God” (Lisa Bogart in Daily Guideposts 2015, p. 340).
Most mornings I dress without much thought. My day-to-day routine does not require that I wear anything more elaborate than a clean T-shirt with jeans or a blouse and dress pants. And yet I enjoy dolling up for special occasions. A fancy night out requires planning. It takes time to select a dress, coordinate the accessories, do my hair, and figure out the shoes. It’s fun to present my prettiest self and I like seeing my husband in a tuxedo.
Just like the dressing up for a party, putting on the armor of God takes effort and each piece is chosen with intention. What if I dressed with such deliberate care every day? I imagine I would feel safe, blessed, privileged.
Today when I dress, I will buckle the belt of truth. I will pick up the sword of the Spirit. I will slip on the shoes of readiness. Today I will use my wardrobe as a reminder of Who my daily companion is.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Like Jesus, are we resolved to go on a spiritual journey that will bring to completion the Father’s saving plan?
2. Are we ready to fight in the ongoing spiritual warfare against the forces of evil? Do we intend to put on the “armor of God”? Do we pray in the name of Jesus that we may be strengthened?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Heavenly Father,
your Son Jesus journeys resolutely toward Jerusalem.
Totally committed to your saving will,
no threat of death can deter him.
Unite us to Jesus
that we may be strengthened in our paschal journey
and in our spiritual warfare against the forces of evil.
Clothe us with the armor of truth, justice and peace.
Help us to pray as we should and in the name of Jesus.
He lives and reigns, 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.
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem! I yearn to gather you together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.” (Lk 13:34) // “Put on the armor of God.” (Eph 6:13)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Be deeply aware that in our ongoing paschal journey a spiritual warfare is involved. Commit yourself to daily prayer in order to be strengthened spiritually by God’s mighty power.
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November 1, 2024: FRIDAY – ALL SAINTS
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the King of All the Saints”
BIBLE READINGS
Rv 7:2-4, 9-14 // I Jn 3:1-3 // Mt 5:1-12a
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
Today is the Feast of All Saints. The saints are people who have given intense and incisive witness that salvation comes from God and from the Paschal Lamb, Jesus Christ. The Beatitudes have animated and shaped their lives. Single-heartedly, these exemplary followers of Christ have pursued the goal of holiness to which all are called by God. Through this joyful feast, we celebrate the holiness of God manifested in the lives of the saints. We also thank the Lord for the triumph of righteousness. Today we proclaim our communion with the saints and invoke their intercession for us.
The saints are myriads – from every nation, race, people, and tongue (Rv 7:2-4, 9, 14). But all have trod the path of the Beatitudes (Mt 5:1-12a). As children of God, we too are called to be holy. Like the saints, we strongly hope “to see God as he is” in our glorious destiny in heaven (I Jn 3:1-3).
The biblical scholar Eugene Maly comments: “On this Solemnity of All Saints, Matthew, I John, and Revelation remind us that this is our day. We are to be joyous as we celebrate the solemn festival here below. Our lifetime is a pilgrimage to the heavenly city above. Yet it is only in the total commitment of our personality to Christ that we can make our robes white in his lifeblood and can have the total fulfillment of our hopes. It is in him that we live – and hope to die. We are pilgrims on our way home. The path is found in the beatitudes, and the end is found in heaven. Happy Feast Day!”
The following story, “What Goes Around Comes Around” illustrates the moral fiber and the spirit of sainthood. It gives us a glimpse of “heaven”. It also shows how wonderful our world could be if we live out fully the Gospel spirit of mercy and of the entire Beatitudes.
One day a man saw an old lady stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her. Even with a smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so! Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you. He said, “I’m here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.” Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hand hurt.
As he was tightening up the lug nut, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid. Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that would have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she would give that person the assistance needed, and Bryan added, “And think of me.” He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.
A few miles down the road, the lady saw a small café. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that being on her feet for the whole day couldn’t erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan. After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin. There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: “You don’t owe me anything … I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.” Under the napkin were four more $100 bills. Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day …
That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard … She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, “Everything is going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.”
Here is another example that holiness and sainthood continue to grace our life today. Ted Wojtkowski, as a young man, was privileged to witness one of the greatest acts of saintly heroism of the twentieth century. His encounter with Father Maximilian Kolbe changed his life and enabled him to be a man of hope (cf. Jay Copp, “Inspired by a Martyr” in Amazing Grace for the Catholic Heart, ed. Jeff Cavins, et. al., West Chester: Ascension Press, 2004, p. 26-29).
The year was 1939. In September, German tanks rumbled into Poland. The first village attacked by the Nazis was the home of Wojtkoswki, then a 20-year-old student. A patriot, Wojtkowski went underground. He and his buddies manned a shortwave radio to gather war news from London and then secretly printed leaflets to let villagers know what was occurring. Before long, Wojtkowski hopped on his father’s bicycle and headed toward Hungary. His destination was France, where he hoped to join the Polish army. The Nazis caught him at the border, jailed him, and sent him to Auschwitz on May 1, 1939.
Auschwitz was not a killing ground for Jews yet; the Nazis were using it for criminals and for foes of their regime, including priests and activists. Wojtkowski, living with eight-hundred men in a two-story barracks, was put to work building more barracks. The Nazis treated the prisoners brutally. Priests were especially singled-out for punishment – guards kicked them in the face and stomach and clubbed them over the head. When a prisoner escaped, all the others were ordered to stand in the sun for days, hands on their heads. After a second escape, ten prisoners were machine-gunned. The third escape occurred on or about July 28, 1941. One hundred members of Wojtkowski’s barracks were forced to stand in rows of ten. Ten of them would die. Wojtkowski stood in the eighth row. The camp commander ordered each row, one after the other, to step forward. He began a random selection. One, two, three were pulled from a group. Wojtkowski hoped that ten would be singled out before his row was reached.
A fourth, fifth, and sixth were picked. The sixth broke down. “My wife, my children …” he sobbed. “Who will take care of them?” A prisoner from the sixth row turned to the commander, “I will take the place of this man with the wife and children”, he said. Most remarkable of all was the volunteer’s demeanor. “His expression was so serene, so peaceful, not a shadow of fear”, Wojtkowski recalls. The commander, however, was not impressed. “You must be some kind of (expletive) priest”, he snarled. But he accepted him as one of the ten. The volunteer and nine others were locked in a bunker. The Nazis would not waste bullets on them. They would be starved to death. The man was indeed a priest, but not just any priest. He was Franciscan Father Maximilian Kolbe. Poles considered Kolbe a saint. His personal assistant Jerome Wierziba, once said of him: “He had something good in his face that emanated God. Just looking at him gave you peace of mind.”
Kolbe published religious magazines and newspapers read by more than one million Poles. He was widely admired, running the largest Catholic religious house in the world. Intensely devoted to the Blessed Mother, Kolbe supervised six-hundred-fifty friars at his City of the Immaculata, an evangelization center near Warsaw. The Nazis naturally regarded Kolbe with suspicion after they invaded Poland. When he resisted pressure to apply for German citizenship for which he was eligible, he was arrested on February 17, 1941.
When the guards were out of earshot, the prisoners shared information with one another about the fate of the ten in the bunker. Kolbe was leading the doomed in prayers and hymns, and a piece of bread had been smuggled in to be used in a Mass. After three weeks, Kolbe was the last to die. The Nazis, impatient to use the bunker to punish others, had a doctor inject poison into Kolbe to finish him off.
The more Wojtkowski thought about Kolbe’s self-sacrifice, the more astounded he was. Francis Gajowniczek, whom Kolbe had saved, was a peasant farmer. Kolbe, forty-seven, was one of the most accomplished men in Poland, a priest with many plans. Already he had begun a missionary center in Japan and was determined to open an evangelization center in each continent. And Kolbe, who possessed great drive and ambition, had given up all his dreams in a moment. He truly was a man of God, Wojtkowski realized. Kolbe saved not only Gajowniczek, but also Wojtkowski. Years of deprivation awaited Wojtkowski. There would be backbreaking labor and physical abuse. But Wojtkowski never lost his will to survive. “Father Kolbe inspired me”, he says. “After his sacrifice, I never thought I would die at Auschwitz. Someday I would be liberated and tell what happened.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
How does the vision of the great multitude of the redeemed and the beauty of the heavenly liturgy presented in the Book of Revelation affect you? Do you imagine your favorite saints to be participants in this heavenly worship? Do you wish to be united with the saints in their divine worship? What is the personal implication of the Gospel Beatitudes for you? Do you allow yourself to be inspired by the saints in the way they live the spirit of the Beatitudes? Are you deeply aware of our Christian identity as children of God? Do you look forward with hope to our glorious destiny of eternal life with God, with all the saints in heaven?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Father,
we thank you for the supreme gift of your Son Jesus Christ
whose glory is reflected in the lives of the saints.
The myriads of saints
“from every nation, race, people and tongue”
have trod the path of the Beatitudes.
Each saint has participated fully and uniquely
in the saving passion of your Son on the cross.
Let our lives be inspired
by their total configuration to Christ Redeemer.
In communion with the saints,
may we pursue our Christian vocation to holiness
and attain their glorious destiny with you in heaven.
Together with the multitude of the redeemed
and with all the saints in heaven,
we exclaim:
“Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving,
honor, power and might be to our God, 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.
“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” (Mt 5:12a)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray that we may respond fully to our Christian call to holiness. By incarnating the spirit of the Beatitudes, allow our fragmented world of today to have a glimpse of God’s infinite beauty and truth. Let those in need experience “a touch of the saints in heaven”.
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November 2, 2024: SATURDAY – THE COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED (All Souls’ Day)
“JESUS SAVIOR: In Him They Shall Be Greatly Blessed”
BIBLE READINGS
Suggestion: Wis 3:1-9 // Rom 5:5-11 // Jn 6:37-40
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
In the 9th century Amalareus of Metz (ca. 780-850 A.D.) suggested a day of commemoration for all the dead, similar to the consecration of a day in memory of all the saints. But it was only after many years that his wish would be fulfilled. The commemoration of all the faithful departed was first celebrated on November 2, 998 through the initiative of St. Odilo (ca. 962-1049), the fifth abbot of Cluny, and approved by Pope Sylvester II (ca. 940-1003). The Pope’s successors continued to favor the celebration of this feast in numerous Cluny monasteries, which in turn contributed to the diffusion of this feast throughout the Latin churches.
There is an intimate connection between the feast of All Saints (November 1) and the feast of All Souls (November 2). Both celebrate the paschal mystery of Christ, which is the basic foundation for the Christian vision of death and life after death. Our contemplation of the saving event of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection, in which the saints intimately participated on earth and continue to share gloriously and eternally in heaven, leads us naturally and spontaneously to the prayer for all the departed. We pray that our beloved dead, by the mercy of God, may also share fully and intimately in Christ’s paschal victory and in his gift of eternal life in heaven.
On the feast of All Souls, no particular biblical readings are prescribed, in contrast to other feast days. But there is a wide range of lectionary texts proposed from the Masses for the Dead. One favorite text is Wisdom 3:1-9, which offers consoling words about the eternal destiny of our faithful departed: “They are in the hand of God … they are in peace … their hope is full of immortality … chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed.” Combined with appropriate New Testament readings (e.g. Rom 6:3-9 and Jn 6:37-40, etc.) that avow the divine saving plan and the final destruction of death through Christ’s death and resurrection, this Wisdom text is very appropriate for the liturgy of All Souls Day. The insightful readings from the Masses for the Dead help Christian believers come to grips with the mystery of death that leads to eternal life
Our commemoration of the faithful departed should take into consideration the human experience of loss, hurt, and grieving, as well as our faith in Christ’s paschal mystery. With our faith and hope in the victorious death of Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord, we are heartened that death does not have the ultimate word and is not a total destruction. Death is merely a “transitus” or passing over – the enigmatic door that leads to eternal life.
St. Augustine recognizes the human need to mourn for the dead and the Christian faith that mitigates our sorrow. He remarks: “It is inevitable that we should be sad when those we love depart from us by dying. Although we know they are not leaving us forever, that they have but gone a little ahead of us, that we who remain will follow them, nevertheless our nature shrinks from death, and when it takes a loved one we are filled with sorrow simply because of our love for that person. That is why the Apostle did not tell us that we should not be saddened, but that we should not be saddened in the same way as those who have no hope (…) Faithful hearts should be allowed, then, to mourn for their loved ones, but with a grief that can be healed; let them shed over our mortal condition tears that can be wiped away, tears that can be quickly checked by the joy of that faith which assures us that when believers die they go but a little distance from us that they may pass to a better state.”
Moreover, St. Augustine counsels us what to do on behalf of our beloved dead: “There is no doubt that the dead are helped by the prayers of holy Church, by the saving sacrifice, and by the alms dispensed for their souls; these things are done that they may be more mercifully dealt with by the Lord than their sins deserve (…) Due attention should be paid to the burial and construction of tombs for the dead, according to our means, for these are counted as good works in the scriptures. But people whose love for their dead is spiritual as well as physical should pay much greater, more careful and more earnest attention to those things – sacrifices, prayers, and almsgiving – which can assist those who though their bodies may be dead are still alive in spirit.”
On the feast of All Souls we are greatly reminded of our duty to offer suffrage for the poor souls in purgatory. The following excerpt from the life of Padre Pio could inspire us to pray more intensely for the souls in purgatory (cf. “Padre Pio and Purgatory” in the booklet Padre Pio: A Catholic Priest Who Worked Miracles and Bore the Wounds of Jesus Christ in His Body by Bro. Michael Dismond, OSB, New York: Most Holy Family Monastery, p. 55-56).
One night Padre Pio was sitting alone in a room absorbed in prayer when an old man entered and sat next to him. “I looked at him but never thought of how he managed to get in the friary at that hour. I asked him: ‘Who are you? What do you want? The man answered: ‘Padre Pio, I am Pietro di Mauro, nicknamed Precoco. I died in this friary (in a fire) on September 18, 1908, in room number 4. I am still in Purgatory, and I need a Mass to free my soul from it. God has given me permission to come to you and ask for your prayers.’ After I had listened to his story, I said: ‘You can rest assured that I will celebrate Mass tomorrow for your liberation.’” Padre Pio then said that the Mass he celebrated the next day freed the man’s soul from Purgatory. One of the other priests at the friary later on checked the village records and found that such an individual had indeed died under the circumstances described by Padre Pio.
One day, some of the friars saw Padre Pio abruptly leave the table and begin to speak, as if he were speaking to someone. But no one was around Padre Pio to whom he could have been speaking. The friars thought Padre Pio was going crazy, and they asked him who he was speaking to. “Oh don’t worry, I was talking to some souls who were on their way from Purgatory to Heaven. They stopped here to thank me because I remembered them in my Mass this morning.”
Padre Pio said: “More souls of the dead from Purgatory than of the living climb this mountain to attend my Masses and seek my prayers.”
One time someone asked Padre Pio how Purgatory could be avoided. He replied, “By accepting everything from God’s hand. Offering everything up to Him with love and thanksgiving will enable us to pass from our deathbed to paradise.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
What is the meaning and importance of the Church’s feast of All Souls? What is the personal significance of this feast for us? How do we affirm the importance of Christ’s paschal elements in our celebration of the feast of All Souls? How does the human aspect of grieving enter into our celebration? How do we offer suffrage for our beloved dead and the poor souls in purgatory? In our memorial of the deceased, do we offer “sacrifices, prayers and almsgiving” on their behalf? Do we endeavor to visit the cemetery in November as part of our love and suffrage for our beloved dead?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
(Cf. Blessed Alberione’s Prayer for the Souls in Purgatory)
Lord, my Creator and Redeemer,
I believe that in your justice,
you established purgatory for those souls who pass into eternity
before having totally paid their debts of sin or punishment.
I also believe that in your mercy you accept suffrages,
particularly the holy sacrifice of the Mass,
for their relief and liberation.
Stir up my faith
and infuse in my heart sentiments of pity
toward these dear suffering brothers and sisters.
Lord, Jesus Christ, King of glory,
through the intercession of Mary and all the saints
free the souls of the faithful departed
from the punishments of purgatory.
And through the intercession of St. Michael,
standard-bearer of the heavenly army,
guide them to the holy light
promised to Abraham and to his descendants.
I offer you, Lord, sacrifices and prayers of praise.
Accept them for these souls and admit them to eternal joy.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. 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.
“The souls of the just are in the hand of God … Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed.” (Wis 3:1, 5)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
By your “sacrifices, prayers and almsgiving”, assist the poor souls in purgatory in their journey to heaven. In your daily endeavor to surrender to the saving will of God and to live a life of justice and charity, continue to manifest the communion of the Church in today’s world with the saints in heaven and with the poor souls in purgatory.
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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