A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday & Weekday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 19, n. 46)
Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time: October 10-16, 2021
(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 3-9, 2021 please go to ARCHIVES Series 19 and click on “Ordinary Time Week 27”.
Below is a LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY - WEEKDAY LITURGY:
October 10-16, 2021.)
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OCTOBER 10, 2021: TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Calls Us to a Radical Discipleship”
BIBLICAL READINGS
Wis 7:7-11 // Heb 4:12-13 // Mk 10:17-30
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A, Gospel Reading (Mk 10:17-30): “Sell what you have and follow me.”
Today’s Gospel (Mk 10:17-30) is about the rich man in pursuit of eternal life. The man has responded to the demands of the commandments. For one who lives under the Old Covenant, such a response would have been sufficient. And, indeed, Jesus looks at him and loves him. But Jesus, the absolute treasure and font of all good, goes further. The incarnate Wisdom offers a new challenge and demands a greater response. The challenge is absolute discipleship, the following of Christ who is the absolute good. Christian discipleship involves renunciation of human assurances and security. Jesus is the true wealth besides which everything pales in comparison. To follow Jesus is to pursue and make a radical choice for absolute good. Jesus invites the rich man to make a fundamental option for the incomparable wealth of his person.
The enormity of the challenge is expressed in the Semitic hyperbole of a camel passing through the eye of a needle. It is a choice of a loving and discerning heart. It is a choice made possible by the grace of God: “with God all things are possible” (Mk 10:30). The true option for Christ, the “treasure of all treasures” is guided by the wisdom of heart. This radical challenge is addressed to us all.
The life of Saint Anthony Abbot, the celebrated Father of Monks, who was born in Egypt around the year 250, illustrates a positive response to Christ’s call to a radical discipleship (cf. January 17 Office of the Reading: From the Life of Saint Anthony by Saint Athanasius).
When Anthony was about eighteen or twenty years old, his parents died, leaving him with an only sister. He cared for her as she was very young, and also looked after their home.
Not six months after his parents’ death, as he was on his way to church for his usual visit, he began to think of how the apostles left everything and followed the Savior, and also of those mentioned in the book of Acts who had sold their possessions and brought the apostles the money for distribution to the needy. He reflected too on the great hope stored up in heaven for such as these. This was all in his mind when, entering the church just as the Gospel was being read, he heard the Lord’s words to the rich man: If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor – you will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow me.
It seemed to Anthony that it was God who had brought the saints to his mind and that the words of the Gospel had been spoken directly to him. Immediately he left the church and gave away to the villagers all the property he had inherited, about 200 acres of very beautiful and fertile land, so that it would cause no distraction to his sister and himself. He sold all his other possessions as well, giving to the poor the considerable sum of money he collected. However, to care for his sister he retained a few things.
The next time he went to church he heard the Lord say in the Gospel: Do not be anxious about tomorrow. Without a moment’s hesitation he went out and gave the poor all that he had left. He placed his sister in the care of some well-known and trustworthy virgins and arranged for her to be brought up in the convent. Then he gave himself up to the ascetic life, not far from his own home. He kept a careful watch over himself and practiced great austerity. He did manual work because he had heard the words: If anyone will not work, do not let him eat. He spent some of his earnings on bread and the rest he gave to the poor.
Having learned that we should always be praying, even when we are by ourselves, he prayed without ceasing. Indeed, he was so attentive when Scripture was read that nothing escaped him and because he retained all he heard, his memory served him in place of books.
Seeing the kind of life he lived, the villagers and all the good men he knew called him the friend of God, and they loved him as both son and brother.
B. First Reading (Wis 7:7-11): “I deemed riches nothing in comparison to wisdom.”
When I read the newspaper account of the slayings of five schoolchildren of an Amish community at Lancaster County in Pennsylvania by a profoundly disturbed gunman, Charles Carl Roberts IV, who committed suicide during the attack, I grieved deeply. I have always regarded the Amish community with fascination. Greatly impressed by their serenity and peacefulness and enthralled by their life of simplicity, I complained almost angrily, “They do not deserve such brutality.” The violence inflicted on innocent young girls and the hurt it brought to the Amish community were absolutely senseless and deplorable. The following news report, however, moved me to tears and brought me consolation (cf. Fresno Bee, page 1 of the October 5, 2006 issue).
In just about any other community, a deadly school shooting would have brought demands from civil leaders for tighter gun laws and better security, and the victims’ loved ones would have lashed out at the gunman’s family or threatened to sue. But that’s not the Amish way. As they struggle with the slayings of five of their children in a one-room schoolhouse, the Amish in this Lancaster County village are turning the other cheek, urging forgiveness of the killer and quietly accepting what comes their way as God’s will. “They know their children are going to heaven. They know their children are innocent … and they know that they will join them in death,” said Gertrude Huntington, a Michigan researcher and expert on children in Amish society. “The hurt is very great,” Huntington said. “But they don’t balance the hurt with hate.” In the aftermath of Monday’s violence, the Amish are looking inward, relying on themselves and their faith, just as they have for centuries.
The Amish community’s choice to be peaceable and forgiving in the face of such tragedy and injustice is a gift of God - an act of grace. The spirit of God’s wisdom enabled them to endure injury with a forgiving heart and to reach out to the family of the gunman who had killed their beloved children. Indeed their wisdom-filled choice configured them more and more to God’s loving plan and engrafted them more intimately into it. The gift of wisdom that King Solomon prayed for and incarnated by Jesus Christ to the full has been poured out abundantly on this forgiving and peace loving Amish community.
In the Old Testament reading (Wis 7:7-11), which is taken from a Book attributed to King Solomon, the latter narrates that he prayed and pleaded to God, and the spirit of wisdom came upon him. Although written less than a hundred years before Jesus’ time, this Book was attributed to Israel’s third king because of his legendary wisdom. Harold Buetow explains: “The Book of Wisdom was written about 100 years before Christ, in Greek-dominated Alexandria in Egypt. The Jewish community there, though large in numbers, was in danger of losing its identity because of the twin dangers of Greek philosophy and Greek morals. It was a time when Jews were abandoning their faith in great numbers – for social acceptance, or to follow worldly philosophies, or to acquire material wealth … Solomon was like other people in being not specially disposed by birth toward wisdom. But, realizing that only wisdom can bring true happiness, he prayed for wisdom rather than power, riches, health, or good looks. As a result, he became a legend: for his own time, for Jews thereafter, and for all people. Indeed, even Jesus referred to the wisdom of Solomon (Lk 11:31).”
The gift of wisdom that King Solomon prayed for is the spirit of understanding that enables God’s faithful one to discern what is essential and meaningful. Personified as a woman, wisdom is the ability to comprehend what is truly important. It is a spiritual gift to recognize proper thought and behavior and helps a person to choose what is good. According to the authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 5: “This wisdom is the spirit of discernment, understanding of the heart, surety of judgment that shows with certainty what is good and what is evil. It particularly characterizes the leaders of his people to whom God had given his Spirit and the prophets. It would be given in overabundance to the Messiah in order that many might benefit by it. One day, Jesus exulted with joy upon seeing the wisdom shown by the little ones (cf. Mt 11:25-26), and he said that the Father would give the Holy Spirit to those who asked for it (cf. Lk 11:13).”
The Gospel reading (Mk 10:17-30) about the rich man who fails to pursue his initial choice of “eternal life” and is not able to make a fundamental option for the Kingdom, on account of his attachment to material goods, acquires greater depth and perspective against the backdrop of today’s Book of Wisdom reading (Wis 7:7-11). Jesus is the personification of wisdom. Jesus Wisdom allows us to discern, often beyond deceptive appearances, what is true, just and good. He comes to reorient lives toward God’s will. Those who open up their hearts to Jesus will receive the gift of a discerning heart and will be empowered by God to make a radical choice for the Gospel.
C. Second Reading (Heb 4:12-13): “The word of God discerns reflections and thoughts of the heart.”
Jesus Christ is the divine word personified – the word of God made flesh - to enlighten our core decisions in life. This Sunday’s Second Reading (Heb 4:12-13) gives wonderful insights on the word of God and underlines its efficacy and formidable capacity of discernment. God’s living and effective word penetrates to the innermost part of a person and forces him/her to come to grips with what really matters. It scours our entire being, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and reveals the deep truth about God’s love and our gracious destiny. Likewise, the life-giving word of God – the font of salvation Jesus - is as incisive as a two-edged sword in its power of judgment.
The 12th century Christian writer Baudouin de Ford remarks: “Yes, this Word is living, living in the heart of the Father, in the mouths of those who proclaim it, in the hearts of those who believe and love … When God’s words are heard, they pierce the believers’ hearts as the sharp arrows of the warrior (cf. Ps 120:4). They penetrate and remain in the heart’s innermost depths. This Word is sharper than a two-edged sword, more cutting than any force or power, more subtle than all the finesse of human genius, more pointed than every learned thrust of human discourse.”
I had a chance to shake hands with Mother Theresa of Calcutta when she went to an orphanage in Cebu, Philippines in 1976 and listen to the powerful words that came forth from her heart. She is an example of a full recipient of God’s grace of wisdom, of the Kingdom value and of the power of the word of God that “discerns reflections and thoughts of the heart”. The following excerpt from a discourse that she gave in 1994 to the political and religious leaders from across the United States for the National Prayer Breakfast, which included President Bill Clinton, the First Lady Hilary Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore, illustrates the power of the word of God and that Mother Theresa was indeed an instrument of the living and efficacious divine word that discerns and judges (cf. “Breakfast with a Champion” in Amazing Grace for the Catholic Heart, ed. Jeff Cavins, et. al. West Chester: Ascension Press, 2004, p. 227-234).
Let us thank God for the opportunity he has given us today to have come here to pray together. We have come here especially to pray for peace, joy, and love. We are reminded that Jesus came to bring the good news to the poor. He had told us what the good news is when he said, “My peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you.” He came not to give the peace of the world, which is only that we don’t bother each other. He came to give peace of heart which comes from loving, from doing good to others. (…)
Jesus died on the Cross because that is what it took for him to do good for us – to save us from our selfishness and sin. He gave up everything to do the Father’s will, to show us that we too must be willing to give everything to do God’s will, to love one another as he loves each of us.
St. John says that you are a liar if you say you love God and you don’t love your neighbor. How can you love God whom you do not see, if you do not love your neighbor whom you see, whom you touch, with whom you live? Jesus makes himself the hungry one, the naked one, the homeless one, the unwanted one, and he says, “You did it to me.”
I can never forget the experience I had in visiting a home where they kept all the old parents of sons and daughters who had just put them into an institution and, maybe, forgotten them. I saw that in that home these old people had everything: good food, a comfortable place, television, everything. But everyone was looking toward the door. And I did not see a single one with a smile on his face. I turned to Sister and I asked, “Why do these people, who have every comfort here – why are they looking toward the door? Why are they not smiling?” (I am so used to seeing smiles on our people. Even the dying ones smile.) And Sister said, “This is the way it is, nearly every day. They are expecting – they are hoping – that a son or daughter will come to visit them.” See, this neglect to love brings spiritual poverty. Maybe in our family we have somebody who is feeling lonely, who is feeling sick, who is feeling worried. Are we willing to give until it hurts, in order to be with our families? Or do we put our own interests first?
I was surprised in the West to see so many young boys and girls given to drugs. And I tried to find out why. Why is it like that, when those in the West have so many more things than those in the East? And the answer was, “Because there is no one in the family to receive them.” Our children depend on us for everything: their health, their nutrition, their security, their coming to know and love God. For all of this, they look to us with trust, hope and expectation. But often father and mother are so busy that they have no time for their children, or perhaps they are not even married, or have given up on their marriage. So the children go to the streets, and get involved in drugs, or other things. We are talking of love of the child, which is where love and peace must begin.
But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child – a direct killing of the innocent child – murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts. By abortion, the mother does not learn to love but kills her own child to solve her problems. And by the abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching the people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.
And for this I appeal in India and I appeal everywhere: “Let us bring the child back.” The child is God’s gift to the family. Each child is created in the special image and likeness of God for greater things – to love and be loved. This is the only way that our world can survive, because our children are the only hope for the future. As other people are called to God, only their children can take their places. But what does God say to us? He says, “Even if a mother could forget her child, I will not forget you. I have carved you in the palm of my hand. We are carved in the palm of his hand; that unborn child has been carved in the hand of God from conception, and is called by God to love and be loved, not only now in this life, but forever. God can never forget us.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Do we yearn for the gift of wisdom? Do we beg the Lord to give us this precious gift? How do we respond to Christ’s radical challenge to make a fundamental option for his person? Do we believe in Christ’s exhortation: “With God all things are possible”?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord God,
you made all things by your word.
Grant me Wisdom, the attendant at your throne.
Send her forth from your holy heavens
that she may be with me and work with me.
From your glorious throne dispatch her
that I may discern your compassionate plan for me.
Let your wisdom guide me
that I may have the strength to embrace
Christ’s call to radical discipleship
and be greatly filled
with heavenly treasures.
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.
“Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasures in heaven; then come, follow me.” (Mk 10: 21).
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for the gift of wisdom that will enable you to make a fundamental choice for Christ and follow him all the way. Take stock of your material possessions. Make a radical decision to share your material resources with the needy and to give to the poor.
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October 11, 2021: MONDAY – WEEKDAY (28); SAINT JOHN XXIII, Pope
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Gives Them the Sign of Jonah … Through Him We Have Received the Grace of Apostleship”
BIBLE READINGS
Rom 1:1-7 // Lk 11:29-32
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Lk 11:29-32): “This generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.”
I have a beautiful statue of the Holy Child Jesus (known in the Philippines as Santo Niño). It is enthroned in a prominent place in my room. Every morning and evening I kneel before him and offer special prayers for vocations. One day in 2012 I received a new assignment. From our convent in San Jose I was to be transferred to Fresno. But I was not sure whether I would bring the statue with me or leave it at our San Jose convent. I prayed to the Santo Niño to give me a “sign” where he wanted to be. By chance, I mentioned to Sr. Mary Lucy that I was praying for a “sign”. She spontaneously remarked: “Leave the Santo Niño in San Jose. I will keep it in my room.” That was the “sign” I was waiting for!
In today’s Gospel episode (Lk 11:29-32), the adversaries of Jesus ask for a “sign”, but he refuses to oblige to their terms. It is futile to give a further sign to an “evil generation” that chooses not to believe. His opponents have accused him of driving out demons by the power of Beelzebul. They have also demanded from him a sign of divine authority - proof that his authority comes from God and not from the prince of demons. Jesus counters that they will not be given any sign, except the “sign of Jonah”. Jonah was a prophet sent by God to the Ninevites to move them to conversion. Just as Jonah became a sign and means of salvation for the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be the sign and means of salvation for all generations and creation.
The pagan Ninevites and the Queen of the South are models of receptivity to the Word that summons us to conversion. Jesus is the incarnate wisdom and, as the Word of God, he is more than Jonah. Hence, the “paschal sign” of Christ is infinitely more powerful and efficacious than the “sign of Jonah”. Through Jonah, God generously extended forgiveness and salvation to the Assyrian Ninevites, a Gentile nation. But through the “Son of Man” Jesus Christ, God extends forgiveness and salvation to all nations.
B. First Reading (Rom 1:1-7): “Through Christ Jesus we have received the grace of apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among the Gentiles.”
In the next four weeks we will be hearing from the letter of Saint Paul to the Romans. This is written to prepare the way for a visit that Paul plans to make to the church in Rome. He plans to work among them for a while and, with their support, to proceed to Spain. In his letter to the Romans, Saint Paul explains his understanding of Christian faith and its practical implications for the lives of Christians. Writing to a church that is not yet personally acquainted with him, the apostle feels the need to introduce himself and his preaching in a fundamental way.
Today’s passage (Rom 1:1-7) is Paul’s introduction to his letter. It is the longest and most solemn greeting of all his letters. It indicates who the sender is and his qualifications for proclaiming the Gospel: “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle chosen and called by God to preach his Good News.” It delineates the main theme of the entire letter: “the good news that concerns Jesus Christ who is born a descendant of David, but is shown with great power as the Son of God by being raised from the dead.” Through him, God gave us the grace to be apostles so that we may lead people of all nations to believe and obey. Finally, the lengthy introduction concludes with a prayerful wish: “May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.”
We, too, by virtue of our baptismal consecration have received the grace of apostleship to bring about “the obedience of faith”. We, too, are called to proclaim the Gospel to all nations that all people might become completely obedient to God as a result of accepting and believing in Jesus. Pope Francis reiterates Saint Paul’s fundamental idea in his address at the World Youth Day in Brazil (cf. “Rio: Francis Sets His Agenda for the Whole Church” in Alive! September 2013, p. 3).
Pope Francis has dramatically signaled that he has no intention of leading a timid or fearful Church, or one that is “on the defensive”. For him the Church has joy for the whole world and she has to get out and share that good news with every person, accepting no limits or borders.
Addressing more than 3 million young Catholics at World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, including a 160-strong contingent from Ireland, Francis told them: “Jesus asks us to make his living Church so large that it can hold all humanity, that it can be a home for everyone! To me, to you, to each of us he says: ‘Go and make disciples of all nations’.”
Using an analogy from football, he urged the young to “go on the offensive! Play down the field, build a world of brothers and sisters, a world of justice, love and peace, fraternity, solidarity. Play always on the offensive!” Rejecting any tendency for Catholics to withdraw from society, he insisted: “The Gospel is for everyone, not just for some people. It is not only for those who seem closer to us, more receptive, more welcoming. It is for everyone.” He added: “Do not be afraid to go and to bring Christ into every area of life, to the fringes of society, even to those who seem farthest away, most indifferent.”
The theme for the week-long event was: ‘Go and make disciples of all nations’. The aim was to help every young Catholic to grasp that he or she is called to be a part of the Church’s mission. Picking up on this theme the Pope said: “It has been wonderful to live the faith together with young people from the four corners of the earth, but now you must go, now you must pass on this experience to others.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Are we receptive to the grace of God and his living Word calling us to conversion? Do we greatly welcome the “sign of Jonah” into our lives?
2. Do we believe that we too are apostles like Saint Paul, set apart for the Gospel of God? Do we believe that grace and peace from God and Jesus Christ are given to us?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Jesus Master,
we thank you for being the “sign of Jonah” par excellence.
Help us to welcome the “paschal sign”
of your death and resurrection into our life.
Let not the pagan Ninevites and the Queen of the South condemn us,
but let their positive response be our own inspiration.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
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O loving God,
we thank you for the great apostle Paul
and his zeal for the Gospel.
Make us realize and treasure
the grace of apostleship we have received from you
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Help us to lead people of all nations
to the obedience of faith.
Grant us the grace and peace
that flow from your goodness
to those who are obedient in faith.
We give you glory and honor, 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.
“No sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” (Lk 11:29) //“Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith.” (Rom 1:5)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for those who have difficulty perceiving and welcoming the “sign of Jonah” and the “paschal sign” of Jesus Christ into their life. By your acts of charity enable the people around you to relish the “paschal sign” of Christ who calls us to salvation and sanctification. // In your own little way, by your word and actions, manifest to the world the saving Gospel and its all-inclusive and joy-giving character.
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October 12, 2021: TUESDAY - WEEKDAY (28)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Teaches the Importance of Almsgiving ,,, He is the Gospel, the Power of God”
BIBLE READINGS
Rom 1:16-25 // Lk 11:37-41
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Lk 11:37-41): “Give alms and behold, everything will be clean for you.”
When I was a young girl, I was trained to scoop up a cup of grains from the rice bin whenever the “alabado” (a beggar) knocked at our door. I would solemnly offer it to him. He would pour my offering in his woven basket and utter words of blessing. That childhood formation on almsgiving had a great effect on me. It helped me to be more compassionate and caring for the poor and needy.
Today’s Gospel (Lk 11:37-41) contains a revolutionary statement of Jesus about almsgiving. In the context of his polemic with the Pharisees, who are more concerned with ritual cleanliness than with cleanliness of the soul, Jesus asserts: “But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.” Indeed, almsgiving is purifying. It liberates us from evil tendencies that lead to self-destruction. Jesus teaches the ritually conscious Pharisees and all of us that charity is above hand-washing rules and other humanly contrived regulations that are hard to bear. Jesus motivates his disciples to be deeply concerned with the needy and vulnerable. To take a legalistic stance and a hypocritical attitude would seriously compromise the meaning of Christian discipleship, which is deeply animated by love of God and neighbor.
The following article, circulated on the Internet, gives insight into the importance of almsgiving in the Christian life.
“Alms” is a word from Old English that refers to something, like food or money, given to the poor. As a practice, almsgiving can include many things, such as making a donation to a charitable organization or tithing to a religious institution (that is, giving one-tenth a part of something). Almsgiving is part of our baptismal calling, as it is one way to take care of our brothers and sisters, both locally and globally, and to provide for the needs of the “least of these.” In a sense, almsgiving is putting money where our mouths are, that is, giving a material gift as a sign of our commitment to follow in the steps of Jesus.
Like fasting, almsgiving is a practice that encourages us to think about our lives and ourselves in new ways. Almsgiving encourages focusing on what we have to give, rather than on what we can get for ourselves. It also can help correct our attitude toward material possessions. Rather than hoarding our things out of fear that we may not have enough, almsgiving encourages us to express gratitude for all that God has given to us by giving some away. Small acts of almsgiving help us to grow in charity, leading toward recognition of Jesus Christ in the poor of our world. Almsgiving takes us beyond an attitude of “it’s just me and God,” as we respond to the needs of others, of those who participate in the Body of Christ with us. (…)
Almsgiving and tithing do not have to involve money. Take a look at your closet and what is in your room. Could you donate 10% of your clothes, items that are in good condition that you do not use but that someone else could? Do you have books in good condition that could be donated to a homeless shelter or school? Think about how many hours of “free time” you have each week. Could you donate 10% of that time to charity or justice work — serving lunch at a soup kitchen, writing letters for Amnesty International, joining Big Brother/Big Sister?
B. First Reading (Rom 1:16-25): “Although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God.”
Today’s First Reading (Rom 1:16-25) underlines the power of the Gospel to save all who believe, first the Jews and also the Gentiles. The Gospel reveals how God puts people right with himself through faith. Saint Paul reinforces his assertion by citing the prophet Habakkuk: “The person who is put right with God through faith shall live.”
In the second part of today’s passage, Saint Paul complains about the guilt of mankind. They know God but they do not give him the honor and gratitude that belong to him. They serve what God has created instead of the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever and ever. They claim to be wise, but they are fools. Instead of worshipping the immortal God, they worship images made to look like mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. They do filthy things and do shameful things with each other. They suppress the truth by their wickedness. They exchange the truth about God for a lie.
Concerning the suppression of truth, the following article, humorous but insightful, makes us understand the evil tactic (cf. “Dumbag Writes …! Letter from a Master to a Trainee Tempter: Gotta make it look real good” in Alive! September 2013, p. 16)
Dear Nettles,
Our chief as you know is called “the Father of Lies”, a wonderful tribute to his achievements! It’s also immensely significant. He’s not called the Father of Fornication or the Father of Theft or the Father of Corruption or even the Father of Idolatry. Nope, the focus is on lies.
So, if you aspire to greatness down here, if you want the admiration of both senior and junior tempters, you have to become not just a skillful liar, but also a promoter of lies. I want to probe this a bit more with you, to dig below the surface.
The first thing you need to grasp is that human beings are made with a powerful, in-built inclination to goodness. They are drawn, and drawn exclusively, to what looks good to them. Over the centuries we have done everything in our power to eradicate this tendency, attraction, call it what you will. But without the slightest success. So much for evolution! It’s as strong and deep now as ever it was. Only what is good, or looks good, attracts them. In his own image, as he said it.
But very early on a task force down here came up with a solution, a solution that has stood the test of time. Make evil look good, make it look attractive, they advised. It was the birth of lying. The first victims were Eve and Adam, remember the Garden story and we have never looked back since. Lying is the most effective weapon in our armory. So, whether the evil is tiny or colossal, our slogan is the same: “Make it look good.”
Let me give you a few examples. A married man is attracted to another woman. He thinks an affair would betray his wife and possibly destroy his family. So he backs off. But we tell him, “Don’t be silly, an affair would put more zest into your marriage and besides, this is the chance of a lifetime, you only live once.” The adultery now looks good. The fool falls for our deception, for our lie, starts an affair, wrecks his own and her marriage, and for us it’s five ups all around.
Of course, the really adventurous lie, if it’s pulled off with confidence and even “compassion”, can have staggering results. We sold World War I as “the war to end all wars”. Talk about “make it look good”, it couldn’t be better than that. Millions of poor fools bought the lie and brought unspeakable horror on themselves and on “enemies” who had never done them a moment’s harm.
Or who would ever have believed that we could convince the world that killing unborn children was good for the babies, for their mothers and for society? That we could have convinced Catholic politicians to defend and vote for such evil? Even I find such an achievement totally mind-blowing.
So, if you want to really understand any evil whatever, big or small, spot the liars and the lie, then start digging.
Yours truthfully,
Dumbag
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we realize the importance of “almsgiving” in the practice of Christian discipleship and in the cleansing of evil tendencies that lead to self-destruction? Are we guilty of concerning ourselves with external observances but not with inner attitudes and personal integrity?
2. Do we truly believe that the Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone? How do we treasure the Gospel and proclaim it in our world today? Are we aware that we are vulnerable to the deception of “the Father of Lies”? Do we turn to Jesus Master, the Way, Truth and Life, for help?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Jesus,
we thank you for calling us to personal integrity
and for teaching us
that charity preempts mere legal observance.
Help us to appreciate
the power and beauty of almsgiving.
Grant us the grace
to exercise almsgiving creatively and efficaciously.
Let us manifest our living faith through works of love.
You are our self-giving Lord, now and forever.
Amen.
***
Dear Father, our gracious God,
we are weak and vulnerable.
We can easily succumb
to the temptations of “the Father of Lies”.
Strengthen us by the grace of the Holy Spirit
and by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
Help us to be obedient and faithful to you.
Let us embrace the Gospel and its power of salvation.
We give you thanks 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.
“Give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.” (Lk 11:41) //“The Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” (Rom 1:16)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Practice almsgiving creatively and with personal dedication. In your daily life manifest your faith through works of love. // Be deeply aware of your words and actions. By the grace of God, let them be free from any falsehood. Let them be characterized by truth and at the service of the Gospel.
*** %%% *** %%% *** %%% ***
October 13, 2021: WEDNESDAY – WEEKDAY (28)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Denounces the Pharisees and the Lawyers … He Is the Judgment of God”
BIBLE READINGS
Rom 2:1-11 // Lk 11:42-46
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Lk 11:42-46): “Woe to you Pharisees! Woe also to you scholars of the law!”
A religious habit, the special dress worn by Sisters, is a sign of religious consecration and a witness to poverty. To wear a religious habit entails blessings as well as responsibilities. People have high expectations of those wearing a religious habit. They are deluded when a Sister’s behavior does not conform to the high ideals they profess. Once, I was at a crowded boarding area in the Houston airport, trying to catch my connecting flight to San Jose. Since I was eager to board immediately and find a space for my bulky carry-on luggage, I unwittingly cut into the passengers’ line. One disgusted lady muttered: “How shameful!” I felt very sorry and ashamed. The irked passenger was justified in chastising me. I therefore resolved to be more attentive and respectful of the rights of other passengers.
In today’s Gospel episode (Lk 11:42-46), Jesus is fully justified in chastising the Pharisees and scribes for their lapses and hypocrisy. They have distorted their priorities and have neglected the essentials. They pay tithes meticulously, but fail to pay the debt of justice and charity. They seek recognition in synagogues and marketplaces, but fail to give honor to God through integrity of heart. They are to lead the people on the right path, but by their hypocrisy and false teachings they lead them astray instead. Hence, his description of them as “unseen graves” is very fitting. Jesus likewise admonishes the scholars of the law for imposing on people heavy burdens which they themselves do not wish to carry. They use the law to punish the people instead of interpreting it for them as a gift of God. The Pharisees and scribes, having studied the Torah and the prophetic writings, should have set their priorities right. With all the special resources and tools they have received, they should have known better. On account of the greater graces they have received, they have greater accountability and responsibility.
B. First Reading (Rom 2:1-11): “God will repay each according to his works, Jew first and then Greek.”
In today’s First Reading (Rom 2:1-11), Saint Paul asserts that there is no partiality with God who judges by the same standard. God judges the hypocritical: those who condemn others but do the very same evil things others do. He also judges those who despise his patience and kindness and refuse his merciful call to repentance. The selfish and the wrongdoers are the object of his righteous wrath. Affliction and suffering come upon those who do evil, both Jews and Gentiles alike. God rewards everyone according to his works. He gives glory, honor and peace to the righteous and to all who do what is good, whether Gentile or Jew. Each person thus reaps the consequences of one’s deeds.
The following story gives us a glimpse into the meaning of divine retribution (cf. J.L Witterick, My Mother’s Secret, Bloomington: iUniverse, Inc., 2013, p. 173-175).
Epilogue: This book is fictional, but was inspired by the true story of Franiszka Halamajowa, who with her daughter saved the lives of fifteen Jews in Poland during the Second World War. She also hid a young German soldier in her attic at the same time. Her son died while transporting a wagon full of supplies to partisan Jews hiding in the forest.
Before the war, there were six thousand Jews in Sokol, Poland. Only thirty survived the war and half of those because of one Polish woman, Franciszka. I believe that all of us, like Franciszka, have within us the potential to be great. Sometimes we coast through life without this potential surfacing because life has been easy on us.
When we have much to lose, but still choose to do the right thing, we uncover the nobility that is within all of us. To endure what is unbearable and to do it with grace, that is how we know that we have arrived.
In 2012, I visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, where there is tree planted and a plague to honor Franciszka Halamajowa and her daughter Helena. People who were not Jewish, but who nevertheless risked their lives to help the Jews escape execution during the Holocaust, are recognized as “the Righteous among the Nations” in Israel. This is how Franciszka and her daughter are remembered.
It was my son, Matthew, who actually found the tree, as bushes had grown in front of the plague, preventing me from seeing it initially. Upon seeing their names there in print before me, I was overcome with emotion. I had written about this woman and her daughter and had imagined their lives, but here was the evidence that they indeed did exist. I didn’t realize how deeply I would feel at this moment.
Planting a tree to remember them by feels right.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do I behave in ways that deserve censure and condemnation? What do I do to rectify the awful things I have done?
2. Do we believe that God repays everyone according to his deeds? How does this realization affect our lives?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Heavenly Father,
we thank you for Jesus, the Divine Master.
He exposes our hypocrisy and duplicity
that we may rectify our evil ways.
He leads us on the road to wholeness and personal integrity.
Help us to love God wholeheartedly
and serve our neighbors devotedly.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
***
Heavenly Father,
just and true are your ways.
You discern our hearts
and judge us according to our deeds,
whether Jews or non-Jews.
We believe that there will be glory, honor and peace
for everyone who does good.
Teach us to do what is right and good
and thus be repaid accordingly.
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.
“You pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.” (Lk 11:42) //“God repays everyone according to his works.” (Rom 2:6)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
When you receive some chastisement for a failure or a misdeed, do not react negatively, but humbly welcome it. Resolve to rectify your actions so as to become a better disciple of Christ. // In your daily affairs, strive always to do good and give your very best, animated by a desire to give glory to God and to work for personal sanctification.
*** *** ***
October 14, 2021: THURSDAY – WEEKDAY (28); SAINT CALLISTUS I, Pope, Martyr
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Suffered Persecution … He Is Our Justification”
BIBLE READINGS
Rom 3:21-30 // Lk 11:47-54
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Lk 11:47-54): “The blood of the prophets is required, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah.”
In today’s Gospel reading (Lk 11:47-54), Jesus calls the scribes or teachers of the Law to accountability. They build fine tombs for the prophets their ancestors murdered. But their hostility and resistance to Jesus’ prophetic words replicate the very actions of their ancestors who persecuted and killed the prophets. Moreover, the Divine Master lambastes them for “taking away the key of knowledge”. They have distorted the true understanding of God and salvation. By perverting and misusing the Law, they are not able to enter God’s kingdom and stop others who are trying to come in. Today’s episode ends ominously. When Jesus leaves, the scribes join the Pharisees in criticizing him bitterly. Moreover, they lay traps for him, intending to catch him saying something wrong.
The following modern day account gives insight into the hostility and persecution that Jesus suffered (cf. Elizabeth Sherrill in Daily Guideposts 2014, p. 220).
Rebmann Wamba, Presbyterian Pastor: It was a typical noisy market scene in Kenya, except for the sudden silence surrounding the stall where Rebmann Wamba had stopped to bargain over a stalk of matoke bananas. It was the same at the poultry vendor’s, where he purchased a chicken (live), and the tea seller’s, where he counted out the copper for two tea bags.
My husband and I were interviewing Wamba about his transformation from violent Mau Mau chieftain to ordained Presbyterian pastor. Once hailed as a freedom fighter, he’d told us, he’d become a despised outsider. We saw this now ourselves as hostile eyes followed him on his errands.
The chicken and tea were luxuries in our honor. Wamba had invited us to Sunday dinner with his wife and eight children in their mud-and-wattle home in Ngecha, and afterward to the service at his church. Walls were all it had. No roof. No floor. But a congregation overflowing the wood-plank benches. A drummer beat out the rhythm of a joyous opening hymn. For two hours, Wamba preached in Kiswahili while we watched the rapt faces of this embattled minority.
With the closing hymn, a collection was taken. The congregation’s offerings, Wamba has told us, were the church’s only support. I looked into the basket, which held a few penny coppers, two eggs, and an ear of corn. How long, I wondered, till a roof rose over these walls? And how long had I taken for granted the roof over our lovely stone church at home? How long had I tranquilly called myself a Christian and never encountered the hostile gaze of a neighbor?
Remind me, Lord, of all those who have paid the price for following You.
B. First Reading (Rom 3:21-30): “A person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.”
In today’s First Reading (Rom 3:21-30), Saint Paul continues to give insight into Christian life. The essence of the Gospel is salvation through faith in the Christ’s sacrificial death. A new period in human history begins in the coming of Jesus Christ. His coming manifests that God is righteous. Everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence. But by the free gift of God’s grace we are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets us free. Saint Paul then shares with us his remarkable insight: “For we conclude that a person is put right with God only through faith, and not by doing what the Law commands.” Indeed, if our justification is by faith in Jesus Christ and not through literal observance of the Law, then salvation is for all, Jews and Gentiles alike.
The life of David Link exemplifies a living faith that upholds the spirit of the Law and promotes human salvation (cf. Jeanette Flood, “Law School Dean-Turned-Priest Brings Healing to Prisoners” in Our Sunday Visitor, September 27, 2013, p. 6-7).
David T. Link, longtime dean of the University of Notre Dame Law School, had become a Catholic priest and a prison chaplain … Dean Link was in his 70s, a father and grandfather, and his curriculum vitae also included four doctorates and the titles of founding president of University of Notre Dame in Australia and provost of St. Augustine University in South Africa. (…)
Father Link’s story is full of surprises. The first surprise was when Dean Link’s wife, Barbara, suggested to him about 15 years ago that he consider volunteering at a prison … When Barbara Link died in 2003, Link’s family and friends feared that he might soon follow her. He began volunteering at the prison more often “as a sort of therapy”. “I needed to be needed”, he said.
This led to the next surprise: a personal invitation from his bishop. Bishop Dale Melczek of Gary, Indiana contacted him, saying, “You’ve been doing a lot of prison ministry; I need a prison chaplain. Would you consider going into the seminary?” Link replied that he had been thinking of entering the diaconate. The bishop countered, “I was thinking of priesthood.” (…)
After completing his studies at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Wisconsin, Father Link was ordained to the priesthood in June 2008. (…)
Although Father Link’s path to his vocation may be unusual, there are hints from his life experiences that make his story not quite as surprising as it might first seem. From the beginning, his law practice included regular pro bono work, and he set aside every Thursday for those who could not afford to pay him.
As an attorney, he developed an elevated view of his profession: the purpose of the law was to bring about healing. This perspective lead in practice to an astounding record of mediation: all his cases were settled out of court. He also brought this unique outlook to Notre Dame as professor and dean, passing this lofty perspective on to thousands of students and transforming the law school in the process.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Have you ever met hostility or persecution for proclaiming the Christian faith? How did you respond to it?
2. Do we believe that our justification is through faith in the sacrificial and life-giving event of Christ’s death on the cross? What is our attitude to the law in the Church?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Father,
we praise you for the bounty of your spiritual blessings.
Strengthen us when we suffer persecution and hostility
for being true to our faith.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
***
Loving God,
by the free gift of your grace
you have reconciled us
through the blood bath of your Son Jesus Christ.
We are justified by faith
and not by personal achievement
nor the works of the law.
Forgive us our sins
and let us be put right with you
for you are our loving and merciful God,
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.
“They began to act with hostility toward him.” (Lk 11:53) // “A person is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (Rom 3:28)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for today’s persecuted Christians and see in what way you can help Christian refugees. // Strive to understand more about the role and meaning of the law in the Church. Overcome any personal tendency to blind legalism that is detrimental to the life of the faith community.
*** *** ***
October 15, 2021: FRIDAY – SAINT TERESA OF JESUS, Virgin, Doctor of the Church
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Encourages Us Not To Be Afraid”
BIBLE READINGS
Rom 4:1-8 // Lk 12:1-7
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Lk 12:1-7): “Even the hairs of your heart have all been counted.”
The central message of today’s Gospel reading (Lk 12:1-7) is: do not be afraid to speak out for Jesus and proclaim his kingdom of justice and right. The kingdom of God message, proclaimed once by Jesus, must be repeated to every generation as a fearless witness to truth. The all-knowing and compassionate God who cares for the sparrows has even greater care for the faithful disciple who sacrifices his life for the spread of the Gospel. Jesus argues that enemies may destroy the body, but not the soul. The worst aggressions against the body do not always succeed in reaching the person’s inner core where true dignity and greatness reside. God, who knows when a small bird dies and perceives the destiny of each creature, is mindful of the trials and anguish endured by the disciples on behalf of God’s kingdom. His Son Jesus therefore encourages us not to be afraid.
Blessed Pedro Calungsod of the Philippines was canonized on October 22, 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI. The following, circulated on the Internet, is an account of his martyrdom.
Pedro Calungsod (c. 1654 – 2 April 1672) was a young Roman Catholic Filipino migrant, sacristan and missionary catechist, who along with Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores, suffered religious persecution and martyrdom on Guam for their missionary work in 1672. Through Calungsod and San Vitores' missionary efforts, many native Chamorros converted to Roman Catholicism. Calungsod was beatified on 5 March 2000 by Blessed Pope John Paul II. On 18 February 2012, Pope Benedict XVI officially announced that Calungsod will be canonised on 22 October 2012
Calungsod (spelled Calonsor in Spanish records) was born ca. 1655. Few details of his early life prior to missionary work and death are known. It is probable that he received basic education at a Jesuit boarding school, mastering the Catechism and learning to communicate in Spanish. He likely honed his skills in drawing, painting, singing, acting, and carpentry as these were necessary in missionary work. Calungsod would have been expected to have some aptitude in serving in the Tridentine Mass (now known as the Extraordinary form of the Roman Rite).
Calungsod, then around 14, was among the exemplary young catechists chosen to accompany the Jesuits in their mission to the Ladrones Islands (Islas de los Ladrones or “Isles of Thieves”). In 1668, Calungsod travelled with Spanish Jesuit missionaries to these islands, renamed the Mariana Islands (Las Islas de Mariana) the year before in honour of both the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the Queen Regent of Spain, María Ana of Austria, who funded their voyage. Calungsod and San Vitores went to Guam to catechise the native Chamorros. Missionary life was difficult as provisions did not arrive regularly, the jungles and terrain was difficult to traverse, and the islands were frequently devastated by typhoons. Despite all these, the mission persevered, and was able to convert a significant number of locals. A Japanese merchant named Choco began spreading rumours that the baptismal water used by missionaries was poisonous. As some sickly Chamorro infants who were baptised eventually died, many believed the story and held the missionaries responsible. Choco was readily supported by the macanjas (medicine men) and the urritaos (young males) who despised the missionaries.
In their search for a runaway companion named Esteban, Calungsod and San Vitores came to the village of Tumon, Guam on 2 April 1672. There they learnt that the wife of the village chief Mata'pang gave birth to a daughter, and they immediately went to baptise the child. The missionaries gathered the children and some adults of the village at the nearby shore and started chanting with them the tenets of the Catholic religion. They invited Mata'pang to join them, but he shouted back that he was angry with God and was fed up with Christian teachings.
Determined to kill the missionaries, Mata'pang went away and tried to enlist another villager, named Hirao, who was not a Christian. Hirao initially refused, mindful of the missionaries' kindness towards the natives, but when Mata'pang branded him a coward, he became piqued and capitulated. Meanwhile, during that brief absence of Mata'pang from his hut, San Vitores and Calungsod baptised the baby girl, with the consent of her Christian mother.
When Mata'pang learnt of his daughter's baptism, he became even more furious. He violently hurled spears first at Pedro, who was able to dodge the spears. Witnesses claim that Calungsod could have escaped the attack, but did not want to leave San Vitores alone. Those who knew Calungsod personally meanwhile believed that he could have defeated the aggressors with weapons; San Vitores however banned his companions to carry arms. Calungsod was hit in the chest by a spear and he fell to the ground, then Hirao immediately charged towards him and finished him off with a machete blow to the head. San Vitores absolved Calungsod before he too was killed. Mata'pang took San Vitores' crucifix and pounded it with a stone whilst blaspheming God. Both assassins then denuded the corpses of Calungsod and San Vitroes, tied large stones to their feet, brought them out to sea on their proas and threw them into the water. In the Roman Catholic Church, Calungsod's martyrdom is called In Odium Fidei or In Hatred of the Faith, referring to the religious persecution endured by the person in evangelisation.
B. First Reading (Rom 4:1-8): “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
The reading (Rom 4:1-8) underlines that God’s mercy is gratuitous. Saint Paul gives the example of patriarch Abraham who was justified by faith and not by the performance of deeds listed by the Jewish Torah. Bereft of children Abraham factually presented to God the likely consequence that the slave Eleazar would be his heir. God assures him that his very own son would be his heir and not Eleazar. The Lord likewise tantalized him with the words: “Look at the sky and try to count the stars; you will have as many descendants as that.” Abraham trusted in the Lord’s promise of true heir and numerous progeny, and because of this the Lord was pleased with him and accepted him (cf. Gen 15:6). The faith of Abraham entails acceptance of the Lord God at his word and his willingness to abide and live by it. It likewise includes hope in a promise that no mere human being could generate. Moreover, Saint Paul reiterates his principle of “justification by faith” and gratuitous mercy by citing Psalm 32:1-2. The Scripture passage he cites highlights the happiness of the person whom God accepts as righteous, apart from anything the person does. Abraham is thus the father of all the Gentiles (the uncircumcised) who are saved and justified by faith.
The following modern-day story gives insight into the indomitable faith of Abraham (cf. Jill Savage in Guideposts 2015, p. 24).
For months my husband, Mark, and I had been saving up to get a third family car so that our daughter Anne would have something to drive when she turned 16. With four children, another car – and another driver – in the family would be a godsend. Then came the bad news: our well had dried up, and so did our savings when we drilled a new one.
“I guess I’ll just have to pray for a car”, Anne said when we told her. Anne wasn’t just being a good sport. She really prayed for that car. “I’m praying specifically, just like you taught me”, she explained to me one evening while we were doing the dishes. “I asked God for automatic transmission because I don’t drive stick, four doors so my brothers and sister can climb in and out easily. And I asked that it be blue because that’s my favorite color.”
“That’s a tall order”, I said. Of course God could provide Anne with al those things, but that didn’t mean he would. “You could learn to drive stick, or deal with having only two doors”, I suggested, handing her a plate to dry. “And it doesn’t matter if the car’s blue, right?” “I know”, Anne said. “But God says we should ask specifically for what we want, so that’s what I’m doing. I leave the rest to him.”
Later that night I confided in Mark. “I don’t mind her being disappointed by us, but I don’t want her to ever feel being disappointed by God.” “Don’t worry so much”, Mark told me. “She knows that the prayer is more important sometimes than the answer.”
The next morning I climbed out of bed, got a cup of tea and checked my e-mail. On one message I recognized the name of a man I knew from church. He was buying a new car, and remembered that we had a daughter who had just turned 16. Would we like his old car – for free? “It’s automatic transmission, four door, perfect for a young driver”, he wrote. “Oh, and I don’t know if it matters, but it’s blue.
Little did he know how much it mattered.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. In our Christian mission, are we brave and fearless in proclaiming the truth that is Jesus? Trusting in the irresistible power of the Kingdom of God, do we respond positively to Jesus’ exhortation not to be afraid in the face of trials and persecutions?
2. Like Abraham, our father in faith, do we recognize and rejoice that his saving grace is gratuitous? What is the personal implication of this reality?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus, you assure us: “Do not be afraid.”
Make us courageous witnesses of your Gospel.
We trust in the heavenly Father’s care for us,
knowing that we are worth more than sparrows
and that the hairs of our head have all been counted.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
***
O loving God, our Father and Creator,
the patriarch Abraham put his faith in you.
Help us to trust in you
and rejoice in your free-gift of saving grace.
Teach us to put our faith into practice.
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.
“Do not be afraid.” (Lk 12:7) // “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Rom 4:3; Gen 15:6)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for Christian missionaries who promote the Kingdom value with courage and conviction. Pray for those who have been persecuted, tortured and killed. // When challenged by very difficult situations, remember Abraham’s faith-response and imitate it.
*** *** ***
October 16, 2021: SATURDAY – WEEKDAY (28); SAINT HEDWIG, Religious; SAINT MARGARET MARY ALACOQUE, Virgin; BVM ON SATURDAY
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Invites Us to Trust in the Holy Spirit … He Is a Descendant of Abraham, our Father in Faith”
BIBLE READINGS
Rom 4:13, 16-18 // Lk 12:8-12
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Lk 12:8-12): “The Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”
In December 1989 I was to make a public defense of my doctoral dissertation, “James Alberione and the Liturgical Movement” at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of St. Anselm in Rome. I was anxious and distressed, but the Gospel reading at Mass during the day of the thesis defense gave me strength: “Do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.” The Holy Spirit truly came to my aid. Everything went well and I even got a “ten out of ten” for my oral defense.
In today’s Gospel reading (Lk 12:8-12), Jesus assures his followers through time and space that they have the Holy Spirit to speak for them in times of trial. Christians subjected to persecution have the Holy Spirit as their teacher and defender. They need not worry how to defend themselves or what words to say when they are brought to court. The Holy Spirit will give them strength and wisdom to witness to their faith in Jesus. But they need to be receptive to the Spirit and allow him to work in them. To reject the Holy Spirit who offers forgiveness, repentance and renewal is to reject salvation. Jesus’ contemporaries who rejected him during his earthly ministry would have another chance through the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost. But to resist the Holy Spirit, the Easter gift, is to refuse deliberately the Father’s saving will. To close oneself to the Spirit is to negate the experience of God’s peace and reconciliation.
B. First Reading (Rom 4:13, 16-18): “Abraham believed, hoping against hope.”
In today’s First Reading (Rom 4:13, 16-18), Saint Paul presents the patriarch Abraham as a model of the Christian believer. Abraham’s faith is a sign of Christian faith. Though Abraham has so many human motives for despairing of ever having God’s posterity, he submits himself in faith to God. Abraham believes and hopes, even when there seems to be no reason for hoping. He has faith in the creative power of God to do what seems impossible. God brings life out of Sarah’s dead womb. And so Abraham becomes “the father of many nations”. Like Abraham we are called to believe in a God who brings life out of death, not only in the dead womb of Abraham’s wife, but above all, in raising the sacrificed body of his Son Jesus Christ to new life. As Church, a community of faith, through our baptismal rebirth in Jesus Christ we become the privileged descendants of Abraham in faith.
The faith of Abraham continues to be manifested by Christian disciples through all ages for example through the first Society of Saint Paul priest, Blessed Timothy Giaccardo. Let us recall his experience of faith and the testing of his faith as he tried to obtain permission to enter the fledging Pauline Family founded by his professor and spiritual director, Blessed James Alberione (cf. Tom Fogarty’s article in Concord magazine on Blessed Timothy).
Events are speeding up.
Today the Spiritual Director and Canon Chiesa told me it’s time to make a move. O God, I am nothing, needed for nothing. Help me to make this transition. I will make a Triduum of prayer for this intention: to Jesus, Creator of the world and to Mary, hope of sinful humanity; to Mary Queen of Apostles and to Jesus our Redeemer. And on the third day I will receive the Blessed Eucharist.
Some time later.
Mary, here I am at the vigil of the great day when I desire to enter the family of Fr. Alberione, get to know my Sisters and begin to live with my dear Brothers. Now I have to ask the Bishop permission to leave the Seminary.
This request raised various difficulties – remembering also the relationships between clerics of that age and their Bishops: very different from the relationships existing today.
This evening I asked permission. The Bishop showed that he was aware of my situation and asked if I wanted to remain a cleric, become a priest and then obey Fr. Alberione rather than the Bishop. I replied in the affirmative. He thought about this reply for some considerable time and then replied that, if I wished to have his permission to leave, I could no longer wear my cassock. I told him I was quite determined to leave but would be reluctant to leave the cassock aside.
This interview took place on May 17. A week later, we read.
The Bishop called me again and asked me about my studies. He then said that, if I intended to remain a cleric, he wanted me to continue in the seminary. With Fr. Alberione I will never be a priest as I plan to be. Father cannot be all that sure that he is doing the will of God. Of course I am free to try out my call but I am being invited to that house just because I can be useful to them and when they find me useless they will throw me out. Canon Chiesa is a good priest but he has not given me practical advice on this point. And I do not have the serenity and calm to be a journalist. My love for the new idea comes from the fact that Fr. Alberione has always helped me – indeed, hypnotized me. The advice I have received contradicts the authority of the Bishop who is not personally opposed to the work but simply suggests that it remains to be seen.
The points he made were not difficult in themselves but I was shaken by them because I would have to resist the authority of the Bishop whom I esteem and love and with whom I am deeply united. I begin to doubt … is my call truly from God? And I almost begin to regret the quiet life I might live if I had not thought of leaving the seminary. But yet my will remained very firm indeed and I still wanted to follow Fr. Alberione so there was nothing to be gained by going over the same ground. I spoke to Fr. Alberione again and he said that if I don’t believe what we are doing then I shoud tear up the Gospel!
After this “onslaught” there were other sacrifices he had to make.
I renounced seriously in Jesus’ favor what might prevent me following the divine call: my pride, my deep affection for the Seminary, the Clerics, the Superiors, the peaceful Seminary life and even the clerical cassock – though its loss will cause me pain and humiliation … And in this period I renewed several times the consecration of my whole being to Mary and this morning after Communion I asked Jesus to cleanse me of all my lack of attention to my tender Mother.
It was now June and Timothy began to make a move toward Fr. Alberione. But first of all as a visitor during the summer seminary vacation. The Bishop agreed to this but insisted that, outside the seminary, Timothy would no longer be a cleric.
O Jesus how I thank you for this grace which marks my life and humbles me. If I had got all I wanted I would have lost my head and would have forgotten you and would have lost interest in my formation. I have to spend all this vacation in profound humility having received a less-than-enthusiastic permission from the Bishop and no guarantee of a future permission. Lord, let me live in Fr. Alberione’s house not as a member but as a species of poor man or beggar. Long live Jesus!
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. In moments of trial and persecution do you call upon the Holy Spirit to give you courage and strength? How do you manifest your trust in the Holy Spirit?
2. Do you have faith experiences like Abraham of believing … of hoping against hope? How do these experiences affect you or shape you?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus,
help us to acknowledge you in today’s world
so that on judgment day,
you will acknowledge us before God’s angelic court.
In times of persecution and trials,
send us your Holy Spirit
to defend, teach and speak for us.
Help us always to be receptive
and obedient to his promptings.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
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Loving God,
the patriarch Abraham received your promise
of inheritance and posterity in faith.
He believed, hoping against hope
and his faith was vindicated.
Give us the grace to trust you
and allow ourselves to be led into our glorious destiny
through Jesus Christ your Son and our Savior.
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.
“The Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.” (Lk 12:12) //“Abraham believed, hoping against hope.” (Rom 4:13, 18)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
In your resolve to give an authentic Christian witness invoke the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and strength. // In moments of trial and in death-dealing situations, strive to imitate Abraham who believed, hoping against hope. Share that same faith and hope with those who are in desperate situations.
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Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
3700 North Cornelia Avenue, Fresno, CA 93722 (USA)
Tel. (559) 275-1656
Website: WWW.PDDM.US