A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday & Weekday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 20, n. 39)
21st Week in Ordinary Time: August 21-27, 2022
(The pastoral tool BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY & WEEKDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy from various perspectives. For the Lectio Divina on the liturgy of the past week: August 14-20, 2022 please go to ARCHIVES Series 20 and click on “Week 20 Ordinary Time”.
Below is a LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY - WEEKDAY LITURGY:
August 21-27, 2022.)
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August 21, 2022: TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Calls Us to the Feast of the Kingdom”
BIBLE READINGS
Is 66:18-21 // Heb 12:5-7, 11-13 // Lk 13:22-30
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Lk 13:22-30): “They will come from east and west and recline at the table of the kingdom of God.”
In the Poverello News (February 2004), I read this beautiful story which is an example of one’s total response to God’s offer of salvation.
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 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”. His wholehearted response to God’s “amazing grace” that saved a “wretch” like him enables him to participate in the feast of God’s kingdom.
Today’s Gospel delves into the rich significance of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem and teaches us about God’s plan of salvation for all. The evangelist Luke reminds us that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to fulfill the saving plan of his passion, death and resurrection. It is in the context that someone asks the common enough question: “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” Jesus does not answer directly, but 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 Divine Master thus underlines the need to respond to the call of God’s kingdom that is offered to all.
The invitation to God’s kingdom is urgent and impelling. Aelred Rosser asserts: “We have a taste of carpe diem literature here. Seize the day! The mini-parable makes the point that we must acknowledge Jesus as master when the opportunity, call, or challenge comes. It’s possible that we will no longer recognize them when they come. God will never stop offering moments of grace, and the Spirit will prompt us all our lives with impulses to reform and do the right thing. The danger is not that grace will dry up and the opportunity for eternal happiness will be withdrawn. No, God is faithful. The danger is that we will dry up and will develop such a thick crust of insensitivity that grace will have difficulty soaking in. And yet, in the end, it is God’s will to save us. This is the good news. It is never too late.”
B. First Reading (Is 66:18-21): “They shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all the nations.”
When I was a student in Rome, I wanted to participate in the Pope’s Easter Sunday Mass at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. One day I was given the chance. Together with one PDDM Sister who had worked many years as a missionary abroad and was in her native Italy for a visit, I headed off very early to the Vatican for the Eucharistic celebration to be presided by Pope John Paul II. That Easter Sunday was drenched with early spring rain and was quite chilly. We waited for about two hours sitting patiently and praying silently as the gentle drops of rain fell upon us like an Easter benediction. The pilgrims gathered at St. Peter’s Square were from all over the world. They were from different races, cultures and nations. They were serene and peaceful, wrapped in a raincoat or protected by an umbrella, and quite undeterred by the rain. As I surveyed that delightful throng of peoples from all nations, I was overwhelmed with fascination. The prophet Isaiah’s glorious vision of the gathering of peoples in Jerusalem (Is 66:18-21) was being fulfilled there and then in the assembly of Christian believers, the Church - the “new city” Jerusalem. Moreover, immersed in that beautiful mosaic of peoples, cultures and tongues, I was savoring the truth that Jesus revealed concerning universal salvation: “And people will come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south and will recline at the table of the kingdom of God” (Lk 13:29). When Pope John Paul started the Mass, the rain had abated. Gathered around the Eucharistic table, the pilgrims from all nations rejoiced in the joy of the Risen Lord, who underwent the rigors of the paschal destiny of his suffering and death, in order to bring about the salvation of all peoples and the entire creation. At the end of the Easter Mass, the Holy Father extended his Easter greetings to the nations of the world in more than one hundred languages. That Easter experience of “universal salvation” and the intense “catholic” character of the Church was a precious moment to cherish. It was for me a source of abounding delight.
This Sunday’s Old Testament reading (Is 66:18-21), the finale of Isaiah’s prophecy, depicts his vision of “the gathering of nations of every language” on the holy mountain, Jerusalem, and underlines the missionary vocation of the redeemed “to proclaim the glory of the Lord among the nations”. In poetic language, the prophet Isaiah makes it very clear how encompassing and all-inclusive is God’s saving plan. The vocation of Israel is to broaden its horizons and realize that God wills all people to be saved, and not just the Jews. In the divine plan of salvation, messengers will be sent to nations that do not yet know the Lord. The messengers of God will proclaim his glory to distant lands – to all directions surrounding Jerusalem: to Tarshish in southern Spain, to Put and Lud in northern Africa, to Tubal near the Black Seas, to Mosoch in Asia Minor, and to Javan in the Greek Ionian Islands. In effect, the message of salvation needs to be proclaimed to the ends of the earth.
Moreover, the prophet Isaiah declares that peoples of all nations will journey to Jerusalem, using every possible means of transportation: “on horses and in chariots, in carts, upon mules and dromedaries”. Indeed, there is a cultic dimension to this pilgrimage. Peoples from all nations would be presented as “an offering to the Lord” just as “the Israelites bring their offering to the house of the Lord in clean vessels”. All peoples will offer a pure sacrifice pleasing to God. The corporate worship of earth’s peoples is a sign of the ultimate unity willed by God. Isaiah then climaxes his universal mission with a tremendous statement about the Gentiles taking their place in the priesthood: “Some of those I will take as priests and Levites, says the Lord” (Is 66:21).
The liturgical scholar Adrian Nocent remarks: “How can we avoid seeing in these texts an image of the Church, which Vatican Council II speaks of as a sign lifted up among the nations (in an allusion to Is 11:12) and a sign under which the scattered children of God may be gathered together (cf. Jn 11:52)? The vision of the prophet is to be found again in the Apocalypse: an immense throng from every nation, race, people, and tongue, all standing before the throne and his Lamb (Apoc 7:9). The Church of our day must live by this vision; it is this vision that explains her missionary activity. She is a sign of Christ, who, being lifted up from the earth, draws to himself God’s scattered children.”
C. Second Reading (Heb 12:5-7, 11-13): “Those whom the Lord loves, he disciplines.”
The Second Reading (Heb 12:5-7, 11-13) asserts that those whom the Lord loves, he disciplines. Graziano and Nancy Seitz Marcheschi remark: “Trials are a sign of God’s love, God’s way of tilling the soil to bring forth the peaceful fruit of righteousness … The author suggests that discipline is a real proof of filial relationship, presumably because fathers might not love illegitimate children enough to invest time and effort in their upbringing … Christ is our model. He was God’s only Son, yet he endured the discipline of the cross … If we suffer without understanding, pain is meaningless. But when we see God’s hand in the discipline, we can endure. Then our grace is inestimable, and we can even rejoice in what others see as sorrow.”
The following testimony circulated on the Internet, “An Iranian Muslim Encounters the Living Word” by Afshin Javid, is remarkable. It illustrates the divine call to universal salvation, the full response to that call in Jesus Christ, and the discipline of suffering it entails. Afshin and his wife now lead a church in North Vancouver and recently started a ministry called I AM THIRSTY .
I was born into a Shiite Muslim family in Iran. At age 12, I began to fulfill my duties toward Allah: praying, fasting and reading his book every day, doing all I could to make him happy. In my teens, I joined the Hezbollah militant group; three years later, I had to leave Iran. At age 17, I was in Malaysia. I was arrested for possession of 30 illegal passports, and imprisoned. My Sunni Muslim captors asked me to teach the Koran, and to lead the mosque in the prison.
Jinns: In the Koran, it is believed that there are good and bad jinns, or genies and that it is not taboo to use their powers. I had gained powers from these spiritual forces, and one day, while I was reading the Koran in my jail cell, a dark spirit appeared that was more powerful than I could handle. I tried sending it away or fighting it, but I had no strength. I read the scriptures and called the Shahada, the statement of faith, but nothing helped. I cried out: “God, would you help me?” and I heard a voice saying, “Bring the name of Jesus.” I felt like I was drowning; without thinking, I said “Jesus, if you are true, help me!” Before I finished, everything was back to normal. That was not the point of my conversion, rather, the point of confusion. I wondered: why would Jesus Christ help me, when I believed in Mohammed? That question ate at me, until I couldn’t stand it anymore. I knew the problem could not lay with me, because I believed Islam so deeply that I was willing to kill for it. I prayed and fasted for two weeks, and asked the same question again and again. I said to God: “I want to know if there is one way to you, or many different ways. I want to know the way you have called me to.” After two weeks without an answer, I was upset and decided God didn’t exist and if he did, he couldn’t hold me responsible at the Day of Judgment, because I had asked about him and he didn’t respond. I told him that, from then on, I would follow my own desires. It felt as if I’d drawn a line for God on the ground.
Forgiveness: It was then that the cell was filled with his presence. Simultaneously, I felt all the weight of my sins and how I deserved to die. I cried out: “Forgive me!” I repeated that again and again, until I felt a touch on my shoulder and a voice said, “I forgive you.” At that very moment I felt forgiven; and the burden of my sins was lifted off my shoulders. In Islam, we are never sure of our forgiveness in the present; we must wait until the Day of the Judgment to know if we have been forgiven. I asked: “Who are you, that you forgive me and I feel forgiven at this very moment?” He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” I asked, “What does that mean? What is your name?” He said, “I am Jesus Christ, the living God”; and the moment he spoke those words, I fell on the floor as though I had no bones in my body. Tears fell from my eyes. All my emotions ran through me at once. I had lost total control. I was sad and happy; I was angry, yet joyful. Sad because I had been away from the house I belonged to; joyful to know where I belonged to have the knowledge of truth. I was angry that they had lied to me, and I had wasted so many years trying to please a god you can never be sure of. I cried at his feet. Two hours passed, until he said, “Afshin, look up”. I saw images of people from all over the world; I could see their sins, and I was overwhelmed. I said, “Lord, I live amongst all these sinners.” And he said, “Afshin, how easily did I forgive you?” I said, “Very easy, Lord.” He replied, “I can forgive them as easily, but who is going to tell them?”
Go Tell Them: I said, “Me, Lord, I will go. I will tell them.” He said, “Go, tell them; I’ll be with you.” I ran from the cell, while the Lord stood there. I told some of the other prisoners how I had become a Christian. But it didn’t go as I’d hoped. Malaysia was still a Muslim country. Some accused me of having gone mad; some called me an infidel. But the Lord’s presence protected me. I told people stories of how Jesus had done many miracles, but after a while, I asked myself: “How do you know these stories are true?” I decided that, if I told stories for the glory of God, it didn’t matter if they weren’t true. But then I felt rebuked. I felt him say, “I am the God of all truth; I don’t need lies to be glorified.” I said, “I don’t know where these stories come from. I just tell them as they come to mind. Would you send me a Bible? I will read that, and I will tell it accordingly to the stories that are written.” The next day, a fellow prisoner approached me, looking at me in a strange way. I knew he was a convicted murderer and I stood ready to fight, filled with anger. He looked at me straight in the eyes, and said: “This is for you; this is what you asked for”, and handed me a book. Nothing was written on the cover, but I knew what it was.
The Wrong Bible: I snatched the Bible from his hand, ran to my cell and held it close. I cried, kissed the book and said, “Thank you, God; you’re so great. I prayed, and you gave me what I prayed for.” I thought, “This God is so almighty; he’s so prompt to answer the prayers of his people.” When I opened the book, I realized that God had made a mistake. He had sent me the wrong Bible! It was written in a language I couldn’t read. I said, “God, thank you for sending me this Bible, but I cannot read this.” I felt him say, “Read it”. I said, “You know I cannot.” I was prompted in my heart: “Read”. And I said, “I cannot. I’ll wait, and tomorrow you’ll have someone send me a Farsi one.” He said, “Read this book now.” I knew I had to show God I couldn’t read it, to get him to provide me with the Farsi Bible. So I ran my eyes over the words, expecting God to notice that I understood none of them. But then, I found myself actually reading and understanding every word! I found someone who could read and understand the words, and told him what I thought it said. He asked how I understood English. I replied, “Is that the language I understand?” So, now I could read and understand English; yet when I tried to read an English newspaper, I couldn’t. I picked up the Bible again and I could read and understand. How was that possible? The Lord said to me: “You asked to read the Bible, not the newspaper.” I was amazed; for when I read the Bible, every story I had told about Jesus Christ was there in the exact same details.
The Living Word: As written in the Revelation, the whole world will pass away, but not one word of this Book will perish. Muslims were told that the Bible had been altered, and I’d never considered how foolish it is to believe a human could change the words of the living God. The Lord had proven to me that it was his living Word. People say how great it is that I have seen the Lord; but I respond with Jesus’ words: “Blessed are you who have not seen, and yet believe.” I am a man of little faith. God, in his mercy and grace, choose me according to his will, to show himself to me for his purposes. I am the least of all, the chief of all sinners and for that reason, God has chosen me to bear one message: that he is able to forgive all sinners as he has forgiven me. As Christians, we must realize the weight of responsibility of this message that is upon our shoulders. The Lord Jesus said: “You are the light of the world; you are the salt of the earth.” I ask myself always: “If I am the light and people are not coming from out of darkness to the light, how bright is my life? If I am the salt of the earth and the whole earth is rotting away, how salty am I? Am I good to be trampled upon, or preserved? I ask the Lord for help and say, “No more am I satisfied with a mediocre Christian life. I want to see your kingdom come; your will be done. I want to see your name be hallowed in the life of many, and to witness for you according to your purposes.” May God’s grace, mercy and love guard your heart. May his word burn like fire within your bones, so that you would not be able to keep quiet. May today be the day that you make a new covenant with the Lord and say, “Have me all; have me all.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Do I believe that God wants all to be saved? What do I do to contribute to the fulfillment of God’s plan of universal salvation? Do I participate in the feast of God’s kingdom with joy and gratitude?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Father,
your beloved Son Jesus Christ challenges us
to enter through the narrow gate that leads to salvation.
Help us to respond to that challenge
that we may have a share
in the feast of your kingdom.
Let us commit ourselves
to your plan of salvation
and experience the words of Jesus:
“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.”
You are the Lord of the banquet,
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 week. Please memorize it.
“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.” (Lk 13:29)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Study the text of John Newton’s “Amazing Grace” and sing it in a spirit of prayer. In any way you can, help the people in your parish community to celebrate more meaningfully the Eucharistic feast.
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August 22, 2022: MONDAY – THE QUEENSHIP OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Rejects Hypocrisy … He Teaches Us to Be Steadfast”
BIBLE READINGS
2 Thes 1:1-5, 11-12 // Mt 23:13-22
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mt 23:13-22): “Woe to you, blind guides.”
In today’s Gospel (Mt 23:13-22), Jesus calls for integrity of heart. When our thoughts, words and actions do correspond to our ideals, we have integrity. Jesus confronts the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy and lack of integrity. To shake them up from complacency, he pronounces a series of woes upon them. The “woe” pronouncements manifest his concern for their self-destructive ways and serve as warnings of the unfortunate things to follow unless they change their ways. The scribes and Pharisees have rejected Jesus as Savior and likewise prevent others from entering the kingdom of God through Jesus. They have been zealous missionaries, but because of their false teachings their converts become worse than before. Their ridiculous discussions on what makes an “oath” binding express their perversion and evasion of truth. In an act of love, Jesus Master attempts to tear away their “masks” to bring them back to their senses and avert dire consequences.
The following story illustrates the hapless destiny of the fraudulent and hypocrite (cf. Anthony De Mello, Taking Flight: A Book of Story Meditations, New York: Image Books, 1988, p.132-133).
A seeker in search of a Master who would lead him to the path of holiness came to an ashram presided by a Guru who, in addition to having a great reputation for holiness, was also a fraud. But the seeker did not know him.
“Before I accept you as my disciple”, said the Guru, “I must test your obedience. There is a river flowing by the ashram that is infested with crocodiles. I want you to wade across the river.”
So great was the faith of the young disciple that he did just that. He walked across the river, crying, “All praise to the power of my Guru!” To the Guru’s astonishment, the man walked to the other bank unharmed.
This convinced the Guru that he was more of a saint than he himself had imagined, so he decided to give all his disciples a demonstration of his power and thereby enhance his reputation for holiness. He stepped into the river, crying, “All praise to me! All praise to me!”
The crocodiles promptly seized him and devoured him.
B. First Reading (2 Thes 1:1-5, 11-12): “May the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be glorified in you and you in him.”
In the next few days we will hear from Paul’ Second Letter to the Thessalonians. The apostle emphasizes the need for his readers to be steadfast in faith, to work for a living as did Paul and his fellow workers, and to persevere in doing good. Today’s reading (2 Thes 1:1-5, 11-12) begins with an address. Together with Silas and Timothy, the apostle Paul addresses the church in Thessalonica. The community of believers is growing in faith and love for one another. Paul and his companions have reason to boast before the other Church communities. The Thessalonians are exemplary in their steadfastness and their faith during persecutions and afflictions. Paul and his companions do not simply “boast”, but they “always pray” for the Thessalonians that the grace of God and the Lord Jesus Christ might assist them to fulfill their desire for goodness and that they may complete their work of faith. In this way, God will be glorified and they in turn will be blessed by God.
The following modern day report gives insight into the courage and mettle of the Thessalonians (cf. “Meriam’s Courage” in L’Osservatore Romano, July 25, 2014, p. 1).
Pope Francis met Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, the young Christian woman from Sudan who had been condemned to death in her country for apostasy but whose sentence was overturned due to pressure from the international community. On Thursday morning, 24 July, she and her husband Daniel Wani and their two children – Martin, a year and a half, and Maya, born in prison two months ago – were received by the Pope at the Domus Sanctae Marthae.
With them was also Italian Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Lapo Pistelli, who had gone to Sudan the day before to complete negotiations and accompany Meriam and her family to Italy, from where they will be then relocated to the United States. Also present at the meeting was Msgr. Yohannis Gaid, the Pope’s private secretary. The heart-warning meeting lasted half an hour. The Pope thanked Meriam and her family for their courageous testimony of perseverance in the faith.
And Meriam expressed her gratitude to the Pontiff for his support and comfort in prayer. At the end of the meeting Pope Francis greeted the Italian authorities accompanying Meriam’s family during their stay in Rome. In this encounter the Holy Father wished to demonstrate his care, attention and prayers for all who suffer for their faith, above all for Christians under persecution and those whose religious freedom is being abused.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do I have sentiments and attitudes that do not build up integrity of heart? Am I guilty of hypocrisy? If so, what do I do to overcome this?
2. Are we ready to endure persecution and difficulties for the sake of our faith? Do we seek to glorify the name of the Lord in all things, even in the midst of afflictions?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus,
you love us deeply.
You care for our well-being.
You wish to convert us
from our hypocrisy and evil ways.
Help us to have integrity of heart
and seek true holiness in you.
Live in us that we may live in you.
Teach us to be steadfast in faith
even in trials and persecutions.
Let us be glorified in you, and you in us,
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Woe to you, blind guides.” (Mt 23:16) // “May the name of our Lord Jesus be glorified in you and you in him.” (2 Thes 1: 12)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Today make a conscious effort to unite with Jesus every act of charity that you do, every kind word that you speak, every gracious thought that you think and every compassionate sentiment that you feel. Let the name of the Lord be glorified even in the midst of trial and affliction.
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August 23, 2022: TUESDAY – WEEKDAY (21); SAINT ROSE OF LIMA, Virgin
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Calls Us to Greater Authenticity … He Calls Us to Hold Fast to Him”
BIBLE READINGS
2 Thes 2:1-3a, 14-17 // Mt 23:23-26
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mt 23:23-26): “But these you should have done, without neglecting the others.”
In today’s Gospel (Mt 22:23-26), we continue to listen to Jesus’ “woe” pronouncements that are meant to lead us on the path of authenticity and integrity. He laments the legalism and externalism of the scribes and Pharisees. They are preoccupied with minutiae like paying the tithe on seasoned herbs, but neglect the really important teachings of the Law, such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness. The perversion of their priorities is such that they are virtually straining out the gnat while swallowing the camel. Their concern for external observance is symbolized by vessels that are washed merely on the outside. Inner purity, however, is not obtained by external correctness in religious observance, but by cleaning up our inner dispositions. Sometimes we have moments of hypocrisy when we try to appear what we are not, especially in the area of personal worth. We also tend to have recourse to legalism because it presents the easy way out of our moral obligations. Indeed, trying to be good is more demanding than merely looking good. It is also easier to fulfill religious observances than concern ourselves with works of justice and compassion and to endeavor to translate our faith into action.
The following story gives insight into the Christian call for greater authenticity and charity (cf. Anthony De Mello, Taking Flight: A Book of Story Meditations, New York: Image Books, 1988, p. 33-34).
There was once a woman who was religious and devout and filled with love for God. Each morning she would go to church. And on her way children would call out to her, beggars would accost her, but so immersed was she in her devotions that she did not even see them.
Now one day she walked down the street in her customary manner and arrived at the church just in time for service. She pushed the door, but it would not open. She pushed it again harder, and found the door was locked.
Distressed at the thought that she would miss service for the first time in years, and not knowing what to do, she looked up. And there, right before her face, she found a note pinned to the door.
It said, “I’m out there!”
B. First Reading (2 Thes 2:1-3a, 14-17): “Hold fast to the traditions that you were taught.”
Today’s First Reading (2 The 2:1-3a, 14-17) is composed of admonitions and a prayer for the Thessalonians. The community is disturbed and alarmed by the deceptive news that the day of the Lord has already come. Saint Paul exhorts the Thessalonians not to be easily shaken in their understanding of the Lord’s coming. He reminds them of their vocation to live the Gospel and their destiny to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. He encourages them to stand firm and to hold to the traditions they have received from those whose hearts have been tested by God. Above all, Saint Paul prays that God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ may strengthen them to always do and say what is good. Indeed, eternal glory awaits them if they hold firm to the sacred traditions taught to them.
In the following modern day report circulated on the Internet, we can glean the effort of the Catholic Church to hold fast to the sacred traditions we have received and the grace and courage needed to hold on to the values of our faith.
Archbishop Coakley’s Statement on Return of Stolen Host to Catholic Church
OKLAHOMA CITY (August 21, 2014); Archbishop Coakley announced Thursday that the consecrated Host at the center of a lawsuit filed in Oklahoma County District Court has been returned. An attorney representing the head of the satanic group presented the Host to a Catholic priest Thursday afternoon. The lawsuit sought return of the Host following multiple public statements by the head of the local satanic group that they planned to defile and desecrate the consecrated Host during a satanic “black mass” scheduled next month in Oklahoma City.
With the return of the Host and an accompanying signed statement from the satanic group leader that the group no longer possesses a consecrated Host, nor will they use a consecrated Host in their rituals, the archbishop agreed to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice.
“I am relieved that we have been able to secure the return of the sacred Host, and that we have prevented its desecration as part of a planned satanic ritual”, said Archbishop Paul Coakley of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. “I remain concerned about the dark powers this satanic worship invites into our community and the spiritual danger that this poses to all who are involved in it, directly or indirectly.”
Archbishop Coakley has made repeated requests for the city’s leaders to cancel the satanic ritual in a publicly funded facility. “I have raised my concerns … and pointed out how deeply offensive this proposed sacrilegious act is to Christians and especially to the more than 250,000 Catholics who live in Oklahoma.
On September 21, the day the satanic ritual had been scheduled, the Archbishop invited the Catholic community as well as all Christians and people of good will to join him in prayer for a Eucharistic Holy Hour at 3:00 p.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 1901 NW 18, followed by an outdoor Procession and Benediction.
“For more than 1 billion Catholics worldwide, the Mass is the most sacred of religious rituals”, the Archbishop said. “It is the center of Catholic worship and celebrates Jesus Christ’s redemption of the world by his death and resurrection. We are grateful for the gift of the Eucharist and pray that this threatened sacrilege will heighten our appreciation and deepen our faith in the Lord’s Eucharistic presence among us.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. How do we respond to the Christian call to greater authenticity, interiority and charity?
2. Do we hold fast to the sacred traditions that we have received in and through the Church? What are the challenges we meet and how do we respond to them?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Jesus Master,
you call us to greater authenticity, interiority and charity.
Help us to purify our inner dispositions.
Grant us honesty and integrity of heart.
Be with us Jesus.
Let your spirit of love shape our life.
May we witness to the world
the beauty of being a true Christian.
May we hold fast to the sacred traditions handed on to us
in and through the Church.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“You have neglected the weightier things of the law.” (Mt 23:23) // “Hold fast to the traditions that you were taught.” (2 Thes 2:15)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Open your eyes to the people around you today. Thank the Lord for the goodness you see. Beg the Lord for the grace to assist those who are lonely and needy. To help you understand the Church’s sacred traditions, get a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and study it prayerfully.
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August 24, 2022: WEDNESDAY – SAINT BARTHOLOMEW, APOSTLE
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Promises Greater Things … His Apostle Bartholomew Is a Foundation Stone of the Church”
BIBLE READINGS
Rv 21:9b-14 // Jn 1:45-51
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Jn 1:45-51): “There is a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
Today’s Gospel (Jn 1:45-51) is a beautiful example of “vocation recruitment”. When Philip becomes convinced that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah foretold by the Law and the Prophets, he shares this discovery with his friend, Nathanael of Cana. Although Nathanael reacts rather cautiously by commenting “Can anything good from Nazareth?” he does not close himself to Philip’s “Come and see” invitation. When Jesus sees Nathanael coming toward him, he utters a statement of praise about his integrity: “Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him”. Integrity and critical open-mindedness are the remarkable attributes of Nathanael, a man in quest of truth.
Nathanael is overwhelmed by Jesus’ power to read hearts: “Before Philip called you I saw you under the fig tree.” Jesus knows that Nathanael has been studying the Torah under the fig tree, something that a true and perfect Israelite is expected to do. Nathanael spontaneously proclaims his faith in Jesus as the Son of God and the King of Israel. Jesus responds by promising “greater things than this” to Nathanael, who will see the vision of “angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man”. In Jesus is the embodiment of salvation. In his public ministry and in his paschal mystery of death and resurrection, the glory of God is revealed. Like the angels on Jacob’s ladder, Jesus will join to himself the “above” and the “below”, that is, the heavenly and the earthly. Nathanael, who is also known as the apostle Bartholomew, will be a witness to this.
B. First Reading (Rv 21:9b-14): “On the foundations are the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.”
The reading (Rv 21:9b-14) gives us a vision of the New Jerusalem, which represents the ultimate bliss. It also symbolizes the Church in its final and ultimate glory. Saint John’s end-time vision of the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God inspires us to strive for the fullness of light and life resulting from God’s presence. The wall of this city is built on twelve foundation stones, on which are written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. This detail is very meaningful as we celebrate the feast of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle. It reminds us that the Church, the New City of Jerusalem, is built on the foundation of apostolic witnessing. The preaching of the apostles and prophets constitutes the Church. Saint Bartholomew is one of the twelve foundation stones of the Church. His name is inscribed in the beautiful and radiant city of the New Jerusalem. Saint Bartholomew now participates in the glory of the eternal city of light and life together with the victorious Lamb, Jesus Christ.
The following biographical sketch gives us an idea why Saint Bartholomew is an important foundation stone of the Church (cf. Wikipedia on the Internet).
Bartholomew the Apostle: He is one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and is usually identified with Nathanael, who is mentioned in the gospel of John. “Bartholomew” comes from the Aramaic “bar Tolmay”, meaning “son of Tolmay” or “son of the furrows” (perhaps a ploughman).
In the gospel of John, Nathanael is introduced as a friend of Philip. He is described as initially being skeptical about the Messiah coming from Nazareth, saying: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”, but nonetheless, follows Philips’s invitation. Jesus immediately characterizes him as “Here is a man in whom there is no deception.” Some scholars hold that Jesus’ quote “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you”, is based on a Jewish figure of speech referring to studying the Torah. Nathanael recognizes Jesus as “the Son of God” and “the King of Israel”. He reappears at the end of John’s gospel as one of the disciples to whom Jesus appeared at the Sea of Galilee after the Resurrection.
Eusebius of Caesarea’s Ecclesiastical History states that after the Ascension, Bartholomew went on a missionary tour to India where he left behind a copy of the gospel of Matthew. (…) The studies of Fr. A.C. Perumalil SJ and Moraes hold that the Bombay region on the Konkan coast, a region which may have been known as the ancient city Kalyan, was the field of Saint Bartholomew’s missionary activities.
Along with his fellow apostle Jude, Bartholomew is reputed to have brought Christianity to Armenia in the first century. Thus both saints are considered the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He is said to have been martyred in Albanopolis in Armenia. According to one account, he was beheaded, but a more popular tradition holds that he was flayed alive and crucified, head downward. He is said to have converted Polymius, the king of Armenia, to Christianity. Astyages, Polymius’ brother, consequently ordered Bartholomew’s execution (…)
The existence of relics at Lipari, a small island off the coast of Sicily, in the part of Italy controlled by Constantinople, was explained by Gregory of Tours by his body having miraculously washed up there … Of the many miracles performed by Bartholomew before and after his death, two very popular ones are known by the townsfolk of the small island of Lipari.
The people of Lipari celebrated his feast annually. The tradition of the people was to take the solid silver and gold statue from inside the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew and carry it through the town. On one occasion, when taking the statue down the hill towards the town, it suddenly got very heavy and had to be set down. When the men carrying the statue regained their strength they lifted it a second time. After a few seconds, it got even heavier. They set it down and attempted once more to pick it up. They managed to lift it but had to put it down one last time. Within seconds, a wall further downhill collapsed. If the statue had been able to be lifted, all the townspeople would have been killed.
During World War II, the Fascist regime looked for ways to finance their activities. The order was given to take the silver statue of St. Bartholomew and melt it down. The statue was weighed, and it was found to be only a few grams. It was returned to its place in the Cathedral of Lipari. In reality, the statue is made from many kilograms of silver and it is considered a miracle that it was not melted down. St. Bartholomew is credited with many other miracles having to do with the weight of objects.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we believe that, like Saint Bartholomew, we will see the “sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man”?
2. Do we value the apostolic witness and martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew? How do we imitate his commitment to Christ and his service to the Gospel?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus,
we thank you for the apostle Saint Bartholomew,
a man of integrity and a true seeker of truth.
He followed you in your paschal destiny
and witnessed to the nations
that you are indeed the point of encounter
between God and man.
Through his intercession,
may we have the grace to go out to the whole world
and proclaim to all peoples
that you are indeed the Son of God and the Messiah.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
***
(Cf. Opening Prayer, Mass on the Feast of St. Bartholomew the Apostle)
Lord,
sustain within us the faith
which made St. Bartholomew ever loyal to Christ.
Let your Church be the sign of salvation
for all the nations of the world.
We ask 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 week. Please memorize it.
“You will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (Jn 1:51) //“The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation, on which were inscribed the twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.” (Rv 21:14)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for the Church in Armenia and India that it may be strengthened in its Christian witnessing. Imitate Saint Bartholomew in his quest for truth and in his integrity. In any way you can, continue to promote the Gospel witness of the apostles.
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August 25, 2022: THURSDAY – WEEKDAY (21); SAINT LOUIS; SAINT JOSEPH CALASANZ, Priest
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Urges Us to Stay Awake … He Has Enriched Us with Spiritual Gifts”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Cor 1:1-9 // Mt 24:42-51
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mt 24:42-51): “Stay awake!”
For nearly 20 years, Secret Agent Jerry Parr had guarded presidents and vice-presidents, always on the lookout for one pair of crazed, hate-filled eyes; always at the ready. He had to pass target practice every month as a requirement for his job. According to Jerry, prayer was an essential part of his life and job. In a way, Christian discipleship is similar to his job – something requiring watchfulness and constant vigilance.
Today’s Gospel reading (Mt 24:42-51) underlines the need for vigilance and watchfulness in preparation for the coming of Christ. The disciples of Jesus through all times are to keep in mind his urgent admonition, “Stay awake!” The Christian disciples are to be ready to open their hearts to the “essential One” who came to save us, who continually comes in our daily life, and will come again at the end time to restore all things. We must be prepared to welcome the kingdom of glory that he brings to fulfillment. Therefore, we must stay awake! For we do not know on which day our Lord will come.
For the Christian disciples, Advent – the time of hopeful waiting – is a year-round season and an ongoing experience. Aelred Rosser asserts: “Every task, every little job, every good word, every kind deed – all of these are the Lord at work in us, enabling us to prepare for his coming – now and finally. Blessed is that servant whom the master finds ready – busily waiting.” Indeed, the life of Christian disciples is dynamically driven by the expectation of the full realization of the kingdom inheritance and the definitive coming of our Lord Jesus. The spirit of Advent expectation helps us to carry out faithfully our task and mission on behalf of the reign of God upon earth.
B. First Reading (1 Cor 1:1-9): “In him you were enriched in every way.”
In today’s Second Reading (1 Cor 1:1-9), Paul’s power-packed greeting to the Corinthians, presents the beauty and dignity of our call to holiness in Jesus Christ. It also delineates the unity that binds all peoples everywhere who worship our Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, we belong to Jesus Savior who is “their Lord and ours”. The rest of Paul’s words fills us with hope. As we wait in eager expectation for the ultimate revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are reminded of the wondrous grace God has bestowed upon us in Christ Jesus. In union with Christ, we have become enriched and endowed with every blessing. Moreover, the faithful God will keep us firm to the end and blameless on the day of the Lord.
The following story illustrates that God has enriched us in every way and that, as part of a faith community, we are not lacking in any spiritual gift (cf. Susan Orneck, “Air Lift” in Guideposts, May 2012, p.65).
San Diego to Tampa – a long flight. I was on my way home from a real-estate agent workshop. If only I could relax, I thought as I shifted in my seat. Even a lucky upgrade to first class wasn’t enough to calm me down. My nephew had been diagnosed with melanoma. Jordan was in his early twenties, just starting a career as a songwriter. He faced his disease with incredible courage, believing in God’s plans for his life, whatever they were. Lord, I am so worried about him, I thought.
I noticed the man sitting next to me – long hair, ratty T-shirt, headphones and tattoos. He looked like a rocker dude from the seventies. “I’m traveling with my band”, he confirmed as the flight attendant served us a beverage. “Really? My nephew wants to be a songwriter.” He pulled off his headphones and asked me more about Jordan. I talked about his cancer, how much I feared losing him. Usually I was good at keeping my feelings in check. But here, with a complete stranger, I suddenly felt free to share how anxious I was. “I see him fighting so hard”, I said, starting to cry. “Chemotherapy is so difficult. I don’t know where he finds the strength to bear it.”
“I had cancer myself a few years ago”, my seatmate said after a moment. “I know how hard it can be.” A tear streaked down his cheek. He grabbed my hand and held it tight. “You can pray for your nephew”, he said. “I’ll pray with you.” A woman spoke up from across the aisle. “I’d like to pray for him too.” “Me too”, said the man behind me. I hadn’t known everyone was listening!
The next thing I knew our entire cabin was on its feet and holding hands – including the two flight attendants. I didn’t know anything about leading a prayer circle so I just spoke from the heart about Jordan. For the first time since his diagnosis I didn’t feel so alone in my fear. God was with me 30,000 feet above the earth, and so were these people who were praying – and would continue to pray – for my nephew.
Jordan’s cancer went into remission. He is still writing songs. And I am still lifted up by what I learned about the power of prayer.
***
The life of Saint Augustine illustrates both the grace of God that has enriched him and his response to the divine grace (cf. Wikipedia on the Internet).
Augustine was born in 354 in the municipium of Tagaste (now Souk Ahras, Algeria) in Roman Africa. His father, Patricius, was a pagan and his mother Monica was a Christian. It is assumed that his mother Monica was of Berber origin on the basis of her name, but as his family were honestiores, an upper class of citizens known as honorable men, Augustine’s first language is likely to have been Latin. At the age of 11, he was sent to school at Madaurus (now M’Daourouch), a small Numidian city about 19 miles south of Tagaste. There he became familiar with Latin literature as well as pagan beliefs and practices. His first insight into the nature of sin occurred when he and a number of friends stole fruit they didn’t even want from a neighborhood garden. This echoes nicely with his conversion which also involved a garden later in life.
At age 17, through the generosity of fellow citizen Romanianus, Augustine went to Carthage to continue his education in rhetoric. Although raised as a Christian, Augustine left the Church to follow the Manichaean religion, much to the despair of his mother Monica. As a youth Augustine lived a hedonistic lifestyle for a time, associated with young men who boasted of their sexual exploits with women and urged inexperienced boys, like Augustine, to seek out experiences or to make up stories about experiences in order to gain acceptance and avoid ridicule. It was during this period that he uttered his famous prayer, “Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.”
At a young age, he began an affair with a young woman in Carthage. Possibly because his mother wanted him to marry a person of his class, the woman remained his lover for over thirteen years and gave birth to his son Adeodatus, who was said to have been extremely intelligent. He abandoned her finally on his conversion in 389 when the boy was 17.
During the years 373 and 374, Augustine taught grammar in Tagaste. The following year he moved to Carthage to conduct a school of rhetoric and would remain there for the next nine years. Disturbed by the unruly behavior of the students in Carthage, in 383 he moved to establish a school in Rome, where he believed the best and brightest rhetoricians practiced. However, Augustine was disappointed with the Roman schools where he was met with apathy. Once the time came for his students to pay their fees, they simply fled. Manichaean friends introduced him to the prefect of the City of Rome Symmachus, who had been asked to provide a professor of rhetoric for the imperial court of Milan.
While still in Carthage, he had begun to move away from Manichaeism, in part because of a disappointing meeting with the Manichaean bishop Faustus of Mileve, a key exponent of Manichaean theology. In Rome he is reported to have completely turned away from Manichaeism and instead embraced Scepticism of the New Academy movement. At Milan his mother pressured him to become a Christian. Augustine’s own studies in Neoplatonism were also leading him in this direction and his friend Simplicianus urged him that way as well. But it would be the bishop of Milan, Ambrose, who had the most influence over Augustine. Like Augustine, Ambrose was a master of rhetoric, but older and more experienced.
Ambrose baptized Augustine, along with his son Adeodatus on the Easter Vigil in 387 in Milan. A year later, in 388, Augustine completed his apology “On the Holiness of the Catholic Church”. That year Adeodatus and Augustine returned to Africa, Augustine’s home country, during which trip Augustine’s mother Monica died. Upon their arrival, they began a life of aristocratic leisure at Augustine’s family property. Soon after, Adeodatus, too, passed away. Augustine then sold his patrimony and gave the money to the poor. The only thing he kept was the family house, which he converted into a monastic foundation for himself and a group of friends.
He became a famous preacher (more than 350 preserved sermons are believed to be authentic) and was noted for combating the Manichaean religion to which he had formerly adhered. In 395 he was made coadjutor Bishop of Hippo and became full Bishop shortly thereafter, hence the name “Augustine of Hippo”, and gave his property to the Church of Tagaste. He remained in that position until his death in 430.
Augustine worked tirelessly in trying to convince the people of Hippo to convert to Christianity. Though he had left the monastery, he continued to lead a monastic life in the Episcopal residence. He left a Rule for his monastery that led to his designation as the “patron saint of regular clergy”.
Much of Augustine’s later life was recorded by his friend Possidius, bishop of Calama (present-day Guelma, Algeria), in his Sancti Augustini Vita. Possidius admired Augustine as a man of powerful intellect and a stirring orator who took every opportunity to defend Christianity against its detractors. Possidius also described Augustine’s personal traits in detail, drawing a portrait of a man who ate sparingly, worked tirelessly, despised gossip, shunned the temptations of the flesh, and exercised prudence in the financial stewardship of his See.
Augustine was canonized by popular acclaim and later recognized as a Doctor of the Church in 1298 by Pope Boniface VIII. His feast day is 28 August, the day on which he died. He is considered the patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, those with sore eyes, and a number of cities and dioceses
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. How do we prepare for the Lord’s coming in mystery in the events of our life? How do we prepare for his definitive coming in glory? In word and deed, do we strive to enkindle the faith that the kingdom of God is come? Is our dynamic vigilance a source of inspiration for others?
2. Do we believe that God has bestowed abundant blessings upon us and that in him we have been enriched in every way?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Father,
we want to prepare for Christ’s coming in glory.
As we wait for his coming
you have enriched us in every way
and filled us with spiritual gifts.
Help us to stay awake
for we do not know which day the Lord will come.
Teach us to use our gifts
with love and creativity.
Bless us and make us faithful servants
who wait for Christ’s glorious return.
He lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.” (Mt 24:42) // “In Christ Jesus you were enriched in every way.” (1 Cor 1:5)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
List three events in your life for which you were prepared and three other events for which you were unprepared. Pray over these events and ask the Lord to strengthen your vigilant expectation for his coming. If possible, help an elderly and/or seriously ill person prepare to receive Jesus at the hour of death. Be grateful to God for having enriched your life in Christ.
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August 26, 2022: FRIDAY – WEEKDAY (21)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Wants Us to Keep the Lamp Burning … He Is the Wisdom of God”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Cor 1:17-25 // Mt 25:1-13
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mt 25:1-13): “Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!”
The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 4, comment on today’s parable of the Ten Virgins (Mt 25:1-13): “Like many others, this parable is based on a fact, a situation of ordinary life. It tells of a custom connected with the wedding celebration … A parable is not a narrative of an event, retold with exactitude down to its minutest details. Storytellers can legitimately put in exaggerated traits that fit their purposes. This is done knowingly and fools no one. This being understood, the lesson of the parable is clear. We shall be kept waiting for the Lord’s coming; unforeseeable, it will happen suddenly. At that moment, everything will be lost for those who were taken by surprise. Others will not be able to help them. The improvident ones will find a closed door in the kingdom where the wedding of the Son of Man is celebrated.”
Today we are invited to prepare for our final encounter with God. If our eyes are focused on that glorious goal, we are more likely to keep our spiritual lamps lit for that reception. The bridegroom is on his way. We must rise to meet him. The liturgical scholar Adrian Nocent remarks: “Each is called, during the night of faith, to stand ready for the final encounter unto which God calls. This invitation and summons is most important. Everything else must take second place when it comes to having one’s lamp lit and trimmed.”
The following story illustrates a person’s ultimate encounter with the Lord at the hour of death (cf. Patricia Normile, “Caregivers Need Care Too” in Saint Anthony Messenger, May 2010, p. 22-26).
A hospice visitor, Deacon Amado Lim of Blue Ash, Ohio, knew Richard well. World War II veteran, great story teller, a man with a fine sense of humor, Richard (name has been changed) was a joy to visit. Then one evening Deacon Lim noted that he looked unusually sad. “I asked him why”, says the deacon. He said, “I was afraid.”
Richard continued, “I’ve shared many stories, but there’s one story I’ve not told you or anyone.” When Richard’s unit attacked a Nazi hiding place in Belgium, they met heavy fire and his best friend was mortally wounded. “I became livid”, Richard said. “I entered the building with my gun blazing. I saw two Nazi soldiers fall. I rushed toward them. They sprawled on the floor, covered with blood. I saw their faces. They were barely 12 years old – children! They didn’t say anything, just looked at me. Their faces were pleading, begging for mercy. My adrenaline pumped furiously. I shot them both. The faces of those boys have haunted me ever since. I cannot erase their images from my mind. Now I’m dying. I’m afraid to stand before God. He’ll never forgive me for what I did to those boys.”
Deacon Lim invited Richard to describe God. To Richard, God was a just God who rewards good and punishes evil. Voice trembling, Richard said that he couldn’t imagine God forgiving anyone who hurts children. Deacon Lim asked Richard to read aloud Bible stories describing God’s mercy. When the repentant criminal crucified on Calvary begged, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”, Jesus replied, “Amen I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk 23:42-43). Richard wept.
When Deacon Lim returned later, Richard smiled. “I’m no longer afraid. Jesus forgave the criminal. He forgives me because he knows how sorry I am.” Richard died two days later.
B. First Reading (1 Cor 1:17-25): “We proclaim Christ crucified, foolishness to Gentiles, but those who are called, the wisdom of God.”
Today’s first reading (1 Cor 1:17-25) is one of the most beautiful and enigmatic passages in the Sacred Scriptures. The great apostle Paul experiences the living Christ and proclaims him as the crucified Messiah and glorified by God in the Spirit. The paschal event of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection bring to completion the ineffable saving plan of our loving God. The beloved Servant-Son of God assumes our brokenness and sufferings. He identifies himself completely with human weakness so that our own sacrifices may be transformed into saving grace and our sufferings may lead to endless glory. Saint Paul, fully immersed into Christ’s paschal destiny of death and rising, is able to transcend what human reason reveals. He therefore proclaims the weakness of Christ on the cross as the ultimate power of love. Indeed, the almighty and all knowing God has no need for the false security of human strength and the empty trappings of human wisdom. From his personal experience of the saving event centered on Christ, the apostle to the Gentiles thus asserts: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”
The following article on an elderly Vladivostok parishioner, Emilia Dyachkova by Tatyana Shaposhnikova (cf. Vladivostok Sunrise, January 1, 2009 issue, p. 1-2) illustrates how the Gospel of the crucified Christ continues to work in the suffering members of the Church.
“My whole life I’ve been on the move!” says Emilia as she begins to tell her life story. “I don’t remember my mother – she died when I was three – and they shot my dad in 1935. He was Polish and Catholic, so he was branded ‘an enemy of the people’. My two nieces and I were raised by my aunt whose husband also served time. ‘They’ took everything from us, our property, our faith in God, and accused us of spying. There was hunger, and none of us, adults or children, could find work. People were against us, as we were a family of ‘enemies of Soviet power’, but we still had to live with them.” And tears appear in Emilia’s eyes.
“When I was 16 they gave me work in the coal mine in Donbasse. Together with the adults I did all my work. Within a month war began, so they closed the mine. Without money and without help it took me several months to walk back to Verbka, the little village where my aunt lived. I walked home already by December, and in May they moved us all to Germany. For three years I worked for a German farmer doing all the dirty work on the farm. The boss treated us well and fed us, and on Sundays we prayed.”
“We were freed by American soldiers on the 9th of May of 1945, and already on May 10th they sent us to the transfer point and took us back to Russia. We got back to our village. The house was in ruins, and some of the villagers had been killed and some had died of hunger. We scraped together boards and whatever we could find to make a hut to live in, and we had to work sometimes twelve hours straight on the collective farm without rest” – it was sad for Emilia to remember. “I didn’t have a childhood, and my youth was spent in a different country.”
“I got married, but I didn’t live with my husband very long when they took him and shot him because he lived for several years as a prisoner in Germany. And again there was hunger and heavy work on the collective farm. People always looked at us with suspicion – my father was shot; my husband was shot – but in what way were we ‘enemies of the people’?” she asks herself. “We worked honestly, went to church, prayed about love and happiness. It was a difficult time for us, but God helped us. Sometimes there wasn’t enough energy or time for prayer, but we never went to bed without praying.”
“When my son finished school, he couldn’t go for higher education because my father and my grandfather were ‘enemies’. My son was very anxious to study further, so he had to travel far away where they wouldn’t know him. He came to the Russian Far East, and enrolled in the University of Vladivostok and graduated, so I came to live with him.” (She doesn’t mention that her son was beaten and brutally murdered by a band of thugs several years ago – perhaps it is too painful to remember.)
“Would I have been able to endure everything and still have love for people without God’s help?” she asks. Emilia comes to every Sunday Mass. You can read wisdom, love, and endless hope in her eyes in God’s mercy to herself and her neighbor. And how many such grandmothers there are! They all have wounds from what they have experienced in life, so that any jogging of their memories brings out the hurt and tears. We have something to learn from them – their patience, their resolve, their love of God and neighbor.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. What is the personal significance of the wedding feast of the Bridegroom mentioned in today’s Gospel? In what ways are we the foolish bridesmaids? In what ways are we the wise bridesmaids? How do we deepen our spirit of preparedness for the Lord’s coming?
2. How does the Pauline passage on the crucified Messiah impact you? Have you experienced that the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom and that the weakness of God is stronger than human strength? In the spirit of Saint Paul the Apostle, do you endeavor to proclaim Christ crucified?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus,
let our lamps be burning at your return.
Help us to prepare worthily for our encounter with you
at the hour of our death.
We resolve to follow
the path of holiness and righteousness.
We commit ourselves
to do acts of mercy and justice,
of goodness and love,
so that the final “hour”
will be an encounter with your saving grace
and a joyful participation in the wedding banquet.
We love and serve you, now and forever.
Amen.
***
God our Father,
help us to show to the world
that your “foolishness” is wiser than human wisdom
and that your “weakness” is stronger than human strength.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“The bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.” (Mt 25:1-13) //“For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” (1 Cor 1:25)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
In order to keep our lamps burning for the Lord’s coming, participate actively, consciously and fruitfully in the Eucharist and offer an act of charity daily on behalf of the weak and the needy. // Pray that the Christians in the modern world may have the wisdom, courage and strength to proclaim Christ crucified. Proclaim and give witness to the wisdom of God in daily life.
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August 26, 2022: SATURDAY – SAINT MONICA
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Wants Us to Be His Enterprising Servants … In Him God Chooses the Weak of the World”
BIBLE READINGS
I Cor 1:26-31 // Mt 25:14-30
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mt 25:14-30): “Since you have been faithful in small matters, come share your master’s joy.”
In today’s Gospel reading (Mt 25:14-30), Jesus tells us the story of the master who distributed various amounts of money to three servants before going away on a journey. The Greek word that describes these amounts is “talents”. From this is derived the English term “talent” to describe the natural ability that can be improved by diligent practice. Two servants invested their talents and doubled the amount; the other one dug a hole in the ground and buried the talent entrusted to him by the master. The master returned and demanded a reckoning. The point of the story is not the uncertainty of the time of the Lord’s final coming, but the reckoning that will come and the responsibility expected of us. The Parable of the Talents teaches us not to be complacent and lazy, but to be diligent and enterprising. God want us to be creatively involved in the work of the kingdom. We need to be courageous and trustworthy servants in this time of waiting for the Master’s return.
The following testimony of Eli Doroteo of Antipolo City, Philippines, gives insight into the personal implication of today’s Gospel.
It is still fresh in my memory the spiritual exercise we had with Sr. Mary Celine, PDDM, during our retreat sometime in April 1999. The exercise was to divide our life into three segments and list in each of the three segments our experiences, most especially the downside in our life. Also, in each of the segments, we had to write God’s graces that helped us through those trials.
I was moved to tears when I discovered that in the three segments of my life, God was always present in my life in my MUSIC MINISTRY. In the first and second segments, I was a church choir member that started in Aklan and next in my stint with MIESCOR and in Muntinlupa. In the third segment (and until now), I sing the Responsorial Psalm during the Eucharistic celebrations. I realized that this is my calling – God gifted me with a talent of singing and of serving him in the Church.
As indicated in the Gospel of today, each of us has a God-given talent. The more we receive from God, the more we should be responsible to him at the judgment hour. This reminds me of the movie “Spiderman”. Peter’s uncle said, “With great power comes great responsibility”. In capsule form, this is what the Gospel of today is all about. A man who left his precious possessions to his servants represents God in the parable; he is a risk-taker here. This, I think, is God’s way when he calls a person to answer a particular need; he endows the person with a specific charism. The specific charism, when nurtured, becomes his distinctive identity. When exercised to its full potential, the charism becomes the person’s contribution to the Church and becomes his special mission.
B. First Reading (1 Cor 1:26-31): “God chose the weak of the world.”
In today’s reading (1 Cor 1:26-31) Saint Paul, by using the example of the Corinthian community, illustrates the paradox: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom; and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” Few of the educated class in Corinth, few men of authority, few of the aristocracy, have been called to the Christian faith. Instead, God has called the lowly, the poor, and despised of the world, those who count for nothing – to destroy the pretensions of those who account themselves as something. Christ Jesus is the wisdom of God and through him the Christians possess all that one could ever yearn for: wisdom, justice, holiness and redemption. All this and the gift of faith are due to the merciful goodness of God and his initiative. Therefore, Saint Paul exhorts: “Whoever wants to boast must boast of what the Lord has done.”
The following story illustrates how God uses “the weak of this world” to promote his saving plan (cf. “Faith: Source of Hope for Family in Their Loss” in Alive! April 2014, p. 6).
An American couple, Robbyn and Josh Blick, have been telling the story of their baby, Zion, on the Internet. And it has touched a lot of hearts.
Josh is a Christian pastor in Chicago and the couple have four young sons. It was great news for them to hear last year that no. 5 was on the way. Then, at week 20, they were told that their baby was suffering from Trisomy 18, also called Edwards Syndrome. This is a genetic condition that leads to abnormalities in parts of the body. The survival rate is low due to heart damage, kidney malformations and other internal disorders. The couple responded to the sad news by turning to God and putting all their faith in him. “Our choice is always life and giving him a chance”, said Robbyn.
It turned out that baby Zion was a fighter. First doctors said he could die during the pregnancy but he didn’t. That he might die during labor, but he didn’t. After his birth on 11 January, Robbyn was told to prepare for a few minutes with him. But Zion held on and got stronger. Next they were told he might last until morning. But he fought and pulled through.
“Then it all started”, said Robbyn. Their boys, the wider family, friends, members of the church poured into the hospital to welcome and hold Zion. Finally the “tiny little miracle”, weighing 4 pounds was ready to go home. “That was one of the biggest joys”, said Robbyn. “Our children prayed every night that we’d bring him home. There was such a joy and such a fullness.”
For every minute of the next ten days he was held, loved and cherished. But by day nine he seemed to be losing interest in being fed. Then the family experienced their first scare with him at home: Zion took a big gasp of air and “turned a little bit blue”. His dad grabbed him and rubbed his back, and he recovered quickly. “He hadn’t done that before”, said Robbyn, “I knew in my heart things were getting closer to ending.” The next day, 21 January 2014, Zion was gasping more frequently. Then, “peaceful and perfect”, in his mother’s arms and with his family huddled around him, Zion died.
Robbyn and Josh explained to their sons that Zion was with Jesus now, which is “the best place to be”. In his short life he had brought so much love, hope and joy to all around him. Josh told God: “He makes heaven a little closer to my heart. Your love for him reminds me daily now what we are living for. Thank you for sharing him with us.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. In this time of vigil for the Lord’s coming at the end time, am I his enterprising servant? Do I endeavor to make the talents I have received bear abundant fruits for the glory of God and the good of the Church? Have I failed to maximize the talents and grace given me by the Lord?
2. Do we believe that God chooses the weak and the lowly for his own saving purpose? Do we put our trust in Christ, the wisdom of God?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
O loving God,
we thank you for enriching us with many talents.
Help us to be enterprising and creative in using them
for your glory and for the sake of your kingdom.
Help us to entrust ourselves totally to Jesus Christ.
In him, you have chosen us – lowly and despised –
for your own saving purpose.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Well done, my good and faithful servant … Come, share your master’s joy.” (Mt 25:21) // “God chose the weak of the world.” (1 Cor 1:27)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
List five talents you have received from the Lord, which you have utilized fully at the service of the Church and on behalf of the community. Thank the Lord for all these gifts received. List five talents, which you have failed to use wisely for the benefit of all. Beg God’s mercy and pardon for your failure to invest them fully. Be deeply aware of the ways that God is choosing you for his purpose precisely for your poverty and lowliness.
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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