Jul 31 - 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

+ The second reading today brings us our point of focus: if you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. And in the gospel passage Jesus tells a parable with the same punch line: don’t store up treasure for yourselves here below – but be rich in what matters to God – and store up heavenly treasures that will always be there for you.

 

Regarding the first: Paul is telling the Colossians that if they really, truly and honestly call themselves Christians and believe that when they were plunged into the baptismal waters, they died, and then coming up out of them, rose with him – then from that point on they should be seeing everything differently: beyond, over and above, super-naturally! This is how Christians are meant to see and hear, think and speak and act from that moment on. So he tells them to put to death the parts of them that are earthly – immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and greed that is idolatry. You have put on a new self – Christ’s self – so for the sake of God – live like it!

 

Then Jesus again in the gospel parable tells people to stop looking below, gathering and hoarding, and storing and hiding their goods and their possessions: you cannot take it with you: and what you hoard will be distributed in any number of ways that you most likely would not approve of: so stop building bigger barns, and go straight for the sky: consider your spiritual gifts and possessions as the most important: and keep your eyes of faith focused on them in heaven! It is really not that difficult: all it takes is the initial turning away from the vanity of thinking that there is always something more to get, purchase, buy, and negotiate for: then stop worrying – all things will work out in the end – so long as you tune in to the voice of the Lord, and the Spirit – and DO WHAT THEY TELL YOU – trying to live a supernatural life in a natural world!

 

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

 

 

Jul 11 - St. Benedict of Nursia

+ St. Benedict was born at Nursia, in central Italy in 480. He studied in Rome, but was soon disgusted with the rampant immorality that he saw there, and so he “headed for the hills:” he went up Mount Subiaco and lived in a cave there as a hermit for a year. Others found him, however, and asked to join him in his monastic observance: and so he set up 12 deaneries with 10 monks each. Soon though he left the region and went to Monte Cassino, near Naples, where he finished his Rule borrowing inspiration from Sts. Basil, John Cassian, and Augustine and other “monastic writers” of the times.

 

His Rule emphasized authority and obedience (modeled after the Incarnation and Crucifixion of Jesus), and stability and community life (the only way to progress in spiritual life is the given tension of life-together that is lasting, not just temporary and fleeting). The duties of the monk are to pray the Office and read complementary readings and texts; and manual labor. The flexibility of the Rule allowed it to be instrumental in shaping centers of scholarship, agriculture, medicine and hospitality.

 

 Benedict stayed at Monte Cassino for the rest of his life. Though never becoming a priest and not intending to even found a religious order, St. Benedict soon became known as the Father of Western Monasticism: sometimes your destiny has your name written all over it. St. Benedict is one of the most widely known saints in Church history, along with his sister St. Scholastica, who founded an order of nuns who followed his Rule. His patronage is of monks, of course, but also against the forces of evil and Pope Paul VI named him a patron saint of all of Europe. He died in 550 and was buried near his sister! In the year 2000 there were 8,000 Benedictine monks, and 7,000 Benedictine nuns and 10,000 active Benedictine Sisters.

 

The purpose and goal of the monastic life is to seek and find God (the Father), using the tools of poverty, humility and obedience – and then to do his holy will. The Benedictine way is a sure-fired way to do that – not only in a formal way by joining the Order proper, but there are thousands who belong in the Professed Oblate Program – and there are many other organizations and groupings that adhere to the chief tenets of the grand and glorious, tried, tested and true Rule of St. Benedict! [We are such an association – and we are thankful to Benedict, and for his Rule.]

 

Just as Jesus assures Peter (in the gospel passage) that he will receive a great deal for his sacrifice, the Lord assures us the same; and Peter received his reward because he did all for love of Jesus; may we do the same – armed by the mighty and ancient Holy Rule of the Saintly Patriarch of Nursia!

15th Sunday in ORdinary Time

+ Today we have magnificent summer readings. Jesus tells us quite plainly that we must treat others, especially the lowly, the poor and the sick with as much care and compassion that we can – giving from our want if necessary. What matters is people! What matters is our brothers and sister in the family of God that we belong to. What matters is loving concern.

 

When we hear this exhortation we just know that it is true; there is a little bell that it rings that only grows louder and louder, the more we try to ignore it. The people of Israel, in the time of Moses, had a difficult time with heavenly-attention-span, as much as this generation – and they kept on “searching high and low” for something that was not only “right in front of their noses,” but deep down inside their beings, in their hearts. GOD WROTE THE MESSAGE OF LOVE AND COMPASSION ON EVERYONE’S HEART so we would be sure to find it. The only problem is that he gave us free will and we can tell him “no thanks” – “leave me alone” - “I’d rather keep searching – at least I might have some kind of excuse for not being informed, if I just keep searching the skies, or looking across the seas (for what will never be found looking there.)”

 

Well, fortunately for those who were happy to have God’s law written in their hearts and tried to live out what they read there – God sent an example, a friend and redeemer THE PERFECT HUMAN BEING, who would TRANSFORM HUMANITY INTO DIVINITY – all for the price of death on a Cross for him and then resurrection; this DIVINE FRIEND is JESUS CHIRST, and belief and living a life of loving obedience and compassion after his example will win a place in heaven with him forever!

 

We have our choice today – use that free will – that precious gift given in order for us to lovingly and without constraint to seek and find God, and serve him with all our heart, being and strength – and others because of him – all others, whether we like them or not, whether they are of our clan or country-club set or not – we must be Good Samaritans – if we are to truly reflect the image of Christ to others! - or we will not reflect his image and we will bring disaster upon ourselves.

 

Where we will spend eternity depends on our answer!

 

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;

you have the words of everlasting life.

So, to whom else can we go?

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

+ Our gospel passage today is a continuation from last week. Jesus is still resolutely making his way to Jerusalem. He is still determined to embrace the Cross of Calvary that will save so very many people, including you and me, if we want it, from eternal separation from God and punishment. He loves us so very much!

 

While on the way there, today, Jesus sends out into towns where he intends to visit on the trip, thirty-six pairs of helpers – whom he asked to courageously go among all kinds of people and announce that the Kingdom of God is at hand for them. “He’s coming! Get ready!” These helpers (these disciples) were to travel very lightly. They were to keep as their main focus their job, the task that Jesus gave them to do. They were to test the waters of their visitations by announcing peace. When peace is offered to someone – it pretty much speaks for itself. If a peaceful man hears the offer, he will accept it gladly and offer it back to you. If not, there will be a lot of mumbling and even cursing and the offer of peace will be thrown right back into the face of the giver.

 

Jesus is actually calling us to do as these disciples were called: follow him to Jerusalem, where we will have the privilege of witnessing God’s tremendous love for his people – by an unprecedented act of forgiveness, reconciliation and setting free – by means of the Cross. Later he would have us boast of the Cross of Christ as the sure hope of salvation for all in the world, but also he would have us carry our own crosses, boasting of them as well; for if we do not carry and boast about our own crosses – then we shall not share in the glory of the resurrection, the grace of forgiveness, the fullness of freedom, the fullness of peace forever!

 

God wants our hearts to rejoice because we feel so very much loved by him – even as a mother loves her children (I - Isaiah). We are his children – by baptism – and this is huge – this is our access point to so very many gifts, the greatest being faith and charity: belief in Jesus and the ability to love as he did with a love that emanates from the heart of God the Father himself.

 

Our greatest joy, our greatest freedom, then, is the freedom of the children of God! It is only as free children of God – operating on the supernatural level of faith and charity -- that we can even begin to understand how human life both individually and in community, the secular society, ought to be lived. In this we can see clearly how all natural law is based on and derivative of supernatural law. It cannot be otherwise. It is very difficult for a real Christian to live in the world – but no one ever said that it would be anything other than that. Jesus himself said it quite plainly: the world will hate you and persecute you if you believe in me and live by my brand of charity! In fact, unless the world does look askance at us, perhaps we are not as Christian as we ought to be.

 

Let the peace of Christ, then, control our hearts; let the word of Christ dwell in us richly! And may we be transformed by the renewal of our minds!