Third Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

LUKE 3:10-18

I RECENTLY READ A BIOGRAPHY OF STEVE JOBS, THE FOUNDER OF APPLE, WHICH IS NOW THE MOST VALUABLE COMPANY IN THE WORLD. HE HAD A LOT OF FAULTS, LIKE MANY GENIUSES. HIS TEMPER WAS LEGENDARY, AND HE NEVER COMPROMISED. HE WAS HORRIBLY ECCENTRIC, AND MIGHT BE ALIVE TODAY IF HE HADN'T DECIDED TO TRY TO CURE HIS CANCER WITH DIET BEFORE HE FINALLY ALLOWED SURGERY. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HIS IMAGINATION AND DRIVE ALMOST SINGLE-HANDEDLY TRANSFORMED OUR WORLD. HE AND HIS PARTNER STEVE WOZNIAK INVENTED THE PERSONAL COMPUTER. LATER, JOBS RE-IMAGINED THE COMPUTER AND CAME UP WITH THE MACINTOSH, WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A “MEDIA HUB”. HE INVENTED THE IPOD, AND IN ORDER TO CONTROL THE CONTENTS HE INVENTED ITUNES, WHICH IN TURN REMADE THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. THE IPAD AND THE IPHONE FOLLOWED. DURING THE TIME HE HAD BEEN FIRED FROM APPLE, HE TOOK OVER THE PIXAR COMPANY AND REVOLUTIONIZED COMPUTER ANIMATED GRAPHICS, WHICH REVOLUTIONIZED THE MOVIE INDUSTRY. WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE WOULD HAVE COME FROM HIS IMAGINATION IF HE HAD SURVIVED? EVERYTHING HE INVENTED GAVE RISE TO COUNTLESS IMITATORS. I DON'T HAVE A SINGLE APPLE PRODUCT BUT EVERY PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY I DO OWN IS AN ATTEMPT TO IMITATE SOMETHING THAT APPLE CAME UP WITH.

THERE IS A STORY I LIKE. WHEN JOBS AND HIS TEAM WERE DESIGNING THE MACINTOSH COMPUTER, HE INSISTED THAT THE INSIDE OF THE CASE BE BURNISHED AS WELL AS THE OUTSIDE. NO ONE COULD COME UP WITH A REASON FOR THIS. YOU COULDN'T LOOK AT THE INSIDE, AND EVEN IF YOU COULD, IT WOULDN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF HOW THE MACHINE WORKED. AND IT ADDED EXPENSE TO THE PRODUCTION OF THE COMPUTER. BUT JOBS INSISTED AND SO IT WAS DONE.

JOHN THE BAPTIST HAS BEEN PREACHING ABOUT THE WORLD-SHATTERING COMING OF THE MESSIAH, WHO WILL TOTALLY CHANGE THE WORLD; WHO HAS BEEN CALLING PEOPLE TO REPENTANCE AND WARNING THAT THIS WAS THE MOMENT WHEN YOU HAD TO MAKE A DECISION, IS ASKED BY PEOPLE, “WHAT SHALL WE DO?” AND HIS ANSWER IS SURPRISING. “IF YOU HAVE TWO CLOAKS, AND YOUR NEIGHBOR HAS NONE, GIVE HIM ONE OF YOURS; AND DO THE SAME WITH YOUR FOOD”. THIS WAS NO REVOLUTION! EVEN IN ANCIENT TIMES, THE JEWS WERE UNIQUE BECAUSE OF THEIR CHARITY. IN FACT, JEWISH SCHOLARS USED THE TERM “TZADIKA” WHICH CARRIES A SENSE OF OBLIGATION. SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER IN THE BOOK OF RUTH HOW RUTH AND HER MOTHER-IN-LAW WENT INTO THE FIELD OF BOAZ AFTER THE CROP HAD BEEN REAPED, AND “GLEANED” WHAT WAS LEFT. IT WAS AN OBLIGATION FOR A FARMER TO LEAVE BEHIND PART OF THE CROP, SO THAT THE POOR WOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE IT THROUGH THEIR OWN LABOR – LEAVING THEM WITH FOOD AND WITH THEIR DIGNITY. EVEN THE POOR WERE TO GIVE. JOHN WASN'T SAYING ANYTHING HIS AUDIENCE HAD NOT HEARD.

WHAT DID THE TAX COLLECTORS EXPECT WHEN THEY ASKED JOHN THE SAME QUESTION? WOULD HE TELL THEM TO STOP WORKING FOR THE ROMANS? NOT AT ALL. JOHN TOLD THEM “COLLECT NO MORE THAN THE AMOUNT PRESCRIBED FOR YOU.” TAX COLLECTORS WERE PAID A PERCENTAGE OF THE MONEY THEY COLLECTED. THE ROMANS WOULD DEMAND A CERTAIN AMOUNT FROM A GIVEN DISTRICT, AND THE TAX COLLECTOR, WITH THE HELP OF A FEW SOLDIERS, WOULD GO AROUND AND TELL PEOPLE WHAT THEY HAD TO GIVE. OBVIOUSLY IT WAS EASY TO TAKE A BIT MORE THAN THEY SHOULD, BUT PEOPLE HAD NO RECOURSE EXCEPT TO HOPE THE TAX COLLECTOR WAS HONEST. AND THAT WAS RARE.

AND THE SOLDIERS? WERE THEY TO STOP WORKING FOR THE ROMANS? THE SOLDIERS WOULD AUGMENT THEIR INCOMES BY BLACKMAIL OR BY THREATS. “THEY WOULD SAY, “YOU HAVE A NICE LITTLE SHOP HERE, TOO BAD IS SOMETHING WERE TO HAPPEN TO IT!” BUT JOHN SAID, “BE SATISFIED WITH YOUR WAGES.”

JOHN'S ANSWER TO THE QUESTION “WHAT SHALL WE DO” IS SIMPLY, “DO WHAT YOU KNOW IS RIGHT; YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO OFF IN THE DESERT AND EAT LOCUSTS. YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO TO A MONASTERY. BUT WHAT YOU DO HAVE TO DO IS TAKE THE DUTIES YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN AND DO THEM AS PERFECTLY AS YOU CAN.

SAINT JOSE MARIA ESCRIVA, THE FOUNDER OF OPUS DEI, SAID THAT THE VOCATION OF THE LAITY – I'M TECHNICALLY NOT LAITY ANYMORE, BUT I USED TO BE – THE VOCATION OF THE LAITY IS TO MAKE OUR WORK HOLY, TO MAKE OURSELVES HOLY THROUGH OUR WORK, AND TO MAKE THE WORLD HOLY THROUGH OUR WORK. THAT'S IT. WORK ISN'T SOMETHING WE DO BECAUSE WE HAVE TO; IT ISN'T PUNISHMENT FOR ORIGINAL SIN; IT ISN'T SOMETHING THAT IS NOT QUITE AS GOOD AS PRAYING ALL THE TIME. IT'S OUR TOOL, OUR GIFT, OUR MEANS OF HOLINESS. AND WHEN WE DO OUR WORK AS WELL AS POSSIBLE, PAYING ATTENTION TO DETAILS, DOING IT LOVINGLY BECAUSE IN DOING IT WE PARTICIPATE IN THE KINGDOM GOD IS BRINGING ABOUT, THEN WE ARE TRULY LIVING UP TO OUR CALLING.

JOHN IS SAYING, THE WAY TO PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH IS NOT TO GO WAIT ON A MOUNTAINTOP OR TO GO OFF INTO THE DESERT, OR TO SELL ALL YOU HAVE AND GIVE TO THE POOR – THAT WAS A COMMAND GIVEN TO ONE PERSON, NOT ALL OF US – JOHN WAS SAYING, PREPARATION FOR HIS COMING IS WITHIN YOUR POWER, RIGHT NOW, TODAY.

STEVE JOBS MAY HAVE BEEN A LITTLE CRAZY LIKE MANY GENIUSES. BUT WHEN HE WANTED THE INSIDE OF THE CASE FOR HIS COMPUTER TO LOOK AS GOOD AS THE OUTSIDE, HE WAS DOING SOMETHING AS WELL AS HE COULD POSSIBLY IMAGINE, AND THAT WAS THE WAY HE WOULD APPROACH EVERY PRODUCT OF APPLE AND HIS OTHER COMPANY, PIXAR.

SHARING OUR GOODS WITH OUR NEIGHBOR AND DOING OUR WORK AS WELL AS WE CAN IN ORDER TO MAKE IT HOLY, IN ORDER TO MAKE US HOLY, IN ORDER TO MAKE THE WORLD HOLY – THAT'S JOHN'S MESSAGE. AND JESUS WOULD NEVER DISAGREE. AFTER ALL, IT WAS SAID ABOUT HIM, “LOOK, HE DOES ALL THINGS WELL!”

Second Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

LUKE 3:1-6

IF YOU'VE BEEN FOLLOWING THE NEWS, YOU KNOW THAT THE YEAR OF MERCY IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. AND IT IS A GOOD TIME TO THINK ABOUT THAT PARTICULAR VIRTUE. SO WHAT IS MERCY?

WE ALL HAVE A PRETTY GOOD IDEA OF WHAT JUSTICE IS. JUSTICE MEANS THAT WE GET WHAT WE DESERVE; IF WE HAVE DONE SOMETHING WRONG, WE RECEIVE PUNISHMENT; IF WE'VE DONE SOMETHING GOOD, WE GET A REWARD. AN EYE FOR AN EYE, A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH. YOU COULD PROGRAM A COMPUTER TO ADMINISTER JUSTICE; YOU DON'T NEED A JUDGE.

AND THEN WE THINK ABOUT MERCY AND SORT OF CONTRAST IT WITH JUSTICE. IF JUSTICE IS GETTING WHAT YOU DESERVE, MERCY IS NOT GETTING WHAT YOU DESERVE IF YOU'VE DONE SOMETHING WRONG, AND MAYBE GETTING FAR MORE THAN YOU DESERVE IF YOU'VE DONE SOMETHING GOOD. MERCY SEEMS TO MEAN THAT SOMETHING GOOD HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON'T DESERVE IT.

BUT MERCY IS NOTHING LIKE JUSTICE; IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH JUSTICE.

THINK ABOUT IT. IF SOMEONE GIVES ME SOMETHING THAT I DON'T HAVE ANY RIGHT TO, ARE THEY BEING MERCIFUL? WELL, THERE MAY BE MANY OTHER POSSIBILITIES.

PERHAPS THEY WANT TO INFLUENCE ME SO THAT I WILL OWE THEM SOMETHING. THAT ISN'T MERCY. PERHAPS THEY LOOK DOWN ON ME AND THEIR GIFT IS SORT OF A DECLARATION THAT THEY ARE SUPERIOR TO ME. I THINK A LOT OF POOR DEPENDENT PEOPLE CAN SENSE THAT. SOMETIMES A PERSON SEEMS UNGRATEFUL, BUT SHE SENSES THAT WHAT APPEARS TO BE OUR GENEROSITY IS JUST A FORM OF PRIDE. SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES SAID THAT THIS KIND OF GENEROSITY WOULD MAKE THE POOR HATE YOU FOR THE BREAD YOU GIVE THEM.

MERCY ISN'T THE SAME THING AS CHARITY EITHER. CHARITY IS A GREAT GOOD, AND A GOAL FOR EVERY CHRISTIAN. CHARITY IS THE GIVING OF SOMETHING OF OURSELVES – TIME, TALENT, TREASURE – FOR THE GOOD OF OTHER PEOPLE. WHEN BILL GATES OR WARREN BUFFET SPEND THEIR MILLIONS ON THINGS THAT WILL BENEFIT MANKIND, THAT'S CHARITY. WHEN MOTHER THERESA AND HER SISTERS SPEND THEIR LIVES HELPING THE POOR AND DESTITUTE, THAT'S CHARITY. THERE MAY BE MERCY THERE AS WELL, BUT NOT NECESSARILY.

SO WHAT IS MERCY? WE COULD SAY THAT MERCY IS LOVE IN ACTION. THEN WE HAVE TO ASK, WHAT IS LOVE? THE ANSWER GIVEN BY SAINT THOMAS IS SIMPLE: LOVE IS WANTING THE BEST FOR ANOTHER PERSON. IF I WANT THE BEST, I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT IS THE BEST; AND IT HAS TO DO WITH ANOTHER PERSON, A REAL CONCRETE HUMAN BEING, NOT MANKIND, NOT SYRIAN REFUGEES, NOT THE HOMELESS.

SO IN ORDER FOR ME TO BE MERCIFUL TO YOU, THE FIRST STEP IS TO RECOGNIZE YOU AS AN EQUAL, WORTHY OF MY LOVE AND LOVED BY GOD AS MUCH AS GOD LOVES ME. THE SECOND THING IS TO LOOK AT YOU AND ASK WHAT IS IT THAT YOU NEED TO BECOME A BETTER AND MORE COMPLETE PERSON. THE THIRD, OF COURSE, IS TO DO SOMETHING WITHIN MY POWER TO AT LEAST BEGIN TO ACCOMPLISH THAT. MERCY MEANS THAT I LOVE YOU NOT JUST FOR WHO YOU ARE, BUT ALSO FOR WHO YOU COULD BECOME, HOW GOD MEANT YOU TO BE.

AND ODDLY ENOUGH TODAY'S GOSPEL IS ABOUT MERCY. SAINT LUKE TAKES GREAT PAINS TO TELL US THAT AT A PARTICULAR TIME AND PLACE, WHEN HEROD WAS THIS AND PHILIP WAS THAT AND THESE PARTICULAR MEN WERE THE HIGH PRIESTS, THAT WAS THE PRECISE MOMENT WHEN GOD DID SOMETHING NEW; WHEN GOD BEGAN TO INTERVENE IN THE AFFAIRS OF MEN. AND THE FIRST STEP WAS TO INSPIRE JOHN THE BAPTIST TO CARRY A NEW MESSAGE TO GOD'S PEOPLE. THE MESSAGE WAS NOT THAT GOD WAS READY TO FORGIVE YOUR SINS, BUT THAT FORGIVENESS WAS ALREADY THERE, AND THE BAPTISM OF JOHN WAS A SIGN THAT YOU ACCEPTED WHAT GOD HAD TO OFFER. AND THE PASSAGE FROM ISAIAH – THE WORLD WOULD LOOK PRETTY STRANGE IF ALL THE VALLEYS WERE FILLED UP AND THE MOUNTAINS LEVELED, IF THE CROOKED WAYS WERE MADE STRAIGHT; BUT ISAIAH IS DESCRIBING GOD'S ACTION TOWARDS HIS PEOPLE – HE IS TEARING DOWN THE BARRIERS BETWEEN HIM AND HIS PEOPLE, SO THAT THE WAY TO GOD IS LIKE A HIGHWAY; GOD NO LONGER KEEPS HIMSELF APART FROM MAN.

MERCY, YOU SEE, IS GOD-LIKE. GOD LOOKS AT HIS CREATION, AT HIS PEOPLE, AND SEES THEM AS THEY WERE MEANT TO BE – LIKE ADAM AND EVE BEFORE THE FALL. AND GOD SEES EACH OF US AS INDIVIDUALS, LOOKS AT US WITH LOVE, AND WANTS TO RESTORE US TO HOW WE SHOULD BE AND EVEN MORE. AND GOD LOVES US SO MUCH THAT HE BECOMES ONE OF US; HE DOESN'T LOOK DOWN UPON US FROM THE HEAVENS, HE JOINS US AS AN EQUAL ON THE EARTH AND LOOKS AT EACH OF US EYE TO EYE. HE THEN OFFERS US WHAT WE NEED TO BE COMPLETE, TO BE THE WAY HE MEANT US TO BE; HE OFFERS US HIMSELF. WE TALK ABOUT THE CRUCIFIXION AND DEATH OF JESUS IN TERMS OF PAYING A DEBT WE CAN'T PAY, OR HIM UNDERGOING A PUNISHMENT THAT YOU AND I DESERVE, SO THAT GOD WILL NO LONGER CONDEMN US. BUT GOD NEVER DESIRES EVIL, NOT FOR US, NOT EVEN FOR HIS ONLY SON. WHAT GOD REALLY DOES IS BECOME ONE OF US SO THAT HE CAN TRAVEL THE SAME JOURNEY WE MAKE, SO THAT HE CAN LIVE OUR LIVES OVER AGAIN, IN A SENSE, THE RIGHT WAY. AND IN DOING SO, THOUGH IT'S A GREAT MYSTERY, HE UNITES US TO HIMSELF AND WE THROUGH NO POWER OF OUR OWN, WE ARE GIVEN THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME WHAT HE MEANT FOR US TO BE.

AND THAT'S OUR CALL AS WELL; WE HAVE BEEN THE RECIPIENTS OF MERCY, SO WE ARE CALLED TO BE GIVERS OF MERCY. IN A VERY CONCRETE PRACTICAL WAY, WE NEED TO CULTIVATE IN OURSELVES A CERTAIN HUMILITY SO THAT WHEN WE SEE ANOTHER PERSON, WE DON'T SEE THEM AS PART OF A CLASS – AS POOR, AS DISABLED, AS A CRIMINAL, AS REFUGEES – BUT INSTEAD, WE SEE THEM AS SOMEONE GOD LOVES AS MUCH AS HE LOVES ME. AND THEN WE NEED TO SEE HOW GOD WANTS THAT PERSON TO BE, NOT AS HOW HE IS RIGHT NOW. AND THEN WE DO WHAT WE CAN TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. IF THIS IS HOW WE APPROACH EACH OTHER, THEN WE ARE PRACTICING MERCY.

THE GOSPEL THIS SUNDAY TELLS US THAT IN HIS MERCY GOD FILLS UP VALLEYS AND TEARS DOWN MOUNTAINS AND MAKES WINDING ROADS STRAIGHT AND ROUGH ROADS SMOOTH SO THAT THERE ARE NO BARRIERS BETWEEN GOD AND HIS PEOPLE. AND WE ARE INVITED TO HELP IN THAT TASK WHERE EVEN A SMALL EFFORT ON OUR PART WILL BE MAGNIFIED THROUGH GOD'S POWER.

THE CHAPLET OF THE DIVINE MERCY IS RECITED HERE EVERY TUESDAY AT 3:00 PM BEFORE THE BLESSED SACRAMENT; THIS COMING TUESDAY IS THE SOLEMN FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION AND IT WOULD BE A WONDERFUL THING IF MANY OF OUR PARISHIONERS WERE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS DEVOTION. WHAT BETTER WAY COULD YOU SPEND FIFTEEN MINUTES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR OF MERCY?

First Sunday of Advent, cycle C

LUKE 21:25-28, 34-36

JESUS TELLS HIS DISCIPLES, “BEWARE THAT YOUR HEARTS DO NOT BECOME DROWSY FROM CAROUSING AND DRUNKENNESS AND THE ANXIETIES OF DAILY LIFE, AND THAT THAT DAY CATCH YOU BY SURPRISE LIKE A TRAP. THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT ADVENT IS ALL ABOUT. NOW IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU PROBABLY DON'T HAVE TOO MUCH TO WORRY ABOUT WITH CAROUSING OR DRUNKENNESS, BUT THE ANXIETIES OF DAILY LIFE ARE ANOTHER MATTER. YOU KNOW THE FEELING; YOU GET UP IN THE MORNING WITH A PLAN, BUT BEFORE TEN O'CLOCK YOUR PLAN IS ON THE SHELF WHILE YOU COPE WITH THIS OR THAT INTERRUPTION; AND BY THE TIME THE DAY IS OVER, YOU HAVEN'T REALLY DONE WHAT YOU SET OUT TO DO. SOME PEOPLE ARE PERHAPS MORE ORGANIZED OR MORE SINGLE-MINDED AND GET DONE WHAT THEY PLANNED TO DO; BUT EVEN THAT CAN BE A PROBLEM, BECAUSE THEN EACH DAY IS JUST A SERIES OF TASKS, TASKS THAT NEVER SEEM TO HAVE AN END. AND A YEAR GOES BY, AND ALL WE HAVE TO SHOW FOR IT IS THAT WE ARE OLDER. ALL THE NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS, THE LOSING WEIGHT, THE STARTING AN EXERCISE PROGRAM, THE PLAN TO SAVE A LITTLE MORE MONEY AGAINST RETIREMENT – IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN. AND THE OLDER YOU GET, THE HARDER IT IS TO CHANGE YOUR HABITS.

ADVENT IS PLACED RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHURCH YEAR. IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE A TIME WHEN WE ANTICIPATE, WHEN WE LOOK FORWARD TO THAT SINGULAR EVENT WHICH CHANGED ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY. CHRISTMAS CELEBRATES JESUS' BIRTH OF COURSE, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT CELEBRATES THE INCARNATION, THE FACT THAT GOD BECAME A HUMAN BEING SO THAT HE COULD SHARE HIS DIVINITY WITH US. SO HOW DO WE CELEBRATE ADVENT?

WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, SOME PEOPLE CALLED ADVENT “LITTLE LENT” AND THAT'S WHAT WE DID – GAVE UP CANDY, USUALLY, JUST LIKE WE DID IN LENT. IT DIDN'T HELP THAT THE PRIEST WORE PURPLE VESTMENTS IN BOTH SEASONS. BUT LENT IS INDEED A TIME OF PENANCE, OF REPENTANCE, OF EXAMINING OUR LIVES AND CONFRONTING OUR SINS. ADVENT IS A TIME WHEN WE “STAND ERECT AND RAISE OUR HEADS BECAUSE OUR REDEMPTION IS AT HAND”.

SO IT IS IMPORTANT TO PICK SOMETHING TO DO EVERY DAY TO REMIND OURSELVES WHAT SEASON WE ARE IN AND THAT WE ARE WAITING FOR GOD TO COME INTO OUR LIVES IN A NEW WAY. AND THE BEST THING TO DO IS TO ADOPT A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE THAT IS DONE EVERY DAY. THIS WILL SERVE TO REMIND YOU OF THE ATTITUDE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE – AN ATTITUDE OF WATCHFULNESS, OF ANTICIPATION, OF BEING PREPARED.

HERE ARE SOME IDEAS: READ THE GOSPEL OF LUKE. IF YOU READ A CHAPTER A DAY THERE ARE 24 CHAPTERS. OF COURSE THE LONGEST ADVENT WOULD CONSIST OF 27 DAYS, BUT IF THERE ARE EXTRA DAYS, YOU WILL PROBABLY NEED TO CATCH UP ON CHRISTMAS SHOPPING OR SOMETHING – OR GO BACK AND READ THE STORY OF THE ANNUNCIATION AND BIRTH OF THE LORD OVER AGAIN.

ANOTHER IDEA: FIND A GOOD BOOK THAT YOU CAN READ A BIT AT A TIME – A BOOK FOR SPIRITUAL READING. DIG OUT THAT BOOK THE PARISH GAVE YOU LAST YEAR THAT YOU MAY NOT HAVE OPENED YET, OR IF YOU'VE READ IT, IT MIGHT BE WORTH READING AGAIN; JUST REMEMBER TO READ A LITTLE AT A TIME, JUST SO YOU READ SOME EVERY DAY.

YOU MIGHT THINK ABOUT THE ROSARY. WE DON'T APPRECIATE THE ROSARY. LOTS OF CATHOLICS ARE ATTRACTED TO MEDITATION, SOMETIMES TO YOGA; BUT THE ROSARY IS A UNIQUELY CATHOLIC EXERCISE. THE TWENTY MYSTERIES WALK US THROUGH THE LIFE OF MARY, JESUS AND THE EARLY CHURCH – THAT IS THE KERYGMA, THE SUBSTANCE OF WHICH HAS BEEN PREACHED FROM THE EARLIEST DAYS OF THE CHURCH. ITS THE SAME THING PAUL WAS TALKING ABOUT, WHEN HE SAID, “AS FOR ME I PREACH CHRIST, AND HIM CRUCIFIED.” AS YOU SAY THE HAIL MARY, THE PRAYER STRAIGHT FROM THE BIBLE, CONSISTING OF THE ANGEL'S GREETING TO MARY AND ELIZABETH'S GREETING TO MARY HER COUSIN, AS WELL AS A REMINDER THAT MARY IS INDEED THE MOTHER OF GOD, A TRUTH ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE EARLY CHURCH AGAINST MUCH CONTROVERSY, YOU HOLD THE IMAGE OF THE MYSTERY IN YOUR MIND'S EYE. QUIET YOUR HEART AND LISTEN AND SOMETIMES THE LORD WILL SPEAK. AND IF YOU CAN'T BRING YOURSELF TO DO A WHOLE ROSARY EVERY DAY, TAKING TWELVE TO FIFTEEN MINUTES, THEN DO A MYSTERY AND A DECADE – BUT DO WHATEVER YOU DO EVERY DAY.

DAILY MASS WOULD BE A GREAT EXERCISE. WE ARE SO LUCKY AT SAINT MARY'S. WE HAVE CHOICES. THERE ARE PLACES WERE YOU CAN'T GET TO DAILY MASS; THE PARISH MIGHT HAVE MASS ONLY TWO OR THREE WEEKDAYS. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PARTICIPATING IN THE SUM AND SUMMIT OF CHRISTIAN LIFE MORE OFTEN THAN JUST ON SUNDAYS.

FINALLY, THINK ABOUT ADORATION. THINK ABOUT JOINING YOUR FELLOW PARISHIONERS BY BEING PRESENT WHEN THE SACRED HOST IS FORMALLY HONORED ON TUESDAYS. GIVE THE LORD AN HOUR OF YOUR TIME ONCE A WEEK. AND IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU DO; IF YOU ARE PRESENT TO HIM, THAT'S A GREAT BEGINNING. LET HIM SEND HIS HEALING GRACE TO YOU.

SOME OF YOU ALREADY DO SOME OR ALL OF THESE THINGS. OTHERS DON'T DO ANY. BUT THE POINT IS TO ADD SOMETHING TO YOUR DAY DURING ADVENT SO THAT YOU CAN ENTER INTO THE ANTICIPATION TO WHICH THE CHURCH CALLS HER CHILDREN. AND ASK THE LORD FOR THE STRENGTH TO ESCAPE THE TRIBULATIONS THAT ARE IMMINENT AND STAND BEFORE THE SON OF MAN.

Feast of Christ the King, 2015

JOHN 18:33-37

IT'S INTERESTING TO COMPARE THE THREE READINGS TODAY, ON THIS FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING. THE FIRST READING IS A PROPHECY OF THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN TO HAVE DOMINION OVER EVERYTHING – TRULY A KING. THE SECOND READING IS LIKEWISE A VISION OF THE END OF TIME; JESUS IS THE RULER OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH, THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA. BUT THE GOSPEL READING IS DIFFERENT. JESUS IS AN ABJECT PRISONER. WE CAN IMAGINE HIM, HANDS TIED, BEATEN, CLOTHING TORN, STANDING ALL ALONE BEFORE PILATE WHO OBSERVES, CORRECTLY, THAT “YOUR OWN NATION AND CHIEF PRIESTS HAVE HANDED YOU OVER TO ME.” THE THIRD READING SEEMS TO BE IN DIRECT CONTRAST WITH THE OTHER TWO. WE GO FROM COSMIC VISIONS TO THE REALITY OF A CONDEMNED CRIMINAL BEING JUDGED BY A CAREER CIVIL SERVANT WHO RULES OVER A BACKWATER COUNTRY IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

AND ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS THAT JESUS SAYS WHEN PILATE ASKS HIM IF HE IS A KING, IS “MY KINGDOM DOES NOT BELONG TO THIS WORLD.” DID YOU HEAR THAT ANOTHER WAY? DID YOU EVER HEAR THAT QUOTE AS “MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD?” IF YOU DID, THAT'S BECAUSE THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS TRANSLATED IN THE KING JAMES BIBLE AND ECHOED IN THE DOUEY RHEIMS BIBLE, THE CATHOLIC TRANSLATION THAT CAME OUT ABOUT THE SAME TIME. THE TRANSLATION WE JUST HEARD IS MUCH MORE ACCURATE. AND THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE. MANY PEOPLE HAVE USED “MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD” TO JUSTIFY WITHDRAWING FROM THE WORLD INTO A KIND OF GHETTO. IF WE WANT TO BE PART OF THE KINGDOM, WE GO WHERE IT IS, AND IT IS NOT OF THIS WORLD. AND IF WE LOOK AT THE WORLD AND SEE A LOT OF THINGS THAT NEED TO BE FIXED, WELL, HIS KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD, SO LET'S NOT WASTE A LOT OF TIME ON THIS WORLD. OR WE FIND OURSELVES OR OUR LOVED ONES SUFFERING, AND WE PROMISE THAT THERE WILL BE A BETTER PLACE – AFTER ALL, HIS KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD.

BUT TO SAY HIS KINGDOM DOES NOT BELONG TO THIS WORLD IS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT. WHAT CHARACTERIZES KINGDOMS THAT DO BELONG TO THIS WORLD? ULTIMATELY THEY BEGIN WHEN ONE GROUP VIOLENTLY OVERTHROWS ANOTHER GROUP. WE CAN LOOK BACK ON OUR OWN HISTORY; WE CONQUERED THE BRITISH; WE TURNED AROUND AND CONQUERED NATIVE AMERICANS AS WE EXPANDED OUR TERRITORY. WE CONQUERED MEXICO TO TAKE MUCH OF THE SOUTHWEST. WE CONQUERED THE HAWAIIAN KINGDOM TO ANNEX HAWAII. OUR COUNTRY, LIKE EVERY COUNTRY, ARISES OUT OF VIOLENCE.

FOR A KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD TO CONTINUE TO EXIST REQUIRES VIOLENCE AS WELL. WE NEED ARMIES TO HOLD BACK INVADERS. BUT EVEN WITHIN THE COUNTRY THERE HAS TO BE SOME SORT OF VIOLENCE. EVEN ELECTIONS ARE VIOLENT; ONE GROUP OF PEOPLE IMPOSES THEIR WILL ON ANOTHER GROUP, AND THAT IS A VIOLENT ACT, ALTHOUGH NOT IN THE SAME CATEGORY AS A CIVIL WAR.

IN KINGDOMS WHICH BELONG TO THIS WORLD, THERE ARE ALWAYS THE HAVES AND THE HAVE NOTS, THE RICH AND THE POOR, THE SOLID CITIZENS AND THE PEOPLE AT THE MARGINS. THERE WILL BE THOSE WHOSE LIVES ARE RICH AND FULL, AND OTHERS WHOSE LIVES ARE MEANINGLESS. AND THERE WILL BE THOSE WHO ARE SICK AND THOSE WHO ARE WELL.

JESUS' KINGDOM DOES NOT BELONG TO THIS WORLD, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT IS OFF IN OUTER SPACE OR IN ANOTHER DIMENSION, OR CAN ONLY BE ACCESSED WHEN WE DIE. IT CERTAINLY DOESN'T MEAN HEAVEN. JESUS SHOWED BY HIS LIFE AND HIS PREACHING WHAT HE WANTED TO ACCOMPLISH IN THIS WORLD; HE WANTED TO SUBSTITUTE LOVE FOR VIOLENCE, SO THAT LOVE OF GOD AND LOVE OF NEIGHBOR WOULD BE THE MOTIVATING FORCES IN HIS KINGDOM. HE WANTED A WORLD WHERE EVERY PERSON WAS TREATED WITH DIGNITY, WHERE THERE WAS NO HUNGER OR SICKNESS OR POOR OR PEOPLE LIVING AT THE MARGINS. AND IN HIS KINGDOM THERE WOULD BE NO THROW-AWAY PEOPLE, NO PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES WERE EMPTY AND MEANINGLESS.

WHEN WE THINK ABOUT JESUS' KINGDOM, IT SEEMS LIKE AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK. HOW CAN WE REMAKE THE WORLD SO THAT HE IS THE KING OF THE PROPHECIES, THE KING OF KINGS AND THE LORD OF LORDS? EVEN HERE JESUS WOULD NOT HAVE SAID “IT CAN'T BE DONE” OR “IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY HARD.” HE TOLD HIS FOLLOWERS AND THAT INCLUDES YOU AND I, THAT HIS KINGDOM IS WITHIN US. AND I THINK IF YOU'VE LIVED ON THIS EARTH FOR A WHILE, YOU KNOW THAT THIS IS TRUE. WE KNOW THAT OUR FINEST MOMENTS ARE WHEN WE HAVE FORGOTTEN OURSELVES AND ARE SERVING OTHER PEOPLE, WHEN LOVE IS MOTIVATING OUR ACTIONS, RATHER THAN SELFISHNESS. WE KNOW THAT WE CAN CHOOSE TO LIVE MEANINGLESS LIVES, OR WE CAN FIND MEANING AND PURPOSE IN OUR LIFE, EVEN IF OUR LIFE IS SEVERELY RESTRICTED BY PAIN OR DISABILITY, AND WHEN WE LIVE A LIFE OF MEANING, WE HAVE JOY. AND WE KNOW, FROM THE EXAMPLE OF THE MARTYRS, THAT WE CAN EVEN BE JOYFUL, WE CAN EVEN BE IN THE KINGDOM OF JESUS, IF WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH.

LIVING IN THE KINGDOM OF JESUS, THE KINGDOM WHICH DOES NOT BELONG TO THIS WORLD, IS POSSIBLE FOR YOU AND I RIGHT NOW. WE SEE PEOPLE LIVING IN THAT KINGDOM; POPE FRANCIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE, AND I'M SURE THAT YOU CAN THINK OF OTHERS. JESUS DID NOT MAKE IT HARD; HE TOLD US THAT HIS YOKE IS SWEET AND HIS BURDEN LIGHT. AND HE PROMISES TO BE WITH US; THAT HE AND THE FATHER WILL LIVE IN US IF WE INVITE HIM INTO OUR LIVES.

SOMETIMES PEOPLE IMAGINE THAT BEING A CHRISTIAN IS A STRUGGLE, THAT IT IS A BURDEN, THAT IT IS MUCH EASIER TO BE A PAGAN. BUT THINK ABOUT THIS; IF GOD WANTS YOU AND I TO BE HAPPY AND TO BE FULL OF JOY, HE WANTS THIS FOR US RIGHT NOW, NOT AS THE REWARD FOR PASSING SOME KIND OF TEST. AND HE'S GIVEN US THE MEANS, AND THE SPIRITUAL HELP WE NEED, TO BECOME CITIZENS OF THE KINGDOM WHICH DOES NOT BELONG TO THIS WORLD.

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B

MARK 13:1-8

WE HAVE REACHED THE LAST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. IT SEEMS TO BE ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD. IT TALKS ABOUT THE GREAT TRIBULATION, WHERE THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE FORTH ITS LIGHT, THE STARS WILL FALL, AND THE SON OF MAN WILL COME. AND HE WILL SEND OUT HIS ANGELS TO GATHER THE ELECT FROM THE ENDS OF THE EARTH TO THE ENDS OF THE SKY.

WHAT ARE WE TO MAKE OF THIS? WE CAN TAKE IT AS A WARNING, I GUESS, THAT LIFE IS PRECIOUS, THAT WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME, THAT WE BETTER MAKE A DECISION RIGHT NOW THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE AMONG THOSE ELECT.

BUT JESUS GOES ON TO SAY THAT ALL OF THIS WILL HAPPEN BEFORE THIS GENERATION PASSES AWAY. ON FIRST GLANCE, THAT WOULD SEEM TO MAKE JESUS A VERY POOR PROPHET. THERE AREN'T ANY OF THAT GENERATION LEFT, AND GENERATIONS AND GENERATIONS HAVE COME AND GONE, AND STILL THE GREAT TRIBULATION HASN'T HAPPENED.. THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT PEOPLE HAVEN'T THOUGHT IT WAS HAPPENING; DURING THE FIRST GENERATION OF CHRISTIANS YOU COULD BE EXCUSED FOR THINKING THAT IT WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN; THE CHURCH WAS BEING PERSECUTED TO DEATH. AND A COUPLE OF HUNDRED YEARS LATER, THE PEACE OF THE EMPIRE WAS BEING SHATTERED BY BARBARIANS. AND THEN ISLAM CONQUERED BYZANTIUM, THE EASTERN HALF OF CHRISTENDOM; AND THEN CAME THE BLACK PLAGUE – AND YOU GET MY DRIFT. BUT LOOKING BACKWARDS NONE OF THESE LIFE-SHATTERING EVENTS TURNED OUT TO BE THE GREAT TRIBULATION, AND THEIR GENERATIONS HAVE COME AND GONE.

MAYBE JESUS ISN'T TALKING ABOUT LITERAL GENERATIONS. MAYBE HE IS TALKING ABOUT THE GENERATION THAT PAYS ATTENTION TO THE THINGS OF THE WORLD, THAT LIVES IN RELATIVISM, THAT SEEKS ONLY TO PLEASE ITSELF. THE GENERATION THAT THINKS HUMAN LIFE IS DISPOSABLE OR TO BE USED. THE GENERATION THAT BELIEVES WAR CAN BRING ABOUT PEACE. THE GENERATION THAT LAUGHS AT GOD'S LAWS. THE GENERATION THAT BELIEVES THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS OBJECTIVE TRUTH. OUR GENERATION, THE GENERATION OF THE FIRST CHRISTIANS, AND EVERY GENERATION IN BETWEEN.

WE DON'T SEE THE HUMAN RACE GETTING BETTER WITH TIME. OH, WE'VE LEARNED TO CURE A LOT OF ILLNESSES; WE'VE MADE LIFE A LOT EASIER FOR SOME OF US. TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE HAVE REPLACED SLAVERY IN ALLOWING A FEW PEOPLE TO LIVE IN LUXURY BY EXPLOITING THE MANY. BUT WE ARE NOT A LOT DIFFERENT FROM THOSE WEALTHY PEOPLE IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE; WE TAKE FOR GRANTED THAT WE HAVE A RIGHT TO THREE SQUARE MEALS A DAY, A DECENT HOUSE, AN ANNUAL VACATION, FREEDOM FROM PAIN. WE FORGET THAT PEOPLE LIKE US MAKE UP ABOUT TEN PERCENT OF THE POPULATION OF THE WORLD – PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

WE ARE THE GENERATION JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT. JESUS INVITES US TO LEARN FROM THE FIG TREE. ANYONE CAN TELL WHEN SUMMER IS NOT FAR OFF; THE BRANCHES OF THE TREE BEGIN TO GREEN UP; FLOWER BUDS BEGIN TO FORM. THE TREE KNOWS WHAT IS HAPPENING, AND PREPARES. THE TIME OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION IS NOT A FAR DISTANT THING, BUT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. JESUS PROMISES THAT.

HOW WILL IT HAPPEN? I DON'T KNOW. I THINK JESUS IS TELLING EACH OF US THAT WE WILL EXPERIENCE IT.

I KNOW A LADY OVER AT THE NURSING HOME. SHE'S ABOUT NINETY. SHE CAN'T GET OUT OF BED ANYMORE, AND NEEDS TO BE FED. SHE SLEEPS MUCH OF THE TIME, BUT SHE'S LUCID WHEN SHE WAKES UP. SHE NEVER FAILS TO REMIND ME THAT SHE'S HAD A GREAT LIFE, AND THE PICTURES THAT SURROUND HER BED SAY THIS AS WELL. BUT SHE'S THE LAST OF HER FAMILY; HER HUSBAND HAS PASSED AWAY; HER CHILDREN ARE BUSY WITH THEIR OWN LIVES; AND FOR HER, THE SUN HAS DIMMED AND THE MOON HAS LOST IT'S LIGHT. SHE SPENT HER LIFE AS A FAITHFUL CATHOLIC; SHE'S RECEIVED THE SACRAMENT OF THE SICK MORE THAN ONCE; AND SHE HAS NO FEARS OF THE NEXT LIFE. BUT HER LIFE IS ONE OF TRIBULATION AT PRESENT.

WE ARE ALL PART OF THIS GENERATION; WE WILL ALL EXPERIENCE THE TRIBULATION; WE WON'T KNOW WHEN OR HOW; AS JESUS SAYS ONLY GOD KNOWS. BUT IF YOU WALK THROUGH A NURSING HOME, OR THE CORRIDORS OF A HOSPITAL, OR GO TO A WAKE, OR WATCH THE EVENING NEWS, YOU WILL SEE THE SIGNS, YOU WILL LEARN FROM THE FIG TREE.

JESUS PROMISES US THAT AT HIS COMING THE ELECT WILL BE GATHERED UP. I BELIEVE HE OFFERS EACH OF US A PLACE AMONG THE ELECT.

TODAY'S READINGS NOT ONLY GIVE US A WARNING, BUT A REMEDY AS WELL. IN THE PSALM, WHICH I INVITE YOU TO READ THOUGHTFULLY AND WITH PRAYER, WE ARE TOLD WHERE OUR ATTENTION SHOULD BE. “YOU ARE MY INHERITANCE, O LORD”, THE PSALMIST REMINDS HIMSELF. “YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO THE NETHERWORLD, NOR WILL YOU SUFFER YOUR FAITHFUL TO UNDERGO CORRUPTION. YOU WILL SHOW ME THE PATH OF LIFE.”

JESUS PROMISES TO SEND HIS ANGELS TO GATHER HIS ELECT. IF WE HAVE MADE JESUS THE CENTER OF OUR LIVES, IF WE DO SEE HIM AS OUR INHERITANCE, AS OUR TEACHER, AS THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS ANYTHING WORTHWHILE TO OFFER, AND WE ACT ACCORDINGLY, THEN WE ARE HIS ELECT. IF WE PERSIST IN BEING PART OF THIS GENERATION, HE'S WARNED US OF THE CONSEQUENCES.

WHEN TRIBULATION COMES TO US, LET US PRAY THAT WE ARE AMONG THE ELECT, THAT JESUS IS OUR INHERITANCE, THAT WE NO LONGER BELONG TO THIS GENERATION.

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B

MARK 12:38-44

WHEN MY SON WAS VERY YOUNG, I TOOK HIM CHRISTMAS SHOPPING. HE HAD TEN DOLLARS TO SPEND, AND WANTED TO GET A PRESENT FOR EACH OF HIS FIVE OLDER SISTERS, AS WELL AS HIS MOTHER. I GUESS HE FIGURED I DIDN'T NEED A PRESENT. IT SEEMED LIKE AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK. WE WENT TO A FEW STORES, AND FINALLY, I THINK WE WERE IN ONE OF THOSE ULTRA-DISCOUNT STORES, HE FOUND ONE OF THOSE BUBBLE-WRAPPED THINGS CONTAINING FIVE COMBS, DIFFERENT SIZES AND DIFFERENT COLORS. THAT TOOK CARE OF ABOUT FOUR DOLLARS, AND THE REMAINING MONEY HE BOUGHT SOMETHING FOR HIS MOTHER WHICH GIVEN THAT I'M GETTING OLD, I'VE FORGOTTEN WHAT IT WAS. I SUSPECT IT WAS SOME CHEAP PERFUME OR SOMETHING.

WHEN CHRISTMAS MORNING CAME AROUND THE SISTERS OPENED HIS GIFTS, TOOK ONE LOOK, AND PUT THEM IN THEIR GIFT PILE, MOVING ON TO THE NEXT GIFT. THEY WERE NOT VERY IMPRESSED, AND I COULD TELL HIS FEELINGS WERE HURT. HE HAD GIVEN ALL HE HAD – ALL HIS MONEY, A LOT OF TIME AND DELIBERATION, AND HIS HEART HAD GONE INTO THE GIFTS.

THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SCRIBES WE HEARD ABOUT TODAY AND THE WIDOW. IT ISN'T OBVIOUS UNLESS YOU DO SOME BACKGROUND READING. THE SCRIBES WERE LIKE ANY PROFESSION; SOME GOOD, SOME BAD, AND A LOT IN BETWEEN. THEY STUDIED HARD – THE RABBIS TODAY ARE THEIR DESCENDENTS, BUT SO ARE AMERICAN LAWYERS – SO THAT THEY COULD APPLY THE LAW TO CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE. AND THEY DID THIS FOR A FEE. IF TWO JEWS WERE HAVING A DISPUTE OVER SOMETHING, THEY'D GO TO A SCRIBE. IF THERE WAS A QUESTION ABOUT WHAT YOU COULD DO ON THE SABBATH, A SCRIBE WOULD TELL YOU. SCRIBES ALSO HAD ANOTHER ROLE. WIDOWS SOMETIMES HAD A LITTLE PROPERTY – USUALLY A HOME AND A BIT OF LAND FROM THEIR HUSBAND. BUT THEY COULDN'T DO MUCH; THEY COULDN'T GET A JOB, THEY COULDN'T SELL THEIR PROPERTY EXCEPT TO SOMEONE RELATED TO THE HUSBAND, AND IN GENERAL, IT WAS TOUGH LIFE TO BE A WIDOW. SCRIBES WERE ASKED TO STEP IN TO HELP WITH THE DISPOSITION OF THE PROPERTY AND THE CARE OF THE WIDOW. THIS DIDN'T ALWAYS BENEFIT THE WIDOW. AND THEY WOULD WEAR THEIR RELIGION ON THEIR SLEEVES WITH PRAYERS AND OTHER ACTS, AND VERY FEW PEOPLE, PARTICULARLY UNEDUCATED WIDOWS, WOULD THINK ANYTHING BUT GOOD THOUGHTS ABOUT SOMEONE WHO WAS SO WELL VERSED IN THE LAW AND KNEW HOW TO SAY REALLY WONDERFUL PRAYERS.

AND MAYBE JESUS ISN'T COMPLIMENTING THE WIDOW; AFTER ALL, IF HE WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE GENEROSITY OF THE POOR, HE COULD HAVE POINTED TO A POOR MAN OR WOMAN, OR EVEN REFERRED TO THIS LADY AS A POOR WOMAN. BUT THE TERM “WIDOW” DENOTED SOMEONE WHO WAS AT THE BOTTOM OF SOCIETY, SOMEONE WHO ALONG WITH ORPHANS AND ALIENS THE JEWISH PEOPLE WERE OBLIGED TO CARE FOR. SO MAYBE JESUS IS SAYING TO THE APOSTLES, “LOOK AT ALL THESE GOOD CHURCH-GOING PEOPLE DROPPING THEIR SPARE CHANGE INTO THE TREASURY. AND THERE IS A WIDOW JUST LIKE WHO I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, WHO HAS BEEN BRAINWASHED INTO THINKING SHE HAS TO GIVE WHAT LITTLE SHE HAS TO BUY CANDLES AND PAY FOR DECORATIONS.” DO YOU OR I NOTICE THE WIDOWS AMONG US? AND WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT THEM?

BUT GETTING BACK TO MY SON. IT'S A LEGITIMATE QUESTION. WHAT DOES GOD EXPECT FROM US? DOES HE EXPECT US TO GIVE THE CHANGE IN OUR POCKETS? OR MAYBE HE WANTS US TO TITHE, WHICH AFTER ALL IS THE ONLY GUIDELINE WE HEAR ABOUT . TITHING MEANS TO GIVE TEN PERCENT – BUT IT HAD TO DO WITH CROPS AND SUCH, AND WAS MEANT TO PROVIDE THE LEVITES, ONE OF THE TWELVE TRIBES WHO HAD NO LAND AND FROM WHOM CAME THE HEREDITARY PRIESTHOOD, WITH A LIVELIHOOD. SOME SCHOLARS THINK THAT TITHING WAS ONLY REQUIRED OF FARMERS, VINYARD OWNERS, AND PEOPLE WHO OWNED HERDS. IN OTHER WORDS, IF GOD GAVE YOU SOMETHING, YOU OWED TEN PERCENT BACK. OF COURSE MANY PEOPLE WHO READ THIS STORY OF THE WIDOW BELIEVE IT IMPLIES THAT WE SHOULD GIVE EVERYTHING. AFTER ALL, THAT IS KIND OF REFLECTED IN THE FIRST READING. THERE A WIDOW GIVES HER LAST BIT OF FOOD TO THE PROPHET, TRUSTING THAT GOD WILL PROVIDE. AND OF COURSE IF THAT'S WHAT IS EXPECTED OF US, THEN WE ARE ALL IN SERIOUS TROUBLE.

AND YET, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO GIVE EVERYTHING – MANY OF THE SAINTS, SOLDIERS ON THE BATTLEFIELD, POLICE OFFICERS AND FIREMEN GIVING UP THEIR LIVES IN THE LINE OF DUTY. IS THAT IN SOME WAY BETTER THAN A SAINT WHO INHERITS A FORTUNE AND USES IT FOR GOOD, LIKE KATHERINE DREXEL, OR SAINT MARGARET OF SCOTLAND, WHO DIED A QUEEN WITH SERVANTS AND A CASTLE AND INDEED, GREAT WEALTH?

I THINK NONE OF THE ABOVE ARE TRUE. JESUS HIMSELF GAVE US THE CRITERION FOR GIVING. HE SAID, “GIVE AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN TO YOU … FOR THE MEASURE YOU USE, IT WILL BE THE MEASURE USED FOR YOU.” SAINT PAUL ECHOED THIS: “HE WHO SOWS SPARINGLY WILL ALSO REAP SPARINGLY, AND HE WHO SOWS BOUNTIFULLY WILL ALSO REAP BOUNTIFULLY. EACH ONE MUST DO JUST AS HE HAS PURPOSED IN HIS HEART, NOT GRUDGINGLY OR UNDER COMPULSION, FOR GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER.” SAINT JOHN SAID: “BUT WHOEVER HAS THE WORLD'S GOODS, AND SEES HIS BROTHER IN NEED AND CLOSES HIS HEART AGAINST HIM, HOW DOES THE LOVE OF GOD ABIDE IN HIM?”

IN OTHER WORDS, FOR CHRISTIANS OUR GIVING MUST BE MOTIVATED BY LOVE, MUST BE A RESPONSE TO HOW MUCH GOD LOVES US. IF WE DON'T BELIEVE WE ARE LOVED, OUR GENEROSITY WILL REFLECT THAT. IF WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE LOVED COMPLETELY AND PASSIONATELY BY GOD, MAYBE OUR GENEROSITY WILL REFLECT THAT.

SAINT PAUL SAID, “I COUNT ALL THINGS TO BE LOSS IN VIEW OF THE SURPASSING VALUE OF KNOWING CHRIST JESUS MY LORD, FOR WHOM I HAVE SUFFERED THE LOSS OF ALL THINGS, AND COUNT THEM BUT RUBBISH SO THAT I MAY GAIN CHRIST.”

MY FOUR YEAR OLD SON GAVE ALL HE HAD, AND HE GAVE IT OUT OF LOVE. THE FACT THAT IT WAS NOT MUCH AND NOT APPRECIATED BY THE RECIPIENTS OF HIS GIFTS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE VALUE OF HIS GIFT. AND THE REAL QUESTION IS NOT HOW MUCH WE GIVE, BUT WHETHER OUR GIVING REFLECTS OUR LOVE. AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN ONLY BE ANSWERED IN OUR HEARTS.

All Saints Day, 2015

MATTHEW 5:1-12

OUR CATHOLIC CHURCH VENERATES SAINTS. WE DON'T WORSHIP THEM. UNTIL ABOUT THE TWELFTH CENTURY, SAINTS WERE PEOPLE WHO HAD DONE SOMETHING WHICH CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF AT LEAST A FEW PEOPLE – MAYBE CURING ILLNESSES, MAYBE BEING MARTYRED, MAYBE BEING SUCCESSFUL MISSIONARIES OR FOUNDERS OF MONASTERIES OR DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH. SOME WERE KINGS AND QUEENS. BUT PEOPLE SAW IN THEM SOMETHING OF JESUS CHRIST, AND BEGAN TO ASK THE SAINT TO INTERCEDE WITH GOD. A FEW OF THESE EVENTUALLY BECAME VENERATED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE CHURCH, AND THEY CONTINUE TO BE EVEN TODAY – SAINT LAWRENCE, SAINT LUCY, SAINT NICHOLAS, TO NAME A FEW.

BUT IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY MAKING SAINTS BECAME THE PREROGATIVE OF THE POPE, AND BY THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY THE CURRENT PROCESS WAS CODIFIED. PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T MARTYRS HAD TO HAVE LIVED LIVES WORTHY OF IMITATION AND HAD TO HAVE TWO MIRACLES THAT HAD BEEN DECLARED AS MIRACLES BY SPECIAL ADVISORS TO THE POPE. THE MIRACLES WERE CONSIDERED TO BE GOD'S APPROVAL OF THE CANONIZATION. AT THAT POINT IN A SOLEMN CEREMONY THE PERSON WAS DECLARED A SAINT. NAVIGATING THE BEAUROCRACY OF THE VATICAN TOOK TIME AND MONEY, AND MOST OF THE SAINTS SINCE THAT TIME HAVE BEEN MEMBERS OF RELIGIOUS ORDERS. SOMETIMES A DIOCESE WOULD SPONSOR THE PROCESS FOR A PARTICULARLY NOTEWORTHY PRIEST OR BISHOP. VERY FEW “ORDINARY” PEOPLE MADE THE CUT.

RECENTLY IN A FIRST, POPE FRANCIS CANONIZED A MARRIED COUPLE, LOUIS AND ZELIE MARTIN. I THINK THEY HAVE PARTICULAR RELEVANCE TO OUR TIME. LOUIS TRAINED AS A WATCHMAKER, AND ZELIE WAS SKILLED IN MAKING LACE. THE TWO OF THEM MANAGED TO MAKE A PRETTY GOOD LIVING AT THEIR TRADES, AND WERE COMFORTABLY MIDDLE CLASS IN THE FRANCE OF THEIR TIME. THEY HAD NINE CHILDREN, FOUR OF WHOM DIED IN EARLY CHILDHOOD. THE FIVE WHO SURVIVED ALL BECAME NUNS, ONE OF WHOM IS SAINT THERESE OF LISEAUX, THE LITTLE FLOWER, A DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH. ONE OF HER SISTERS, LEONIE, IS CURRENTLY A CANDIDATE FOR CANONIZATION.

ZELIE SAW LOUIS WHEN SHE WAS CROSSING A BRIDGE, AND HEARD AN INNER VOICE TELL HER THAT HE WAS THE ONE FOR HER. SHORTLY AFTERWARDS, THEY MET, BECAME ENGAGED, AND MARRIED THREE MONTHS LATER. THEY WERE KNOWN AS PEOPLE WHO WOULD GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO HELP ANYONE WITH A PROBLEM. FROM THERESE'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY WE KNOW THAT THEY PRESIDED OVER A VERY HAPPY HOME, BUT ONE IN WHICH PRAYER AND DISCIPLINE WERE IMPORTANT. IN THE WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY, THE GERMAN ARMY BRIEFLY HELD PARTS OF NORTHEASTERN FRANCE, DURING WHICH TIME LOUIS AND ZELIE WERE FORCED TO ACCOMMODATE NINE GERMAN SOLDIERS IN THEIR HOME. THEY IMPRESSED THEM BY TREATING THEM WITH RESPECT AND DIGNITY, EVEN THOUGH IT MEANT HARDSHIP FOR THEIR OWN CHILDREN.

WHEN THERESE' WAS 4 AND ONE HALF, HER MOTHER DIED OF BREAST CANCER, FROM WHICH SHE HAD SUFFERED FOR OVER A YEAR. LOUIS SOLD HIS BUSINESS AND MOVED TO LISEAUX. WHEN THERESE' WAS 15 AND HAD BEEN ACCEPTED TO ENTER THE CARMELITE ORDER, LOUIS SUFFERED THE FIRST OF SEVERAL STROKES. DURING HIS LAST FIVE YEARS HE WAS NOT ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF AND COULD BARELY SPEAK. HE ALSO SUFFERED FROM DEMENTIA.

I THINK WE ALL CAN SEE ASPECTS OF OUR OWN LIVES REFLECTED IN THE LIVES OF THIS COUPLE. THEY WERE NOT CELIBATE; THEY WERE NOT POOR. THEY HAD TIMES OF JOY AND THE BLESSING OF A CLOSE-KNIT FAMILY. THEY HAD GREAT SORROWS, WITH THE LOSS OF FOUR CHILDREN. BOTH OF THEM WORKED IN TRADES. LOUIS LOST HIS WIFE TO CANCER; HE HIMSELF SPENT HIS LAST YEARS INCREASINGLY HELPLESS AND ILL.

THEIR DAUGHTERS AND OTHERS WHO KNEW THEM DESCRIBED A COUPLE WHO LIVED EXEMPLARY LIVES AND AN EXEMPLARY MARRIAGE. THEY ARE CERTAINLY PEOPLE WHO CAN INSPIRE MARRIED COUPLES.

TODAY JESUS DESCRIBES HOW TO BE BLESSED, HOW TO BE A SAINT. THERE ARE EIGHT BEATITUDES. THE FIRST FOUR DEAL WITH CIRCUMSTANCES YOU FIND YOURSELF IN – BEING POOR, MOURNING, BEING AT THE LOW END OF THE SOCIAL LADDER, BEING THE OBJECT OF INJUSTICE. JESUS SAYS THAT IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, YOU CAN FIND BLESSINGS, AND YOU CAN BE ASSURED THAT IN GOD'S TIME THINGS WILL BE REVERSED. THE SECOND FOUR DEAL WITH CHOICES WE MAKE, ALSO WHICH CAN BE THE SOURCE OF BLESSINGS – BEING MERCIFUL, STRUGGLING TO OVERCOME OUR TENDENCIES TO SIN; BEING PEACEMAKERS, AND TRYING TO BRING ABOUT JUSTICE. AND JESUS PROMISES THAT EVEN WHEN IT LOOKS LIKE OUR EFFORTS ARE NOT BEARING FRUIT, THEY WILL. AND HE PROMISES THAT WHAT WE DO FOR HIS SAKE WILL NOT GO UNREWARDED, ALTHOUGH PERSECUTION CAN BE EXPECTED, AND BEING ONE OF HIS FOLLOWERS IS NO GUARANTEE OF A LIFETIME OF HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY – IN FACT, THE GOSPEL PASSAGE SEEMS TO IMPLY THE OPPOSITE.

LOUIS AND ZELIE MARTIN LIVED THE BEATITUDES AND AS THEY WENT THROUGH THEIR ORDINARY LIVES ACCEPTED ALL THE JOYS AND SUFFERINGS THAT CAME THEIR WAY FOR THE SAKE OF THE MASTER THEY SERVED. SAINT THERESE WAS TO WRITE: "GOD GAVE ME A FATHER AND A MOTHER WHO WERE MORE WORTHY OF HEAVEN THAN OF EARTH". SHE DESCRIBED HER PARENTS AS "PARENTS WITHOUT EQUAL, WORTHY OF HEAVEN, HOLY GROUND PERMEATED WITH THE PERFUME OF PURITY."

ALL OF US CATHOLICS SHOULD PICK A FEW SAINTS TO KNOW WELL AND TO BE OUR INTERCESSORS IN HEAVEN. IT'S GOOD TO KNOW THEM AS REAL HUMAN BEINGS WHO PUT UP WITH THE SAME THINGS WE PUT UP WITH, WHO SUFFERED JUST AS WE WILL SUFFER, AND WHO ARE WORTH IMITATING. SAINT PAUL URGED HIS CORINTHIAN CONGREGATION TO BE IMITATORS OF HIM, JUST AS HE WAS AN IMITATOR OF CHRIST. THAT'S WHAT SAINTS ARE FOR; THEY SHOW US BY THEIR LIVES HOW TO IMITATE CHRIST..