Saturday of the Twenty-First Week of Ordinary Time

Lectio

    Matthew 25:14–30

Meditatio

“Come, share your Master’s joy.”

    As you read this parable, notice the great differences between the relationships that the three servants have with their master. On the one hand, the servant who receives the one talent is operating out of a relationship of fear: He says, “Master, I knew you were a demanding person … so out of fear.…” By contrast, the master praises the other two servants for their faithfulness and invites them into a deeper experience of joy with him. Faithfulness and sharing another’s joy can only happen in the context of a good relationship, rooted in mutual trust and concrete experiences of shared love. Jesus’ parable reveals that the master’s focus is not primarily on using his servants for his own gain, but on inviting them into a closer relationship with him and a deeper sharing in his joy. The responsibilities the master gives the faithful servants and their obedience in carrying them out flow from their growing love and trust for one another.

    This parable gives us an opportunity to pause and reflect on the quality of our relationships with God and our neighbors. We want our relationships with others to be based on authentic and transparent love, rooted in our relationship with God. We don’t want them to be based on false masks or on a desire to gain something from the other. The Lord invites each of us to place our relationship with him at the center of all our interactions, words, and choices. Then, like the two faithful servants, we can move away from fear and know the joy of living in a good relationship with the Lord and the other people in our lives.

Oratio

    Jesus Master, help me to become more aware of the deep motivations that guide the choices I make. Help me to look honestly with you at all the relationships that are a part of my life, and above all, my relationship with you. I want to move away from forming relationships out of fear, or a desire to avoid punishment and failure. Help me to deeply receive your love for me so your love can grow in me and bear fruit in my relationships with others.

Contemplatio

    “Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Mt 10:31).

__

ORDINARY GRACE Weeks 18–34: Daily Gospel Reflections (By the Daughters of St. Paul)

St. Monica

St. Monica was probably born in Tagaste, Numidia (today’s Souk-Ahras, Algeria), Africa, in about 331. Though a Christian, she was married to a pagan, who was converted before his death (371). The couple had at least three children, and of these St. Augustine (see August 28) was the oldest. As any mother would be, she was interested in her children’s careers, but when she saw Augustine living a dissipated and dissolute life, her maternal heart ached. She wept for him and prayed daily for his conversion. After he left (383) Africa to teach in Rome and then in Milan, Monica followed him. In Milan, she witnessed Augustine’s conversion and baptism (387), and because her son was now determined to live a different manner of life, they decided to return to North Africa. At the Roman port of Ostia, just days before they were to sail, Monica became ill and died (387). Augustine paints a magnificent portrait of his mother in his Confessions. Her cult began to develop in the later Middle Ages, and it became popular when her relics were moved (1430) from Ostia to Rome. Her memorial is now appropriately celebrated on the day before that of her distinguished son. The opening prayer of today’s Mass speaks of the tears St. Monica shed in beseeching God to convert her son.

Friday of the Twenty-First Week of Ordinary Time

Lectio

    Matthew 25:1–13

Meditatio

“Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

    Today’s parable is given to us in the context of a wedding feast. In Jesus’ time, bridesmaids holding oil lamps would form a procession to welcome the bride and bridegroom outside the village, then lead them safely through the darkness to the bridegroom’s house. Bridesmaids enhanced the beauty and solemnity of the wedding. The ten virgins in this parable all fall asleep as they wait for the wedding company to arrive. Not only did the foolish maidens fail to anticipate the groom’s delay, but they also neglected to bring enough oil, then fell asleep instead of buying some. They disregarded their duty as servants because they were lazy and careless. To be without oil is a sign of their infidelity. Had the wise virgins shared their oil with them, there would not have been enough to welcome and lead the wedding party through the city streets to the bridegroom’s feast.

    Oil and light are powerful symbols in the Judaeo-Christian heritage. Oil symbolizes the good deeds necessary to keep lamps burning brightly. Good deeds belong to the person who performs them; that is why the wise virgins could not share the “oil” of their deeds with the foolish virgins. Oil also symbolizes God’s blessings poured out in the sacramental signs of Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the Sick. The lamp is a sign of a life of integrity. The message of today’s parable is clear: the wise disciples are those who are prepared for the Lord’s coming. The parable of the ten virgins teaches us not to live self-centered lives that are focused on the pursuit of comfort, but to watch for the Lord’s coming. The Father arranged the marriage of Jesus, the bridegroom who came to save humanity. The bridegroom’s delay stands for the delay of Jesus’ second coming. The ten virgins signify the Christian community, and the closing of the door represents the Last Judgment. This parable warns us to be well prepared for the Lord’s coming, because we do not know when that will be.

Oratio

    Jesus, you long for union with every man and woman. May my heart be like a burning lamp that waits to welcome you when you come. Help me to live a life rich in loving deeds, attentive to lightening the burdens of others. Make me watchful and ready to be a light to help guide others to you, the Light of the World.

Contemplatio

    I wait with burning lamp for you, Lord.

__

ORDINARY GRACE Weeks 18–34: Daily Gospel Reflections (By the Daughters of St. Paul)

Thursday of the Twenty-First Week of Ordinary Time

Lectio

    Matthew 24:42–51

Meditatio

“Stay awake!”

    The Greek word translated as “stay awake” indicates a constant vigil. Monks of the Eastern tradition would keep vigil through the night in prayer, standing toward the rising sun, in a gesture symbolic of the stance all creatures should have as we await the final return of the Son of God. We are more familiar with vigils at the bedside of the sick or dying. We keep vigil with others, comforting them with our presence, awaiting a turn for the better or a dying person’s last breath. We are all too familiar with waiting, but sometimes our waiting is not like watching in constant vigil. We wait for conflicts to end or babies to be born. We wait for pay increases, good weather, or Christmas to arrive. We wait in checkout lines, restaurants, to receive the Eucharist. We spend much of our life waiting. And the waiting often frustrates and annoys us, breaks our hearts, or leads to boredom.

    Today’s Gospel might seem distant to us with its stories of thieves breaking into a house, servants and masters, and food distribution. A deeper level of meaning can be found here, however. We all are waiting, on many levels, for many things. We wait for the passing of time and the end of things over which we have no control. We wait for the second coming of the Son of Man. All this frustrating or boring “waiting time” can be transformed into “vigil time.” By keeping constant vigil we wait in a spirit of prayer, expecting God’s loving providence for us now and always. In keeping vigil we support and comfort others, being present and attentive to their every need. Living life as a constant vigil, we have a hushed anticipation that the glory of the Resurrected One shines over the darkness of this world’s sorrow and pain.

Oratio

    Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. From this moment forward I will strain to see your face everywhere I go. I will watch for you in my neighbor, in my church, in my place of work. I will keep vigil in prayer in the silence of my heart and in the beauty of the community at Eucharist. Maranatha!

Contemplatio

    Come, Lord Jesus, come.

__

ORDINARY GRACE Weeks 18–34: Daily Gospel Reflections (By the Daughters of St. Paul)

St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest

St. Joseph Calasanz, one of the foremost figures in Catholic education, was born at Petralta de la Sal, Aragon, Spain, on September 11, 1556. He studied at the universities of Lérida and Valencia and then was ordained in 1583. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed vicar general of the Trempe Diocese. He subsequently resigned this post, and in 1592 he went to Rome, where he was tutor to the Colonna family and engaged in charitable works (helping in hospitals and teaching catechism). Being aware that the poor, under present circumstances, had no chance of ever becoming educated, he decided to do something for them. Thus, in November 1597, together with three other priests, he opened the first free school in Rome for poor children. Here the children would learn secular subjects as well as their catechism. There was no problem finding students for such a school, and the schools multiplied in number, not only in Rome but also in other Italian cities. In 1617, his community of teachers received recognition as a religious congregation; they called themselves Clerks Regular of the Pious Schools (more commonly known as Piarists). Too rapid a growth of the congregation created problems for the founder, and the congregation soon suffered from internal friction. A favorable solution was eventually had, but only after the founder’s death. St. Joseph Calasanz died in Rome on August 25, 1648, and was canonized by Pope Clement XIII in 1767. In 1948, Pope Pius XII declared him the patron of all Christian schools. St. Joseph Calasanz’s special vocation to be a teacher finds mention in the opening prayer of today’s Mass.

St. Louis of France

St. Louis of France is known in history as Louis IX, King of France. He was the son of Louis VIII and was born at Poissy on April 25, 1214. Upon the death of his father in 1226, he became king of France. In 1234, he married Marguerite of Provence, and the royal couple had eleven children—five sons and six daughters. Louis was known for his promotion of justice and peace, at home and abroad, and the nation came to realize that the king’s piety and goodness were the source of his strength. During a serious illness in December 1244, Louis vowed to go on a crusade to the Holy Land. The previous October, the Christians of Palestine had been sorely defeated by the Muslims at Gaza. He left for Cyprus in 1248, and he captured (June 1249) the city of Damietta, Egypt. But because of floods and heat, his men were unable to advance, and as a result they were eventually routed at Mansourah (now Al-Mansura, Egypt) on April 5, 1250. Louis himself was taken prisoner. For his freedom and that of his men, Louis surrendered Damietta and paid a heavy ransom. On his release on May 6, Louis went on to Syria, and then he spent the next four years rebuilding the strongholds still in the hands of the Christians. He was back in France in 1254, but on the occasion of another crusade, he left France on July 1, 1270, and sailed to Tunis, and while there he fell ill with dysentery and died on August 25, 1270. Louis embodied the highest and finest ideals of medieval kingship and was a model to his successors. He was canonized by Pope Boniface VIII in 1297.

St. Bartholomew, Apostle

St. Bartholomew was one of the Twelve Apostles, as the Gospels tell us (Mark 3:18; Matt. 10:3; Luke 6:14). It is most likely that the Nathanael mentioned in today’s Gospel reading (John 1:45–51) is Bartholomew. Why this difference of name? Bartholomew is not a given first name but a patronymic and means “son of Talamai” and, therefore, Nathanael could be his given name. It was Philip who brought Nathanael Bartholomew to Christ (John 1:45), and at his first meeting with our Lord, Nathanael confessed: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Tradition holds that after Pentecost, Bartholomew preached in Greater Armenia, and that it was there, in the city of Albanopolis (today’s Derbent, Dagestan), that he was flayed alive and beheaded by order of King Astyages. When today’s opening prayer states that St. Bartholomew was ever loyal to Christ, this is but another way of phrasing what Jesus remarked about him: “This man is a true Israelite. There is no guile in him” (John 1:47).

Tuesday of the Twenty-First Week of Ordinary Time

Lectio

    Matthew 23:23–26

Meditatio

“… judgment and mercy and fidelity.”

    Jesus is still at it in today’s Gospel, taking aim at the practices of the scribes and Pharisees (but not at their teachings). Like the prophets of old, Jesus offers a stinging critique of practices that were not wrong in themselves but which were carried to such an extreme that their meaning was lost. He wants to bring the scribes and Pharisees into full conformity with God’s will, which is never simply an external practice.

    The passage could almost be part of the Sermon on the Mount with its emphasis on seeking God’s kingship and justice (see Mt 6:33). It is the perennial temptation of devout people to replace these by overemphasizing externals, the way Jesus teasingly portrays the scribes and Pharisees as doing: not satisfied with paying tithes on their crops as the Law requires, they even measure out 10 percent of the tiny seeds of garden herbs. (Whole cumin seeds are the size of caraway or fennel seeds.) Such scrupulosity can cause one to lose track of what today’s Gospel sums up as “judgment and mercy and fidelity.”

    Why the Pharisees make such distinctions is easy enough to understand: It’s much easier to focus on things that are more within our reach, and external things are under our control. After all, justice, mercy, and fidelity are attributes of God! Tithes, even of herbs, are at least within our reach. Saint Paul called this seeking “a justice of one’s own” (see Phil 3:9). It means, Paul hints, keeping oneself outside the realm of grace.

Oratio

    Centuries later, Lord, it is still a temptation for me to distract myself with rules and practices to such an extent that I forget to honor you! How convenient for me when that “higher” duty is also more manageable, more within reach, more clearly and cleanly defined, and even measurable. The neater the outcomes, the easier it is for me to feel confident that I have “fulfilled all righteousness” (see Mt 3:15). Invoking a “higher” law or value may even be a ruse I set up for myself, to protect me from responding freely and fully when faced with human need. Jesus, you spoke plainly but mercifully to the scribes and Pharisees. Break through my self-deceptions, too, so that I keep “judgment and mercy and fidelity” as the central criteria that guide my choices and priorities.

Contemplatio

    Seek first God’s kingdom and justice (see Mt 6:33).

__

ORDINARY GRACE Weeks 18–34: Daily Gospel Reflections (By the Daughters of St. Paul)

St. Rose of Lima, Virgin

St. Rose of Lima is the patron of Peru, South America, and the Philippines. Her name was Isabel de Flores, and she was born in Lima on April 20, 1586. Her father was a Puerto Rican, who had come to Peru in 1548 with the Spanish conquistadors. She received the name Rose when a housemaid, gazing upon her when she was still an infant, remarked: “She’s as lovely as a rose.” Her mother decided that Rose would be her daughter’s name, and later she was given that name at the time of confirmation. As a young girl growing up, Rose was given to austerities: fasting and mortification. Because her parents denied her permission to enter a convent, and because she preferred not to marry, she endured much misunderstanding from her parents and friends. She continued, however, to remain at home, but she lived a secluded life. To do her share in supporting the family, she did needlework and sold the flowers she cultivated. When she was twenty years of age, she joined the Third Order of St. Dominic and converted a little hut in the backyard into a hermitage, where she often went to pray. She also transformed a room in her parents’ house into a sort of infirmary, where she cared for destitute children and elderly people. She died on August 24, 1617, at the age of thirty-one, and she was canonized by Pope Clement X in 1671. St. Rose of Lima is the first saint from the Americas. The Mass prayer today recalls her austerity of life and the fervor of her love of God.

Monday of the Twenty-First Week of Ordinary Time

Lectio

    Matthew 23:13–22

Meditatio

“Woe to you.…”

    Jesus speaks powerful words to some scribes and Pharisees in today’s Gospel. We can imagine the emotion as he cries out, “Woe to you!” What we might forget is that Jesus loves these people whose practices he condemns. He loves them so much that he willingly gives up his life so they can be redeemed. The rebukes we hear in today’s Gospel are made in love and for love. We don’t know if any of the listeners changed as a result of Jesus’ words and love. We, however, can come to a deeper realization of God’s love for us and respond to it. God loves us just as he did these scribes and Pharisees—with an unconditional, enduring love—no matter what. It is important that we know this within ourselves. This knowledge is usually not a feeling, but rather an ever-deepening belief. When life goes smoothly, it may seem easy to believe in God’s love. However, our belief deepens and becomes more life-giving when we are struggling with challenges, darkness, or pain. Such moments are opportunities to turn to God and honestly express our feelings, fears, and needs. Sometimes God seems silent, but we continue to speak and listen. Gradually we become aware that God is our faithful companion who provides us with grace and strength. We experience God’s love for us.

When we believe that nothing will cause God to stop loving us, we are encouraged in our efforts to become more holy. We have the courage and grace to turn to God for forgiveness whenever we sin or give in to our weaknesses. As we continue reflecting on God’s love, we can make another application: God loves everyone unconditionally: everyone with whom I live and work, everyone I meet each day. Aware of this, I therefore seek to accept others as they are, treating them with respect and love, forgiving and asking forgiveness. When we know that God loves us, our own love grows and expands.

Oratio

    Beloved God, it is sometimes hard to believe how much you love me. Thank you for loving me no matter what I do or how I fail! Give me the grace to trust your love. Help me to turn to you for strength, comfort, and grace. Whenever I sin, enable me to turn to you for forgiveness. The more I accept your love for me, the more I am able to love others. It is sometimes so difficult to accept others as they are. Please give me the grace to gradually love as you do. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Contemplatio

    I trust in your love for me.

__

ORDINARY GRACE Weeks 18–34: Daily Gospel Reflections (By the Daughters of St. Paul)

Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The memorial of the Queenship of Mary dates from October 11, 1954, the date of its institution by Pope Pius XII. The decree for its liturgical celebration may be recent, but the title of Mary as Queen of Heaven is one of her oldest. Mary is Queen because of her divine motherhood and the excellence of her holiness. Because she is the mother of Christ, who is our Lord and King, then she too is our Lady and Queen. But she is also Queen because she is the holiest of creatures, even from the first moment of her conception. She surpasses all the saints in holiness, and being the finest of our race she now reigns over us as our Queen. This memorial of the Queenship of Mary is fittingly celebrated on the octave of Mary’s Assumption, thus linking the two feasts. After our Lady’s arrival into Heaven, her Son, who had already granted her other singular privileges, now, in the presence of the angels and saints, gives her a place at his right hand and crowns her Queen of Heaven.

Twenty-first Sunday

First reading: Salvation to the Nations (Isaiah 66:18–21)

The first and third readings today are both inspiring and daunting. The first reading comes from the very last chapter of Isaiah. Israel has returned from exile, and settled down back in Jerusalem. It has outgrown the frantic worry about mere survival under threat of extinction, and can afford to look outwards. Just so, a sign of a child’s maturity is when she or he grows less self-preoccupied and can begin to be aware of the needs of others. In the same way, Israel now sees that the vocation of the Chosen People is not to be turned in on itself, but to bring the Lord’s salvation to others. Isaiah prophesies that this wonderfully outlandish list of far distant lands, Tarshish, Put, Lud, Tubal and Javan, will come to draw salvation from Jerusalem, and will take part in Jerusalem’s own sacred worship. It is the immediately preparation for the spread of the gospel. As Christians we believe that all nations will somehow be saved by Christ, even though they do not know him. ‘Nor is God far distant from those who in shadows and images seek the unknown God’, says the Constitution on the Church of Vatican II.

Question: How can those who have never heard of Christ be saved by him? Is it by admitting the failure of human nature and our need to rely on someone else?

Second reading: The Discipline of Suffering (Hebrews 12:5–7, 11–13)

What is the sense of all the suffering in the world around us, the constant pain, worry, loneliness, fear, frustration? Is all this distortion and misery really compatible with the belief in a God of love? The Letter to the Hebrews here gives one explanation: it is the loving training and discipline of a father to bring us to peace. In a world without pain, would we ever turn to God? When all is going well, many of us can manage nicely without God! If our world falls apart, we need God to put it together again. Paul puts it slightly differently, seeing suffering as the privilege of sharing in Christ’s own redemptive suffering. By enduring Christ’s suffering in every age, the Church ensures that it truly is the body of Christ, the Servant of the Lord. But we can never be content with suffering. Jesus himself understood suffering, and he went out of his way to heal it in all its forms. We should also remember, that, in an age in which so many decry the selfishness and materialism of society, the generosity shown by so many for the alleviation of suffering, the care of the sick, the betterment of the underprivileged, is one of the signs of Christ at work in his society.

Question: Is it true, or just pious, to say that by tending the sick we gain more than we give?

Gospel: The Narrow Door (Luke 13:22–30)

The gospel reading puts the point directly opposite to the first reading. There the inhabitants of distant lands will come to draw salvation from Jerusalem. This is repeated in the gospel, but the daunting corollary is also given to those nearer home, and expecting to find their way in easily: don’t sit back in complacent contentment that we have been called, or you may find the door slammed in your face. Matthew 7:21–23 has the same warning: it is not enough to keep calling out, ‘Lord, Lord!’ without actually doing the will of the Father. He also has a similar, more developed parable of the wedding attendants, five wise with oil in their lamps, and five unprepared for the wedding feast. They too vainly cry, ‘Lord, Lord!’ from outside the door. This is almost a centre piece of the instructions to the disciples as they make their way with Jesus up to Jerusalem and to his Passion and death. There is no cheap way in: each disciple must take up the cross behind Jesus and follow to the end of the road. This teaching is the more striking in Luke, who stresses that both Jews and gentiles will take part in the festival.

Question: In that case, is a good pagan better off than a lukewarm Christian?

__

The Sunday Word: A Commentary on the Sunday Readings (Wansbrough, Henry)

Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time—Year C

Lectio

    Luke 13:22–30

Meditatio

“After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ ”

    Luke’s thirteenth chapter is about the call to conversion and repentance, which this parable stresses. A key word in the above verse is after. The one who is standing outside and knocking is, in fact, admitting that he or she doesn’t really know the Lord. The person has eaten and drunk with Jesus, and even heard him preach—so the question arises, why is the person outside? One who has heard the Lord preach cannot claim to be ignorant about what to do. After hearing the call to repentance and conversion, the only reason to remain outside is a failure to take action. In other words, the person has procrastinated.

    How many times have we put off until tomorrow the difficult things we would rather not do? Probably those instances are too numerous to count. We pray with Scripture, we have dined with the Lord at the Eucharist, we have heard him preaching through our priests and bishops. He clearly invites us to repentance and conversion, yet how often we put it off. Jesus invites us to change through the questions he puts in our hearts. Am I being selfish with my time? Do I hold myself above or beneath others? Do I love God with my whole heart, soul, and mind, and love his people as I should love myself? Such questions are invitations to change and to express sorrow for past injustices. We are called not to stand outside, but to enter through the door today by being open to inner conversion. With the invitation, Jesus gives us the grace to repent and convert. He calls to us, “Do not delay; do not procrastinate. Look on the face of Love and enter through the door. Don’t stay outside any longer, but be grateful for God’s mercy and goodness!”

Oratio

    Lord, you have invited me this day to walk through the door of love and service, and my heart is stirring in response. Gently you have questioned and prodded me to reflect on my actions, and I thank you for loving me enough to do that. I do not want to put off any longer the change to which you are inviting me. I want to become more like you, to love as you love, to serve others as you would have me serve them. Help me to respond today to the grace you have given me to act upon your invitation. Amen.

Contemplatio

    “… now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:2).

__

ORDINARY GRACE Weeks 18–34: Daily Gospel Reflections (By the Daughters of St. Paul)

St. Pius X, Pope

St. Pius X is known as the “Pope of the Eucharist.” He was born Joseph Melchior Sarto on June 21, 1835, in Riese, northern Italy. He entered the seminary in Padua in 1850, and after studies he was ordained in 1858 for the Diocese of Treviso. For the next nine years, he did pastoral work in small parishes. In 1867, he became archpriest of Salzano, and then in 1875 he was named chancellor of the Treviso Diocese and spiritual director at the major seminary. In 1884, Pope Leo XIII made him Bishop of Mantua, and then in 1893 the same pontiff named him a cardinal and Patriarch of Venice. He was elected pope on August 4, 1903. During his pontificate, which lasted eleven years, he saw to the publication of guidelines for the education and training of priests, and when a diocese could not maintain its own seminary, he encouraged regional seminaries. He supervised the codification of the Church’s canon law, reformed Church music by restoring Gregorian chant, and fought against the threats of Modernism (a movement first known as “New Catholicism”). His decree Lamentabili (July 3, 1907) contains a list of sixty-five errors taught by the Modernists, and in his subsequent encyclical Pascendi (September 8, 1907), he condemns the movement.

Pius likewise promoted devotion to the Holy Eucharist. His decrees on the Eucharist recommended frequent and even daily Communion (1907), and lowered the age for receiving First Communion (1910). He set up a commission to promote biblical studies, which he entrusted to the Benedictines, and he encouraged the daily reading of the Bible. In 1909, he founded the Biblical Institute for scriptural studies in Rome, and this he entrusted to the Jesuits. With the outbreak of World War I, his heart was broken, and he died on August 20, 1914. Throughout his life, whether as parish priest, bishop, or pope, Pius was admired for his simplicity and sincerity. He was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1954. In today’s Mass, the prayers over the gifts and after Communion recall St. Pius X’s devotion and love of the Eucharist, and the opening prayer quotes his motto as pope: “to make all things new in Christ” (Eph. 1:10).