Saturday of the Twenty-Eighth Week of Ordinary Time

Lectio

   Luke 12:8–12

Meditatio

“For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”

As we near the end of the liturgical year, the readings of the liturgy become more serious, even foreboding. Most of us will probably never be brought before rulers or authorities in the way the Gospel describes. But if we think about it, our Christian convictions are on trial every day of our lives. Small personal struggles, known only to ourselves, test our love and keep us praying for the promised grace and strength of the Holy Spirit.

   Besides that, we are asked to take part in the battles of our own day, to proclaim the truth of the Gospel even in the face of what society considers “politically correct.” Judeo-Christian values are constantly challenged; unjust laws exist in our own nation. We must allow ourselves to be the voice of the living word. Sometimes we may be called to actually use our physical voice, but even if our words are ignored, our example is a silent word. As the proverb says, “Actions speak louder than words.”

   Crucial life and death struggles are going on all over the globe. They may take place far away, but they are still very real. The Church still has martyrs who are undergoing persecution in many countries. The odds seem stacked against us, but we must heed the living word in today’s Gospel. Every age has its own struggles, but God always defends us if we let the Holy Spirit lead us. We look beyond the visible scene with the eyes of faith, for we know that the war has already been won on Calvary. Confidence in our Lord’s love is the key to true wisdom. The victory will always be Jesus Christ’s.

Oratio

   O Lord, be my light in the darkness of this world. Guide my steps with your word and fill my mind with your truth. Enlarge my heart with your love and grant me the courage to witness to you in every situation. Use me to bring your love to others. I accept that I may not always understand how you are using me, but I trust that one day, in this life or the next, you will reveal it to me. I only know that by simply living my daily life according to your word, you will use me. Keep my eyes fixed on you. Increase my faith. From eternity to eternity, you are God.

Contemplatio

   I am yours, Lord. May my life speak of you.

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

Friday of the Twenty-Eighth Week of Ordinary Time

Lectio

   Luke 12:1–7

Meditatio

“… whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light.…”

   So often in the Gospels, Jesus points out the hypocrisy of some of the religious leaders. In fact, sometimes we can become so used to it that we become deaf to the concern Jesus has for us. Let’s take the word “hypocrisy” and translate it into a term often used today: “transparency.” Companies and parishes must have financial transparency. Leaders have to be transparent and put into full view their motivations and the information that has led to their decisions. We want our elected officials to be transparent. Transparency as honesty is valued as a virtue in children, and also in adults.

   Those who demand the most transparency in others are often the least transparent about their own activities and decisions. Their demand for transparency may just be a politically correct term for expressing their feelings of being marginalized and not included. Or perhaps they are rebellious against authority. Such persons act hypocritically, demanding transparency of others but refusing to be honest themselves.

   Yet other people are honest and transparent. How do we reverence transparency in others when they make themselves vulnerable by revealing motivations, desires, weaknesses, dreams, or decisions? Their transparency must be respected by those who are entrusted with valuable and sensitive information. This takes maturity, which sometimes others lack. Then the person being open and honest may be betrayed and hurt because others cannot be transparent themselves. In situations like this, some of Jesus’ sayings can bring comfort to us: “There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed … do not be afraid of those who kill the body.… Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.”

Oratio

   Jesus, so many misunderstandings have made my life complex. But you know the truth. You know I’ve tried. You know my weaknesses, and you are here in the mess. You are making me holy in the pain of betrayal. I hear you repeat over and over, “Do not be afraid.” I open my heart completely to your gaze, and hide nothing from you. Amen.

Contemplatio

   Light in the darkness, shine in my soul.

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

Thursday of the Twenty-Eighth Week of Ordinary Time

Lectio

   Luke 11:47–54

Meditatio

“… the key of knowledge.…”

   Today’s Gospel focuses on the woes that Jesus pronounces against the scribes and Pharisees. In reading this text, we realize that he is acting in the biblical tradition of prophetic denunciation of evil. Jesus’ intent is not to condemn all the people of Israel, not even all the Pharisees. His intent is to highlight an error in order to draw people away from it. He’s acting like a doctor who has to administer some painful remedy to cure the patient.

   Jesus speaks of how the prophets were killed when they announced God’s word. He then says, “You have taken away the key of knowledge.” In this context, knowledge seems to refer to access to the kingdom of God. “You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.” In the Bible, the symbol of keys indicates authority. Jesus is saying that the religious leaders blocked people from entering the kingdom instead of helping them to get in. It’s like a teacher who, instead of helping students prepare to pass an important exam, deliberately tries to make them fail.

   The prophets were rejected and killed by people who didn’t want to hear their sometimes harsh messages. The key of knowledge is humility of heart, the ability to accept a truthful message even when it’s hard to hear. Resistance to truth, as well as its acceptance, come more from our heart than our mind. That is why God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Christ. Unlike the religious professionals, John came on the scene with no credentials except the intensity of his love. He pointed to Jesus, not himself, saying, “He must increase; I must decrease” (Jn 3:30). John, the voice in the wilderness, preached a baptism of repentance to prepare people to accept Jesus. John gave the key of knowledge to those who would accept it. Today, the world is filled with many conflicting voices. But the voice of Jesus teaching through the Church is loud and clear. Which voice am I going to listen to?

Oratio

   Jesus, you give us the key of knowledge, the key to entering the kingdom of heaven. Help me to have true humility of heart, so that I may listen attentively to your teaching and accept it fully.

Contemplatio

   Lord, I want to listen to your voice.

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

Wednesday of the Twenty-Eighth Week of Ordinary Time

Lectio

   Luke 11:42–46

Meditatio

"These you should have done, without overlooking the others."

   Sometimes I get so caught up in details that I miss the big picture. This can be helpful when I need to focus. But it can also be a problem if I'm so focused that I miss the opportunities to serve others that God shows me right now. Jesus is talking about this with the Pharisees and scholars of the Law. In this instance they are following the law of paying certain tithes, but are not giving attention to the greatest commandment of all, love for God.

   In building a house, the interior design is important, but the foundation and walls have to be put up first! If the foundation is not solid, then the rest of the house cannot stand. Jesus acknowledges that tithes should be paid, but we can't overlook the most important laws: love of God and neighbor. Sometimes the good that we choose to do can be self-serving and lead us to rely on ourselves. Jesus offers us the joy and strength to follow his way of surrender to the Father in self-giving love. It is a matter of tuning in to the heart of God and trying to live and love with God's heart.

   Our day is full of moments in which we need to discern our priorities. What should I give my attention to now? Am I cramming too many events, meetings, and projects into my schedule? Am I losing sight of the big picture? Discernment helps us look at our daily tasks with a desire to truly do what God desires. I can get into a routine of doing a lot of good and productive things, but then lose sight of God's call in my life to be a servant and lover of humanity. When I lose sight of what God is calling me to, I can end up following my own way, doing the things that seem most important, without truly seeing what is important to God. But, through daily prayer, I can stay in tune with God and the needs of the world around me.

Oratio

   Jesus, thank you for reminding me of the greatest commandments of all—love for God and neighbor. In the midst of my busy day, help me to continuously notice your movements in me and your call to be a servant. Help me to notice the needs of those around me throughout the day and to respond with a great and selfless love. Thank you for your love for me and for calling me to love.

Contemplatio

   Here I am, O Lord. I come to do your will (see Heb 10:7).

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

Tuesday of the Twenty-Eighth Week of Ordinary Time

Lectio

   Luke 11:37–41

Meditatio

“Give alms, and … everything will be clean for you.”

   Even though the evangelists don’t mention it, Jesus and the Pharisees must have had some common ground. For example, they often invited him to dinner. At one such dinner, Jesus praised a woman who kissed his feet and anointed them with oil. His host had neglected the customary signs of welcome.

In today’s passage, too, a minor confrontation develops, and Jesus states that inner purity is more important than outward cleanliness. Luke adds a phrase that the other evangelists don’t use: Jesus’ host will be cleansed inwardly if he gives alms.

   Almsgiving is important in the Jewish and Christian religions. The Book of Sirach states that almsgiving is a sacrifice of praise (see 35:2). Matthew quotes Jesus as saying, “And whoever gives only a cup of cold water … will surely not lose his reward” (10:42). Saint Paul took up a collection from the mainly Gentile churches to aid the poor Hebrew Christians in Jerusalem.

Contributing to a worthy cause helps us feel good. We’re participating in an effort larger than ourselves. Often the small gifts of many people are the only way a project can be realized. We can make a difference!

   For most people in our culture, making monetary contributions is part of life. So when we consider growth in almsgiving, it may be more helpful to reflect on some of its other forms—the sharing of time and talent, the offering of prayers and sacrifices. We can ask ourselves whether we can do more without neglecting our primary responsibilities. For some, the answer will be yes.

What’s your response?

Oratio

   Jesus, you became poor for our sakes, so that we might become rich. Teach me how to be poor in spirit and a cheerful giver. Guide me as I reflect on the various forms of giving. Inspire me to choose those ways of contributing to the works of the Church and/or helping my sisters and brothers that are best suited to my possibilities. Inspire me to offer what I can and when I can. If my giving ought to remain focused on my own household or community, please help me to understand that and act accordingly.

Contemplatio

   “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

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

Monday of the Twenty-Eighth Week of Ordinary Time

Lectio

   Luke 11:29–32

Meditatio

“… no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.”

   As I read the Gospel of Luke, I see that in this section Jesus is speaking to various groups of people. In fact, “still more people” are gathering to hear him, so I join the crowd and listen to what he has to say. It seems that this crowd seeks signs too, just like the people where I come from. Besides that, Jesus is saying that the pagan city of Nineveh was more receptive to God’s prophet than this generation is now. Even more, “there is something greater than Jonah here.” Jonah walked through Nineveh and preached repentance. He who is “greater than Jonah” lived, preached, died, and rose from the dead. Am I listening? The conversion of pagan Nineveh is one reality. The victory won for us in God’s Son is quite another. A whole new reality has dawned upon the world in Christ.

   God has sent his Son, and this marks the beginning of a new age that cannot be conquered, dimmed, or dismissed. It’s a new reality with a capital R. God is the measure of everything. All of us have our origin in him. All of us will return to him, to render an account of our lives. In this new era, however, we need not go alone. We have the Beloved Son with us. We are to be marked by his sign: his passion, death, and resurrection. That is how the Father will recognize Christ in us. We are to be a people who, in a very real way, are his own, a people of hope. We follow one “greater than Jonah”; one who walked through death into life. We are to be a people of hope because we know that earthly life, goods, and signs are not the final end. More, much more, awaits us. The “much more” is the sign of Jonah given today. We are Christ’s body, to be his hands and feet today, offering hope to each person and circumstance we encounter.

Oratio

   Father, in giving us Christ, you have given us everything. Saint Paul tells us that in your Son every “spiritual blessing” is ours. Help me understand the depth of what you have done for all generations in giving us your Son. I seek so many things, chasing after bubbles, but in Christ I have more than enough. Thank you for giving us your Beloved Son, teaching us all we need for real fulfillment through him. Thank you for Jesus, who is “greater than Jonah” and calls me to be a sign with him.

Contemplatio

   Make me a sign of life and hope to those with whom I work today.

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

Twenty-eighth Sunday

First reading: Naaman the Syrian (2 Kings 5:14–17)

This little excerpt is the stub end of one of the most delightful stories in the Bible (read it!). It pairs with the gospel reading. In his opening proclamation in the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus declares that he has come to save the gentiles too, just as Elisha did, citing Naaman as an example. Today we read just the cure itself. The odd bit about ‘two mule-loads of earth’ is the result of the belief, still persistent at that time, that the God of Israel could be worshipped only on the soil of Israel—so take some soil with you! Naaman wants to express his gratitude at home, too. At that time the Lord was accepted as God of Israel, the Sovereign and Protector of Israel, but this implied nothing about other nations. It was not until the Babylonian Exile, when Israel was confronted the multiple gods of Babylon, that Israel advanced a step and saw that the Lord was the God of the whole earth, the whole universe, and that all the other deities, such as sun and moon and stars, were simply timing devices plugged into the vault of heaven by the Lord himself. God reveals himself to Israel, and to us, gradually.

Question: How has your faith deepened or developed in the last years?

Second reading: The Grounds for Hope (2 Timothy 2:8–13)

if Paul is chained as a criminal, at least he gives the ground for his hope and his security: ‘The saying is sure.’ The kernel of the Good News is the Resurrection, and that is enough. If Christ is risen from the dead, no more is required; this in itself is the fulfilment of the promises to David. Paul then quotes a little symmetrical hymn that was no doubt sung by the early Christian congregations. The earliest external evidence to the Christian liturgy is a letter from Pliny, governor of a province in what is now northern Turkey, in the early second century, only a few decades after Second Timothy. He has examined Christians under torture and sends his findings to the Emperor: they meet on a set day (presumably Sunday), make oaths of loyalty to one other, sing a hymn ‘to Christ as to a God’, and then have a meal (presumably the Eucharist). The last lines of this reading could be part of just such a hymn, under the pressures of persecution, celebrating the union of Christ with his followers, and Christ’s fidelity to his own people, whatever they do to him.

Reflection: If we are faithless, he remains faithful.

Gospel: The Samaritan Leper (Luke 17:11–19)

Now we see why the story of the cure of Naaman the leper formed the first reading: in the gospel reading, we find another cure of a foreigner, and not an ordinary foreigner, but a hated foreigner. There was a cordial hatred between Jews and Samaritans—a wretched hybrid race, who accepted only part of the Jewish Bible, and had their own ideas about the coming Messiah. Yet we have already had the story of the Good Samaritan, who succours the wounded traveller, neglected by Jewish priest and Levite. Now only a Samaritan comes back to thank Jesus for the cure from leprosy. Samaritans are the foreigners geographically nearest to Jesus, but hated by the Jews. If the Samaritans can set an example to the Jews, so can many other foreigners. In his initial proclamation, Jesus promises salvation to the gentiles, and Luke misses no opportunity to show us gentiles ripe for salvation, the centurion of Capernaum who built the synagogue and whose son is cured, the guests for the banquet, called in from highways and byways. He is preparing for the second volume, the Acts of the Apostles, where the Good News will spread to the ends of the earth, to Rome itself.

Question: Is any race superior to any other? Why or why not?

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

Twenty-Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time—Year C

Lectio

   Luke 17:11–19

Meditatio

“… realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice.…”

   In Jesus’ day, having leprosy, a highly contagious disease of the skin, meant virtual exile. Separated from family, shunned by the community, the leper could hope to be reintegrated with society and his or her family only by being healed. So when these ten lepers spot Jesus from a distance, they all call out to him, begging for his merciful and miraculous healing. Jesus complies, healing them physically and restoring them to their families and communities.

   Sin does in an inward way what leprosy does externally. The effects of sin touch not only the person who commits the sin, but also everyone in the community. This raises a barrier separating the sinner from the community. An act of selfishness on our part begets other sins. My sin toward one person can affect how that person will react later. In other words, my sin doesn’t harm only me. It harms the whole community, almost like invisible tentacles clutching at others’ hearts.

   In the Gospel account, Jesus heals all ten victims of leprosy. I am sure that all of them are happy to be healed, but only one returns to give thanks. He recognizes Jesus as the source of his healing and restoration. The Gospel text even suggests that the man approaches Jesus shouting his joyful praise to God. God offers us the same healing and restoration through the sacrament of Reconciliation. In it God tells us, “I forgive you and I want to heal you. Please don’t separate yourself from me—I love you.” The words of absolution are words of restoration and love. As someone reminded me recently, God is not waiting for me so that he can wag his finger at me in disappointment. Whether we receive the sacrament or simply examine our conscience, God opens his arms wide to embrace us and bring us back to communion and community.

Oratio

   With what joy, Lord, I should run to a reconciliatory encounter with you as your pure love washes over me. Afterward I fall to my knees in total, unashamed gratitude for the love you pour out. I pray today for the grace to turn to you in sincerity with all that I have done, both the good and the not so good. May I give them all to you, so as to praise you for the good and receive your forgiveness for what is not so good. Help me to avoid the sins I am most prone to commit again—I want to be wholly yours today and always.

Contemplatio

   “In the shadow of your wings I shout for joy” (Ps 63:8).

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

SS. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and His Companions, Martyrs

St. Denis is today regarded as the patron of France and is said to have been the first bishop of Paris. Whatever is known of his life is had from what St. Gregory of Tours (538–93) wrote in his History of the Franks. About 250, Denis and six other bishops were sent by Pope Fabian (see January 20) as missionaries to evangelize Gaul (modern France). Denis established himself in the area now known as Paris. Because of his success in making converts to Christianity, Denis and his companions—Rusticus, a priest, and Eleutherius, a deacon—were arrested, imprisoned for a time, and finally beheaded. Their martyrdom took place in 258 on the outskirts of modern Paris, now known as Montmartre (Mountain of Martyrs), during the persecution of Valerian (emperor 253–59). In 475 or thereabouts, St. Genevieve built a basilica over St. Denis’s tomb, and later (624) the Abbey of St. Denis was founded next to the basilica. St. Denis’s relics were transferred to the abbey on October 9. Legend has it that after his martyrdom he picked up his head and walked with it for two miles, indicating where he wanted to be buried.