St. Alphonsus Rodríguez, Religious

St. Alphonsus Rodríguez was born in Segovia, Spain, on July 25, 1533. He was a wool merchant by trade, married, and had three children. It was through the death of his wife and children that God chose to lead him to an extraordinary intimate union with himself. Being a widower, he thought of the priesthood, but he was told that he was too old to begin studies. He was then about thirty-five years of age. He thus entered the Jesuits as a coadjutor brother in 1571, and later that year he was sent to the College of Montesión in Palma on the island of Mallorca, where he was made doorkeeper and remained for the next forty-six years of his life. Externally, his life had nothing extraordinary or remarkable about it. He fulfilled his monotonous job with uncommon fidelity, humility, charity, kindness, and obedience, and thus he became a saint. He encouraged the students to have devotion to our Lady and to pray the rosary, and it was he who suggested to Peter Claver (see September 9) to go to the missions in the New World. St. Alphonsus died at Palma on October 31, 1617, and only after his death was it learned how God had favored him with mystical graces, ecstasies, and visions. He was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1888. The prayer in the Mass today reminds us that in faithful service as lived by St. Alphonsus, God has shown us the way to joy and peace.

Thirtieth Sunday

First reading: The Prayer of the Humble (Sira 35:15–17, 20–22)

The Book of Sira was translated into Greek by the grandson of the author. The grandfather wrote in Hebrew. He was a wise, witty and sometimes cynical teacher of Jerusalem, who gathered and built on the pithy sayings of the sages. The first part of this reading, about the widow’s persistent appeal to the Lord, may well be the basis of last Sunday’s parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge. Did Jesus build his parable on this piece of wisdom of the ancients, or did Luke use the Book of Sirach to expand Jesus’ teaching? So also the second part of the reading, which prepares us for today’s parable of contrasting suppliants, proud and humble, in the Temple: did Jesus build on the ancients or Luke? Jesus certainly heard and learnt from the holy books of Judaism. Whether Jesus directly used it or not, the message of the two parts is clear in the phrase that joins them: whoever whole heartedly serves God will be accepted. There is no pretending in prayer. As a wise old priest once said to me: ‘In prayer you can stop pretending to be Queen Victoria or a poached egg.’

Question: What is the best short prayer you know?

Second reading: Paul’s Farewell (2 Timothy 4:6–8, 16–18)

This is the last Sunday reading from the ‘Pastoral Letters’, addressed to Paul’s assistants, Timothy and Titus. Fittingly, it is a summing up and defence of his mission, according to the literary conventions of the time. We do not know where the trial he mentions took place, or the eventual outcome, although the tradition holds strong that he was martyred in Rome (and his severed head bounced three times, giving rise to three fountains, the famous Tre Fontane). In his letters, Paul several times mentions imprisonment, but nowhere a formal trial, so that we can only guess. Did he set out on further journeys, even to Spain, after his confinement in Rome? We do not know. The sporting images of ‘the good fight’ and the ‘race’ are typical of Paul, and also the image of a libation, the first few drops from a cup of wine, offered in homage to a divinity. But most of all we are reminded that Paul had long yearned for death and to be fully united to his Lord and ours: ‘Life to me, of course, is Christ, and death would be a positive gain’ (Philippians 2:21), although he was held back by the positive need for his energetic guidance.

Question: Can you make any of Paul’s self-defence your own?

Gospel: The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9–14)

These two figures are stock characters, sketched with Luke’s brilliant wit and sensitivity. The gospels invariably give the Pharisees a bad press, since after the destruction of Jerusalem they were the only surviving branch of Judaism, so stand for the vigorous opposition of Judaism to Christianity at that time. The Jewish historian, Josephus, paints a sympathetic picture of them, and Matthew’s picture of them as the personification of hypocrisy may be a caricature of their fussiness of observance. Jesus played them at their own game in the careful interpretation of scripture, although with more profound understanding; was he a Pharisee too? Preoccupation with exact observance of rules can often appear to outsiders as hypocrisy. At that time a tax collector was the epitome of malpractice, extortion and abandonment of all decent standards. He worked for the hated Roman occupying power; he had to make his own living by extorting excessive tax. So this is one more example of the reversal of all expected values, and Jesus’ outreach to those generally despised, the woman notorious in the city as a sinner, the woman taken in adultery, Zacchaeus and the ‘good thief’. It beautifully fulfils the first reading: ‘the prayer of the humble pierces the clouds.’

Reflection: God be merciful to me. I am a sinner.

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

Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time—Year C

Lectio

   Luke 18:9–14

Meditatio

“O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”

   I like this story in Luke. I should, for by now I have lived it a million times! One of my friends will often remind me, “It’s not about you. It’s about him.” Jesus addresses this parable to “those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.” I understand righteousness to mean being in right relationship, in harmony, with God, neighbor, and self. How can you be in right relationship with God or anybody else if you despise anyone?

So what is going on in this story? Jesus wants us to know how to pray, and gives us two types of behavior: one to avoid, one to emulate. The attitude to avoid is one in which the Pharisee thanks God for himself and his own excellence. Being biased in his own favor, he compares himself to his neighbor, who comes up short. The tax collector, instead, doesn’t look around, doesn’t compare himself, doesn’t offer accomplishments or excuses. He just presents himself to the Author of Life and says, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” In this parable, the Lord teaches us that humility is key. Why? Because he wants more for us. To receive it, we need to come out of our smug little worlds where each of us reigns supreme. The Lord wants to gift us with the fullness of his life and kingdom. He tells us, “Everything I have is yours” (Lk 15:31). In order to enjoy this “everything,” we need to let go of always needing to be right and to measure everything by our own criteria. Rather, it’s all about God. It’s all about letting God be God, keeping our eyes on his goodness and asking for his help. We need to keep our places, as people belonging to him, adopted in Christ. In the truth of who we are, we can ask humbly and confidently, “be merciful to me a sinner.” One cannot earn this gift; it is freely given with love.

Oratio

   Dear God, sometimes I don’t trust you enough because of my fear. I know I fail, but I’d rather point out other people’s faults than admit to my own. You are our Father, who loves us all and desires our good. Teach me to let go of judging others, since I lack your divine wisdom, mercy, and love. Help me keep my eyes on you and your mercy, trusting that you will forgive and heal all of us. Help me be grateful for the person you have made me, and the gift I can offer you of a loving, humble heart.

Contemplatio

   Lord, it’s all about you. I am so grateful for your gifts.

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

Twenty-Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time—Year C

Lectio

   Luke 18:1–8

Meditatio

“… pray always without becoming weary.”

   How can a person “pray always”? Don’t we need to go about our daily lives, fulfilling our obligations, using our mind to its full potential? If we are occupied, how can we “pray always”? Jesus is not suggesting that we spend all our time in prayer. Instead, he is encouraging us to pray, to keep on going, and to nurture our relationship with him even when we feel weary. We don’t want to give up on God, because he never gives up on us and pursues us as a smitten lover would. We don’t want to let shame lead us away from God, because he loves us unconditionally. We don’t want to turn away from God, because he doesn’t turn his back on us and is always gently guiding our eyes toward him.

   When we find prayer to be easy, we imagine never giving it up. But when we come to rocky and tumultuous times of prayer, it is difficult to sustain conversation with God. Yet the saints and mystics unanimously urge us never to lose heart. We need to persevere even when we feel nothing, when we are angry at God, when we are bored, and when our interests pull us in an entirely different direction. Through it all, we must not grow weary but remain faithful to prayer, convinced of God’s unfailing love and fidelity. Prayer can take many forms, whether it is the prayer of the Church (liturgical prayer) or private devotion. Our prayer may be long, or it may consist of brief conversations with the Lord. We can raise our hearts to praise God for a grace received, for the beauty of creation, or to ask for favors. We can pray for ourselves, and we can bring to God the needs of others. Above all, we may always ask God to give us the gift of prayer—the gift of enjoying a familiar, loving, and grateful relationship with him.

Oratio

   Lord God, may you be praised for the beauty of dawn and sunset. Lord God, help those people who are suffering due to natural disasters. Lord God, grant that my family may be safe. Lord God, I love you and praise you! Amen.

Contemplatio

   “Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).

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

Twenty-ninth Sunday

First reading: Perseverance in Prayer (Exodus 17:8–13)

This battle scene seems to us nowadays a bit of an odd passage to choose to reinforce the gospel lesson of perseverance in prayer. Can we still pray for the slaughter of our enemies? An important value of these bloodthirsty passages of the Old Testament is to remind us that revelation is gradual: we cannot take in everything at once. Look how long it took us to realize that the logical consequence of Paul’s little letter to Philemon is the total abolition of slavery! Paul didn’t realize it, and neither did most Christians for 1700 years. Future generations may think our morality primitive, too, as we or our successors come to understand Christianity ever more fully. However, prayer can be exciting and uplifting, but it can also be boring and exhausting, with just that sinking feeling of exhaustion: ‘I can’t hold my hands up any longer.’ That is when we need really get on and hang on in there, expressing that God is not just one Mr Fixit among many possibles, but is our only hope and dependence. Cupboard love alone will not do, neither will a last-minute turn to someone about whose existence we had practically forgotten.

Question: When is it important to turn to prayer?

Second reading: The Uses of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:14–4:2)

The inspired writer seems to be devoting much of his space to the use of scripture in preaching and controversy, but most of all the scriptures ‘instruct you for salvation’. We have to receive the message, and take it to our own hearts before we can pass it on to others. This is by seeing the variety of ways in which God cares for us, his ever present forgiveness in all our idiotic mistrust and shying away, our stubborn preference for our own search for happiness. Only by immersing ourselves regularly in the scriptures and growing to love these varied glimpses of God can we come to draw out their richness and sweetness. And there are plenty of difficulties to be overcome: the strangeness of language and ancient ways of thought, the barbaric primitiveness of the Chosen People of God, the boring instructions on sacrifice and purity. Don’t rush it or gobble it up. Go your own pace, and remember that it began as God’s Word to Abraham, Moses, David or whoever, or Jesus helping his contemporaries to understand about the Kingdom, or Paul responding to the queries of his half-instructed converts. But now it is God’s Word to you.

Question: What is your favourite passage of scripture?

Gospel: The Answer to Prayer (Luke 18:1–8)

We often think of prayer as mere asking, and this parable encourages us to pester God as the wronged widow pestered the Unjust Judge. But that is only one aspect of Luke’s teaching on prayer. He also shows us what our attitude in prayer should be, by the parable immediately following in the gospel, the Pharisee and the Tax Collector: the tax collector wins approval because he just stands there, admitting his sins. Most instructive, however, is Luke’s teaching on Jesus at prayer: he reminds us that Jesus is always quietly at prayer to his Father. He needs to slip away to spend the night in prayer. Especially he prays at the most important moments of his life, at his baptism, when he chooses his team, before he teaches them to pray, at the approach of his Passion, finally forgiving and comforting others at his death. Paul tells us we should pray continually. The prayer of asking must be built on a relationship of love and dependence, just as the request of child to parents is built on that loving relationship. It does not matter if the child is naughty, as long as the relationship is one of love; so we do not need to be perfect to make our requests to our Father.

Question: When and how do you find it best to pray?

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