Tuesday’s readings and St. Scholastica’s life illustrate how to strengthen our relationship with God. Every time we pray, every time we help a family member, a friend, a neighbor, or a stranger, we grow closer to Him. After all, our Creator’s “all in” for us.

Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin
1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30
Mark 7:1-13

Like most people, I tend to categorize relationships into those with casual acquaintances and those with people close to me. Reflecting on the biblical readings for Tuesday’s Mass for February 10th reminds me of how closely God wishes us to be with Him.

The Old Testament reading is from the book of Kings, where the people are indecisive whether to believe in the true God or in the false god Baal. The prophet Elijah challenges Baal to light an altar fire. Naturally, Elijah wins after lighting the altar and then pouring water over it, signifying the power of the true God over false gods.

Earlier in the 8th chapter, King Solomon prays to the Almighty: “Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below; you keep your covenant of mercy with your servants who are faithful to you with your whole heart. Can it indeed be that God dwells on the earth? If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built!”

The passage suggests not only that God is of unimaginable majesty but also showers us with infinite love. These thoughts are implied in the responsorial psalm (Psalm 84:1, 5): “How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God! Blessed are those who dwell in your house!”

Tuesday’s reading from the gospel emphasizes that substance, not style, should dominate our relationship with our Creator. In the 7th chapter of Mark, the Pharisees question Jesus on why his disciples do not follow the traditional hand-washing rituals before eating. He responds by saying the Pharisees are hypocrites: “You disregard God’s commandments but cling to human tradition.” He points out, “Moses said, ‘Honor you father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father and mother should die.’ Yet you say, if someone says to father or mother, ‘Any support you might have had from me is gorban ‘(meaning dedicated to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.”

Certainly, Saint Scholastica, the 6th-century nun whom the Church memorializes on the day of these readings, was someone who made God the center of her life. She, along with her brother, St. Benedict, were founders of the oldest order in the Church, the Benedictines. They focus on monastic life and education.

Tuesday’s readings and St. Scholastica’s life illustrate how to strengthen our relationship with God. Every time we pray, every time we help a family member, a friend, a neighbor, or a stranger, we grow closer to Him. After all, our Creator’s “all in” for us. Wouldn’t it be wise for us to be “all in” for Him?

Leave a comment

Reflecting on the fact that God offers salvation to even the least amongst us, I thought about how I view my fellow man. Do I view them with the same prejudice as the high priests viewed tax collectors and prostitutes? Have I ever met someone who, upon first impression, I either dismissed or found repulsive, but later discovered was a good person?

Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent
Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13
Matthew 21:28-32

The readings for Tuesday’s Mass of the third week of Advent indicate that God’s plan for our entering His Kingdom is open to all of us, whether we are rich or poor, respected or despised by society. Those who reject His Word will not enter His Kingdom, and those who do will be welcomed.

The gospel reading from the 21st chapter of St. Matthew recounts Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem and his telling of parables that illustrate his Divine authority to the religious leaders. In Tuesday’s passage, Jesus tells the priests the story of a man who orders his two sons to work in his vineyard. One says he won’t, but later changes his mind and does. The other says that he will, but doesn’t. Jesus asks the elders which of the two sons followed his father’s will. They respond that it is the former.

The parable reveals that the imperfect can receive the rewards of the Kingdom of God. He tells the priests: “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God before you. When John (the Baptist) came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe; but tax collectors and prostitutes did.”

Tuesday’s readings also include a passage from the 34th chapter of Psalms, which emphasizes God’s mercy with the downtrodden. Written at a dark time during King David’s life, it expresses God’s love for those without. This thought is crystallized in one phrase: “The Lord hears the cry of the poor.”

The third reading for Tuesday’s Mass is from the 3rd chapter of the Book of Zephaniah. Zephaniah, whose name means “the watchman of the Lord,” was the ninth of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament. Written between 640 and 622 B.C. during the reign of King Josiah of Judah, this book warned Judah not to fail to live up to its covenant with God. Two generations earlier, when northern Israel rejected the Divine covenant, they were conquered by the Assyrians. Zephaniah states: “Thus says the LORD: Woe to the city, rebellious and polluted, to the tyrannical city!” Later, the passage continues, “For then I will change and purify the lips of the peoples.” Later, it states, “For I will remove from your midst the proud braggarts.” Continuing, it tells that those who are faithful to God’s Word will “take refuge in the name of the LORD” and will “do no wrong and speak no lies.”

Reflecting on the fact that God offers salvation to even the least amongst us, I thought about how I view my fellow man. Do I view them with the same prejudice as the high priests viewed tax collectors and prostitutes? Have I ever met someone who, upon first impression, I either dismissed or found repulsive, but later discovered was a good person?

Because I thought this question was so interesting, I asked it of two individuals—one an agnostic, the other with both Catholic and Jewish heritage. I have mentioned them before in previous reflections. I found their responses to this question illuminating.

My agnostic friend viewed the repulsive reaction as a natural human defense against the unknown, an act of self-survival.

My friend with Catholic and Jewish heritage could remember an instance where she reacted to a person that she met at the gym where she works out 3 or 4 times a week. Looking as if he were in his mid-fifties, this portly fellow with a shaggy beard was shabbily dressed and spoke with a gruff voice. However, as she began talking to him, she discovered that he was in his eighties, reasonably intelligent, and a successful businessman. She told me that when meeting new people, she tries to avoid pre-judging them by remembering a saying her Jewish father told her when she was little: “God is watching”.

I recall an instance in my early twenties when I was dismissive of someone who was trying to be my friend. Finally, after several occasions when I acted like a jerk, I changed my attitude. That person that I “blew off” so many years ago is now a good friend and has been writing lyrics to my melodies for decades.

These divergent viewpoints I just presented need not be contradictory. It is natural to feel hesitant about meeting new people, but it is Godlike to be open to love.

Make the Bible your training manual for life. Zephaniah warned the Israelites of their fate if they rejected God’s will. Jesus told the high priests that those they despise will receive heavenly rewards because of the latter’s faith. Scripture tells us that we should view our fellow man as God does---with love. During this season of Lent, shouldn’t we “take refuge in the name of the LORD” (Zephaniah 21:30) so that we can enter “the Kingdom of God” (Matthew:30).

After all, as my friend’s father put it — “God is watching.”

Leave a comment

Regarding death and the afterlife, my agnostic friend viewed it as undergoing a “change” to the unknown that can be positive, “depending on how you look at it.” My “religious” friend hoped she wouldn’t run into someone she disliked in this life in heaven, which led us into a discussion of how she would handle it.

Tuesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Romans 5:12, 15, 17-19, 20-21
Luke 12:35-38

“Brothers and sisters: Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned.”

These remarks from the 5th chapter of St. Paul’s epistle to the Romans are from the 1st reading of the Mass on Tuesday, October 21st. He argues that sin entered the world through one man (Adam, as portrayed in Genesis). Because of sin, death also entered, and thus death spread to all men because all men have sinned.

In presenting my reflection on Paul’s epistle, I found it important to focus on the meaning of sin as well as the vision of life after death, particularly heaven. Sin is defined as “an offense against religious or moral law” or a “transgression against the law of God.” Mortal sin is described as a serious offense against the law God, such as murder. Venial sin is a less serious crime, like mild abusive language, not necessarily depriving the soul of divine grace.

Surveys conducted between 2017 and 2022 across countries worldwide found belief in life after death ranged from 32% to 98% of the population.

In previous reflections, I asked two friends —one an agnostic and the other with both Jewish and Catholic heritage —about religious questions. I decided to do the same again, asking their views on sin and the afterlife. Surprisingly enough, their views were remarkably alike. My religious friend agreed that sin is man’s transgression against God’s law, and my agnostic friend described it as “doing something that you know is wrong.” Both believed that the seriousness of the offense could be rated as either mortal or venial. Regarding death and the afterlife, my agnostic friend viewed it as undergoing a “change” to the unknown that can be positive, “depending on how you look at it.” My “religious” friend hoped she wouldn’t run into someone she disliked in this life in heaven, which led us into a discussion of how she would handle it.

I believe that the solution to that issue is in this life. In the 5th chapter of the gospel of St. Matthew, at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says: “But I say to love, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father…” If we do what Jesus commands, then meeting someone you disliked in this life in heaven is no longer a problem. The Responsorial hymn of Tuesday’s readings (Psalm 40:7) punctuates this idea: “Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.”

In the 2nd reading, from the 12th chapter of the gospel of St. Luke, Jesus describes, through a parable, how we should prepare for our entrance into the afterlife. “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival…”

Simply put, following God’s laws ensures that we will be ready when He calls us to join Him in heaven. Some of His laws are easy to follow, like praising Him occasionally with a moment of prayer, or helping a friend or loved one. But some are difficult, like “love your enemies…”

Although it may be difficult to pray for those who persecute us, we should remember that physicians say hatred can be psychologically as well as physically unhealthy for us. In the 15th chapter of the gospel of St. John, Jesus tells his apostles: “If the world hates you, realize that they hated me first…I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.”

Again, some of God’s commands are difficult to follow.

Despite that, we need to keep our eyes on the ultimate goal — being with God in heaven. Luke 21:36 puts it best: “Be vigilant at all times and pray that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.”

Leave a comment

Even though initially God’s plan may seem a tough road to follow, ultimately, it is a better path for us. As I’ve mentioned before, wouldn’t the Being that made us know us best? The responsorial psalm (Psalm 139:1) for the two readings puts it this way: “You have searched me and know me, Lord.”

Tuesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
I Thessalonians 2:1-8
Matthew 23:23-26

In today’s egocentric society, we are constantly inundated with products designed to supposedly satisfy our immediate wishes. Everywhere we look — on TV, cable, podcasts, or online —we are tempted by items that we want now. That’s a key rule in advertising.

However, life experience has taught us that some things we initially desire are ultimately not good for us. How many times has a friend or spouse said to us, “Don’t do that!” But stubbornly, we “did it” anyway. Later, we discovered that our decision was a terrible mistake. Feeling like an idiot, we wished that we had followed our loved one’s advice.

From a philosophical point of view, maybe seeking immediate gratification isn’t always the best path. From a theological point of view, whose plan is better, ours or the Supreme Being who created us?

The biblical readings from the August 26th mass examine this very question. In the 2nd reading, from the 23rd chapter of St. Matthew, Jesus chastises the Pharisees for being hypocrites. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes (taxes) of mint and dill and cummin (aromatic herbs) and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity.”

You may be thinking that you are nothing like the Pharisees, who later plotted the death of Jesus. But his condemnation of them was also a warning to those who place their interest before God’s. In fact, the Pharisees regarded their own importance as greater than the religious mission the Almighty assigned them. When we make poor decisions by not listening to good advice, aren’t we acting as foolish as the Pharisees, ignoring counsel from the Son of God? In those moments when we exercise poor judgment, perhaps we should view our loved one as God’s messenger, urging us to follow a better plan rather than our own.

Admittedly, sometimes following God’s plan can be difficult. This is evident from the 1st reading, St. Paul’s 1st epistle to the Thessalonians. Thessalonia (Thessaloniki in modern-day Greece) was an important city in the Roman province of Macedonia at the time of Paul’s ministry in the 1st century A.D. A bustling port located on the Aegean Sea, it was home to a population that included Romans, Greeks, and Jews.

Joined by fellow believers Silas and Timothy, Paul had success spreading the Christian message to the population. However, this success fueled jealousy among some Jewish leaders, which led to opposition and riots. Earlier, in the city of Philippi, northeast of Thessalonica, Paul and Silas also experienced success mixed with opposition. Within this context, Paul wrote this letter to the people: “You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our reception among you was not without effect. Rather, after we had suffered and been insolently treated, as you know, in Philippi, we drew courage through our God to speak to you the gospel of God with much struggle.”

Paul continued, stating that it is God’s judgment of what we do that matters, not anyone else’s. “But as we were judged worthy by God to be entrusted with the Gospel, that is how we speak, not as trying to please men, but rather God, who judges our hearts.”

Even though initially God’s plan may seem a tough road to follow, ultimately, it is a better path for us. As I’ve mentioned before, wouldn’t the Being that made us know us best? The responsorial psalm (Psalm 139:1) for the two readings puts it this way: “You have searched me and know me, Lord.”

The obvious and logical conclusion is that God always has the best plan for us. To discover it, all we need to do is be receptive to Him.

P.S. Happy Labor Day to you and your family!

Leave a comment

Not only Christians, but also other religious denominations believe this. The official Catholic Catechism states that Jews were “the first to hear the word of God” * in their covenant with Him revealed in the Old Testament. The catechism also describes Muslims as “those who acknowledge the Creator.” **

Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Genesis 19:15-29
Matthew 8:23-27

It’s my yearly practice every 4th of July to begin that day by reading the Declaration of Independence. This year, as with every year, the meaning of the words beginning the 2nd paragraph moves me to my soul. “We hold these TRUTHS to be SELF-EVIDENT, that all men are created EQUAL, that they are ENDOWED by their CREATOR with certain UNALIENABLE RIGHTS, that among these are LIFE, LIBERTY, and the pursuit of HAPPINESS.”

The founders of our country felt not only that we owe our very being, but all that we want to accomplish in our lives here on earth, to the majesty and mercy of an eternal God. Not only Christians, but also other religious denominations believe this. The official Catholic Catechism states that Jews were “the first to hear the word of God” * in their covenant with Him revealed in the Old Testament. The catechism also describes Muslims as “those who acknowledge the Creator.” **

Following God’s Word is a path to accepting His infinite mercy and His power. Defying it opens us up to punishment. The readings for July 1st are examples of this.

The responsorial hymn (Psalm 26:2-3) clearly says, “O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes… For your mercy is before my eyes, and I walk in your truth.”

The first reading, from the 19th chapter of the book of Genesis, describes the consequences of rejecting God's word. Previously in Genesis, God established his covenant, graced in His love and mercy with Abraham and his offspring. Abraham’s nephew, Lot, and his family lived in Sodom, where the people rejected God’s word. Although God stated “the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave” in the 18th chapter, through the intercession of Abraham, He spares Lot and his family (except his wife) from the destruction of the city in the 19th chapter. Lot’s wife disobeys God’s command not to look back at the city’s destruction. As a result, she turns into salt.

The 2nd reading, from the 8th chapter of the gospel of St. Matthew, also describes the power of God’s majesty, but none of the consequences are as dire as Sodom and Gomorrah. After a series of miraculous healings witnessed by his disciples, Jesus travels in a boat with them, where they encounter “a great storm on the sea.” Fearing for their lives, they ask for his help. He responded by remarking, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” He calms the seas, and they are amazed at the power of the Son of God.

As we approach the two hundred and fiftieth year of the existence of our country, we should take stock of the reason why we love her. The Founders recognized that God is the source of our freedom, our dreams, and our very being. Again, to quote the psalm: “I walk in your (God’s) truth.”

*This passage is from The Catechism of the Catholic Church (Second Edition), Part 1, “The Church and non-Christians”, #839.

**This passage is from The Catechism of the Catholic Church (Second Edition), Part1, “The Church and non-Christians”, #841

Leave a comment

Wouldn’t He be able to fill all our spiritual needs? As Tuesday’s psalm states, God will be “my rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety. You are my rock and my fortress; for your name’s sake you will lead and guide me.” (Psalm 31:3cd-4, 6)

Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
Acts 7:51—8:1a
John 6:35ab

Before I begin my reflection, I must tell you of the joy that I feel in my heart, as well as so many Catholics and people all over the world, with the announcement of the new pope, Leo XIV. Not only is he the first American pope, but he’s from Chicago, my hometown. May God bless and guide him in his ministry to the world.

While I was composing my reflections for Tuesday, May 6th, Biblical readings, my thoughts drifted to a memorable scene from a popular 1992 military courtroom drama in which the chief witness reacts to aggressively pointed questions asked of the defensive attorney by shouting back, “You can’t handle the truth!”

Holy Scripture is the manual presenting the eternal truth from God. If we believe in His omnipresence, then we must accept His message along with His everlasting and all-encompassing love for us.

In Tuesday’s gospel reading from St. John, after Jesus miraculously feeds a crowd of five thousand along the shore at the sea of Tiberias during the time of Passover, he remarks, “Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” He then explains that “the bread of God is that which comes from heaven and gives life to the world.” Jesus tells us that we can always have this bread with us because he “is the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever comes to me will never thirst.”

Wow. That’s a heavy concept to digest.

But not beyond the power of the Almighty that created us. Wouldn’t He be able to fill all our spiritual needs? As Tuesday’s psalm states, God will be “my rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety. You are my rock and my fortress; for your name’s sake you will lead and guide me.”

However, there can be serious consequences to following God’s commands, as described in the 2nd reading of May 6th, from the 7th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Stephen, a devout convert, was stoned to death for spreading the Word of God. As he lay seriously wounded, “he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” After he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” he asked God not to hold his executioners’ sin against them. Then he expired.

An interesting footnote to this event, the passage continues, is that Saul, a known hater of all Christians, approved of Stephen’s execution. The silver lining to the tragedy of Stephen’s death was the transformation of Saul, who hunted down every Christian for execution, to St. Paul, the man who spread Christianity throughout the vast stretches of the Roman Empire.

Probably, God will not ask us to make the sacrifice that Stephen made. However, He does exhort us to “live His truth” by performing simple Christian acts in our lives, like daily prayer. In the 5th chapter of St. Paul’s 1st letter to the Thessalonians, he comments that with prayer, we “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us.”

The Almighty also encourages us to perform acts of kindness. In the 6th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he states, “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season, we will reap, if we do not give up.”

With prayer and good works, we can follow the divine plan that Jesus lays out for us in the 14th chapter of John: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Leave a comment

Loving one’s enemies is a high bar to achieve. But Jesus believes we can get there. If not, why would he say loving those who hate us is the way that we may be “children of your heavenly Father?” After all, what was his response to those who brutally crucified him? “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). That’s the premier example of loving those who despise you.

Saturday of the First Week of Lent
Deuteronomy 26:16-19
Matthew 5:43-48

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” (Matthew 5:43-45)

These are the key remarks from the second readings for the Mass on Saturday ending the first week of Lent. The first reading, from Deuteronomy, describes Moses telling the Israelites that they have agreement with God to follow His commandments. The responsorial psalm states how blessed those are who follow God’s laws. The second reading, from the end of the teachings of Jesus on the Sermon the Mount, culminates with his asking for us to “love” our enemies (insert the most despicable human that you can imagine). Christ also wants us to pray for them. Moreover, he tells us that is the way to be closer to God.

Loving your enemies — that’s a high mountain to climb. How do we get there? Can we get there?

Since many of us address this same issue, I sought the views of two of my close friends about this passage. One, who I’ve known since college, was raised as a Roman Catholic. However, he has been a “certain that I’m not certain” agnostic his entire adult life. He is also a believer in reincarnation. The second friend, who I have lunch with at least once a month, was raised by a father who practiced Judaism and a mother who lived in a Catholic convent until she was eighteen. My “believer” friend mentioned that she gained a sense of family and longing to be with God from Judaism, which existed before Christianity. But following the teachings of Jesus also linked her to Christianity.

Here’s how my friends interpreted the gospel reading.

My agnostic friend first laid down the philosophical foundation upon which he based his view. He commented that, if there is a God, He sees creation out of time. For God, there is no past, present, or future. Everything is NOW with Him. Even though we have free will, our future is predetermined. As he put it, “Everybody does the best he can all the time.” Every one of us, he continued, plays a different role in this play called life.

Regarding Jesus exhorting us to love our enemies, my agnostic friend admits that is a high bar to achieve. However, since hate as self-destructive, the opposite---love---is desired. As he put it, “Don’t hate!”

My other friend reflected on the gospel passage for two days before she responded. She concluded that while she could pray for those who persecute her, she couldn't love them. Discussing the issue further, she indicated that perhaps sometime in the future she could incrementally move in the direction that Jesus wishes her to go. But for now, she could not “love” her enemies.

My friends’ views, I believe, represent many who try to follow God’s request to love your enemies. I agree with my agnostic friend that we shouldn’t hate. An essential element of that emotion is “a decision to devalue a previously valued object.” When we hate, we really devalue ourselves. Moreover, the opposite of hate, love, is defined as “the unselfish, loyal, and benevolent concern for the good of another.”

I also agree with both of my friends that loving one’s enemies is a high bar to achieve. But Jesus believes we can get there. If not, why would he say loving those who hate us is the way that we may be “children of your heavenly Father?” After all, what was his response to those who brutally crucified him? “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). That’s the premier example of loving those who despise you.

How do we learn to love our enemies?

Well, God can help us. Alcoholics Anonymous has a twelve-step program to help those who cannot do it on their own to achieve sobriety. God has a one-step program to help us love our enemies. That program is prayer.

Praying to Him on a regular basis always leads us to a better relationship with the Almighty. A simple prayer may unlock the answer to our question, something like:

Dear God. Show me the way to rid my heart of hate. I’m not smart enough to do this on my own. Show me, Lord, the path to love those whom I hate. Help me change my ways so that I will pray for their souls. Help me conquer my confusion and vitriol so that I can declare “I love my enemies.” Guide me, Lord, so that I may grow closer to you. Amen.

Leave a comment

We can “confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help,” as Paul tells the Hebrews. Accept the invitation of Christ that he gave Levi: “Follow me.” (Mark 2:13)

Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Hebrews 4:12-16
Mark 2:13-17

Before I begin this week’s reflection, I must comment on the horrible devastation from the wildfires that began last week in southern California. Our hearts go out to all those affected. What happened has resulted in a terrible loss of life and property. The stress and misery of those who have suffered has been overwhelming. Because of this tragedy, two questions burn in people’s minds: 1) How to emotionally deal with these terrible events, and 2) If there is an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving God, why would He allow these horrible events to happen?

The latter question is answered in the book of Job, which I consider the most intriguing book of the Old Testament. In that book, Job’s faith is tested when all his possessions, as well as his health, are taken from him. His wife and his friends tell him to blame God. When he talks to the Almighty, he receives the answer to why he was suffering for no apparent reason. God responds: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” and later, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” and still later, “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

The answer to the question of why God allows bad things to happen lies in this sobering truth — we are not the Creator. He created us. If we love and trust in Him, He will ultimately reward us more than we can imagine. In fact, the story of Job concludes with his being rewarded in such a manner.

The first question, how to deal with calamities, is revealed in the January 18th readings. The responsorial psalm joyfully exclaims, “Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life”. These words strengthen our faith in times of trouble. The Alleluia exhorts us “to bring glad tidings to the poor and to proclaim liberty to captives.”

The first reading, from the 4th chapter of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Hebews, emphasizes that God should be the centerpiece of our lives. In this passage, Paul tells the converts that “the word of God is living and effective.” Later he states, “we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God.”

The 2nd reading, from the 2nd chapter in the gospel of St. Mark, further expounds on the message. The backstory to this passage relates how Jesus performed miracles, forgave sins, and acquired followers. After he cured the paralytic and forgave his sins, the scribes present objected, accusing Jesus of blasphemy. But knowing their thoughts, he asked “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, “Arise, take up your bed and walk’?”

Against this backdrop of the growing ministry and charismatic popularity of Jesus, the passage begins with his meeting Levi, a tax collector, saying to him, “Follow me”, which he immediately does. Then, when Jesus sits at a table with other tax collectors who were considered sinners, once again the scribes objected. But he remarked, “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” Aren’t we all sinners?

Readings from Scripture can help us deal with the human and financial loss in disasters like the recent wildfires in southern California and the terrible death and destruction in New Orleans by reminding us to connect our minds and hearts with the grace of God because “his words are Spirit and light. The decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple,” as Psalm 19 says. We can “confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help,” as Paul tells the Hebrews. Accept the invitation of Christ that he gave Levi: “Follow me.” (Mark 2:13)

We can live with the trauma of losing loved ones and possessions when we realize that we will never completely understand God’s plan because we’re not God.

Our salvation lies with our loving and trusting in our Creator because He always loves us.

An agnostic friend of mine once told me that he was jealous of those who believe. He felt they were lucky.

I guess we are. No. We are blessed.

Leave a comment

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17
John 2:13-22

Before I begin my reflection, let me address an issue, although not religious, that some of you may be dealing with—how to relieve the stress from the recent elections on November 5th. During this, as well as other political contests of the past, the media has regularly promoted stories to create hatred between people with opposing viewpoints. This has resulted in leaving many in a state of extreme emotional stress. That’s not healthy. Many wonder what they can truly believe in. Maybe you are one of them. You ask, “How can I relieve myself of this hate? Who or what can I really rely upon? Is there a constant, calming generating force in my life?”

Image by Imtiyaz Quraishi

Yes, there is … God. As the psalm (Psalm 46; 2-3) for Saturday’s reading of November 9th says, “God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress. Therefore, we fear not, though the earth be shaken and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.”

Saturday also commemorates the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. Commissioned by Emperor Constantine after the Edict of Milan in 318, it is the oldest basilica of the Catholic Church. It was dedicated to St. John the Baptist in the 9th century and to St. John the Evangelist in the 12th.

The first of Saturday’s readings is from the 47th chapter of Ezechiel. It presents an ideal vision of a new temple for the Israelites. Written most likely between 593 and 565 B.C., during their Babylonian captivity, the passage states: “The angel brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold toward the east, for the façade of the temple was toward the east; the water flowed down from the southern side of the temple, south of the altar.”

The second reading, from the 3rd chapter of St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, expands upon the physical nature of a temple to include a spiritual one. “Brothers and sisters: You are God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a solid foundation, and another is building upon it. But each must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ.”

The gospel reading, from the 2nd chapter of St. John also focuses on this spiritual aspect. The 13th through 22nd verses details Jesus throwing the money changers out of the temple, ordering them to “stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” When asked, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” he answered, “Destroy this temple and I will rebuild it in three days.” Continuing later, “But he was speaking about the temple of his Body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this …”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this concept of Christ’s body even more fully: ”The Church is the Body of Christ. Through the Spirit and his action in the sacraments, above all the Eucharist, Christ, who was once dead and is now risen, establishes the community of believers as his own Body.”

Wow. That’s heavy. Think about that for more than a moment.

God is the center of our universe. He can help us through our physician pains and emotional stress. He is the constant in our lives. After all, he’s the Creator.

Leave a comment