Central theme:   This week we are at a wedding in Cana where Jesus reveals his Divine power by his first miracle, transforming water into wine. The Bible begins with one wedding, that of Adam and Eve in the garden (Genesis 2:23-24), and ends with another, the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9, 21:9, 22:17). Throughout the Bible, marriage is the symbol of the Covenant relationship between God and His chosen people.   God is the faithful Groom and humanity is His beloved bride.  Let us pray for God’s daily miracles in our families.

Scripture lessons summarized: We see this theme beautifully presented in today's first reading, where Isaiah uses the metaphor of spousal love to describe God’s love for Israel. God’s fidelity to his people is compared to a husband’s fidelity to his wife.  Isaiah predicts God’s salvation of Jerusalem after the return of the Babylonian exiles and visualizes it as a wedding between God and Jerusalem. Jesus’ provision of abundant wine for the wedding feast in Cana signifies that the day foreseen by Isaiah has arrived. Anticipating the joy of this wedding, the psalmist urges us in the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 96),” Sing to the Lord a new song.”  In today’s second reading, St. Paul reminds us that the new wine that Jesus pours out for us is the gift of the Holy Spirit, given to his bride. In today’s Gospel, John describes the first of the seven “signs’ by which Jesus showed forth his Divinity. When the wine "ran short,” Jesus’ Mother told him about it.  At first Jesus seemed to refuse to do anything about it. But later he told the servants to fill six large stone jars with water and take some of the miraculous water-made-wine to the headwaiter.  When they did so, the headwaiter expressed his surprise that such a great wine had been reserved for late use.

Life messages: 1) Let us, “invite Jesus and Mary to remain with us in our homes” when we feel shortages in our family lives. The spouses need Jesus and Mary when their dreams are gone, mutual love seems dried up, the relationship becomes boring, and raising the children becomes a burden draining all their energy.   The awareness of the presence of Jesus and Mary in the family will encourage parents to create an atmosphere of prayer, Bible-reading, mutual love and respect with a spirit of forgiveness and sacrificial service at home. It will refresh and renovate family life, removing its boredom.    

2) Let us follow Mary's instruction, "Do whatever He tells you."   This is the only command given by Mary which is recorded in the New Testament, and it is a prerequisite for miracles in our families.  The Bible tells us how to do the will of God and effect salvific changes in our daily lives. 3) Just as Jesus filled the empty water jars with wine, let us fill the empty hearts around us with love.   By the miracle of Cana, Jesus challenges us also to enrich the empty lives of those around us with the new wine of love, mercy, concern and care. 4) Let us learn to appreciate the miracles of God's providence in our lives. God, often as an uninvited guest in our families, works daily miracles in our lives by protecting us from physical and moral dangers, providing for our needs, inspiring us and strengthening us with His Holy Spirit. Let us also appreciate the miracle of the Real Presence of the Lord on the altar where God transforms our offering of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus.

O T II [C] (Jan 20):  Is 62:1-5; I Cor 12: 4-11, Jn 2:1-11

Welcome back to Ordinary Time, the longest of the Church Seasons. This is our base line, our normal; the other seasons celebrate something (Christmas, Easter) or anticipate (Lent, Advent). But good old Ordinary Time is when we cover most of the story of Jesus’ life, preaching using parables with the day-to-day struggles and successes.

Homily starter anecdotes # 1: Transformation at the hand of Christ:  It is said that the writer Leo Tolstoy experienced that kind of transformation. He told about it in a book titled, My Conversion. Tolstoy wrote, “[When] Faith came to me; I believed in Jesus Christ, and all my life suddenly changed. I ceased to desire that which previously I had desired, and on the other hand, I took to desiring what I had never desired before. That which formerly used to appear good in my eyes appeared evil and that which used to appear evil appeared good.” Before his conversion, Tolstoy had acquired fame and fortune through his great writings. But he was unsatisfied. “I fought duels,” he wrote. “I gambled, I wasted my substance wrung from the sweat of peasants and deceived men. Lying, robbery, adultery of all kinds, drunkenness was my life.” His conversion, one of the most dramatic of modern times, gave his life a new purpose, a new meaning and, he affirmed, an abiding satisfaction. [William E. Thorn, Catch the Little Foxes That Spoil the Vine (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1980).] All of us remember the story of the old alcoholic who ended his addiction. When asked about Jesus’ miracle of turning the water into wine replied, “I don’t know about that, but I do know that in my house Jesus changed whiskey into furniture.” Many millions of people over the centuries have experienced that kind of transformation at the hand of Christ. The miracle of Cana gives us that lesson

# 2: "I have two wives:" There was an article in Reader's Digest recently by a man named Patrick Cooney titled, "Why I Wear Two Wedding Bands." Cooney says that he has worn two wedding rings for more than a dozen years. When he's asked about them, he responds, "I have two wives." He's kidding, of course. One day a stranger would not let him off with this glib answer about why he wears two rings. So, Cooney spilled the whole story. He explained his father died in 1999. As they were saying their final farewells at his funeral, his mother, who had been married to his father for 50-plus years, removed his father's wedding ring and handed it to Patrick. Surprised, he placed the gold ring on his left middle finger, next to his wedding ring. There it has remained. He told the stranger that he wears his father's wedding ring to honor his father and his parents' marriage. He also wears it to remind himself to be the son, brother, husband, and dad that his father wanted him to be. He is now 60 years old and has been married for 30 years. The stranger walked away, then turned back and said, "Sir, you know, I have my father's wedding ring in my sock drawer at home, and beginning today, I am going to start wearing it."  Powerful story. But isn't it true of all our relationships? It's important not only to be faithful and attentive to our spouse, but to our children or our parents and our friends. I can tell you right now, without any hesitation at all that it is God's will for us to take care of our relationships. Jesus demonstrated it honoring his mother’s wish and saving the family reputation of the bridegroom at Cana. (Adapted Rev. by King Duncan in www.Sermons.com  and quoted by Fr. Tony Kayala).

# 3: “Make sure you invite Jesus and Mary!"  Johnny Carson (who hosted the Tonight Show for 30 years), was interviewing an eight-year-old boy one night.  The young man was asked to appear on the Late Show because he had rescued two friends from a coal mine outside his hometown in West Virginia.  As Johnny questioned him, it became apparent that the boy was a Christian.   Johnny asked him if he attended Sunday School.  When the boy said he did, Johnny inquired, "What are you learning in Sunday School?"  "Last week,” the boy replied, “our lesson was about how Jesus went to a wedding and turned water into wine." The audience burst into laughter and applause.   Keeping a straight face, Johnny asked, "And what did you learn from that story?"   The boy squirmed in his chair.   It was apparent he hadn't thought about this. But then he lifted up his face and said, "If you're going to have a wedding, make sure you invite Jesus and Mary!"  And that is precisely the message of today’s Gospel: make sure you invite Jesus and Mary wherever you live and wherever you go – they are the only ones you'll ever need.   In other words, today's Gospel lesson is about the sufficiency of Christ in our lives and the power of his Mother’s intercession. (18 additional anecdotes are uploaded in my website http://frtonyshomilies.com/ )

Introduction:  This is a season of "epiphanies,” in which the Liturgy shows us God’s revelation of Jesus as the Messiah to the shepherds, the Magi, King Herod, John the Baptist and those gathered around John at the Jordan.  This week we are at a wedding where Jesus reveals his Divine power by his first miracle. Pope St. John Paul II gave us a beautiful gift when he introduced the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary. The second mystery is the subject of today’s Gospel, the Wedding Feast at Cana where Jesus changed water into wine. The miracle at Cana is the first of seven “signs” in John’s Gospel - miraculous events by which Jesus showed forth his Divinity. Jesus, his mother and his disciples were guests at the wedding feast.  When the wine "ran short," Jesus’ mother told him about it.  At first Jesus seemed to refuse to do anything about it. But later he told the servants to fill six large stone jars with water and take some to the headwaiter.  When they did so, the water had become wine, better wine than that which had run out. The Bible begins with one wedding, that of Adam and Eve in the garden (Genesis 2:23-24), and ends with another, the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9, 21:9, 22:17). Throughout the Bible, marriage is the symbol of the Covenant relationship between God and His Chosen People.   God is the Groom and humanity is His beloved bride.  We see this beautifully reflected in today's first reading, where Isaiah uses the metaphor of spousal love to describe God’s love for Israel. God’s fidelity to his people is compared to a husband’s fidelity to his wife. The prophet reminds his people that their God rejoices in them as a Bridegroom rejoices in His Bride and that He will rebuild Israel, if they will be reconciled to Him and repair their strained relationship with Him.     By our Baptism, each of us has been betrothed to Christ as a bride to her Groom (II Cor. 11:2). Anticipating the joy of this wedding, in the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 96), the psalmist urges us,” Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all you lands. Sing to the Lord; bless His Name.”  In today’s second reading, St. Paul reminds us that the new wine that Jesus pours out for us is the gift of the Holy Spirit, given to his bride. Jesus’ first sign at Cana and Paul’s advice to the Corinthians challenge us to become more sensitive to the many signs of God’s power and glory around us, to open our eyes and hearts to perceive them as coming from God and to give glory to God for them.

First reading:  Is 62:1-5, explained: The reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah suggests one possible meaning for Jesus’ first sign at Cana.  Here, Isaiah predicts God’s salvation of Jerusalem and visualizes it as a wedding between God and Jerusalem.  After reminding the exiles who have returned from Babylon that their forced departure from their homeland and subsequent detainment in Babylon was the just punishment for their disobedience to God, Isaiah gives them the assurance that their God is now wholly with them. Through their infidelities, the Chosen People and their land earned the names “Forsaken” and “Desolate” (v. 4). But God is a faithful partner and offers them a vision of restoration. Forgiven and rehabilitated, Israel will be restored to her status as the espoused and beloved of God. Those who were scorned and mocked by the nations will be   called Hephzibah (My Delight) and Beulah (Espoused).  Jesus’ provision of abundant wine for the wedding feast in Cana (120 to 180 gallons of it), signifies that the day foreseen by Isaiah has arrived. By our Baptism, each of us has been betrothed to Christ as a bride to her Groom (II Cor. 11:2).  

Second reading: I Cor 12:4-11, explained: Paul reminds the members of the Corinthian community that each of them is endowed by the Holy Spirit with distinctive gifts. All the charisms are really signs of the Holy Spirit’s activity and point to the glory of Jesus and his Heavenly Father. Since the Holy Spirit is the very Life of God, the outpouring of the Spirit and His charisms upon us who believe in Jesus is a participation in the Life of God.   In addition, each gift has been given for the sake and well-being of others in the family of believers and in order to bear witness to God’s power and glory.  There are many gifts but only one Giver; there are different gifts but only one goal, i.e., the common good of the whole believing community. Hence, we must use our gifts in such a way as to build up, protect and nourish the ties that bind us   in Christ, because we are united to God as in a marital relationship. Espoused to God, we are bound also to one another, much as “in-laws” are interlinked through loving familial bonds. In the context of today’s Gospel report of the wedding at Cana, Paul is telling spouses to accept each other as God’s gifts, to each other.

Gospel exegesis:  The setting for the miracle:  Christ’s first miracle, which John refers to as a “sign,” takes place in the village of Cana in Galilee. The hometown of the disciple Nathaniel but an otherwise insignificant town, Cana was located some eight miles northeast of Nazareth.  This miracle is the first in John’s series of seven signs by which Jesus manifested his power and glory during his public ministry. Presumably, the "disciples" who accompanied Jesus were Andrew, Simon Peter, Zebedee’s sons James and John, Philip, and Nathaniel.   Jesus’ mother Mary was also present.  Joseph is not mentioned in the story; he may well have died already. It is also possible that Mary was in some way related to the bride or groom and may have been serving as an assistant to the wedding director. According to a version recounted in the Coptic Gospels, the bridegroom was Simon of Cana, Jesus’ disciple and the brother of Jacob and Judah.  He was the son of Joseph’s brother Cleophas (Helpai) and Mary’s elder sister, and, hence, the nephew of both Mary and Joseph.  Such weddings usually began on Wednesdays with the celebration lasting for seven days.  During this period, guests arrived each day bringing gifts and participating in the joy of the occasion.  In verse 3, we read that, in the course of the celebration, “the wine ran short.”  This was a difficult situation for the young couple, and may indicate that they came from poor families. Among the Jews of that time, wine was not only considered a staple food item, but was also frequently used in times of celebration.   To run short of wine at a wedding feast was certainly a serious problem, particularly damaging to the reputation of the host and an ill omen for the newly-married couple.

Mary’s intervention: When Mary pointed out the problem to Jesus, his reply seems, on the surface, to be a bit sharp.  This, however, is to misunderstand the passage.   Although Jesus addressed his mother as "Woman" or "Dear Woman,” the term was roughly equivalent to our word “lady” or "madam", and was not, in itself, unnecessarily harsh.    It was, in fact, a term of respect and is the same word Jesus used when he addressed his mother from the cross, saying of John, “Woman, behold your Son.”  Jesus' next words are also easily misunderstood.   He asked Mary, ”What is it to me and to you?"  This implies no rudeness on Jesus’ part. Probably, it means, "We are guests, and guests are not expected to supply the things needed at a feast."   Jesus further protested, “My hour has not yet come,” The “hour” of Jesus includes his passion, death, Resurrection and exaltation taken as one great event. In spite of Jesus’ detachment from the problem, Mary instructed the waiters, “Do whatever He tells you,” showing Faith that her son would do what the newlyweds and their families really needed. The Church uses the account of this miracle to remind us that, by virtue of her position as the Mother of God and our Heavenly Mother, Mary's intercession for us with God has great power.

Symbolic meaning of the miracle as seen by the Fathers of the Church: The love of God is manifested at its most powerful in the love between husband and wife, in marriages that are sacraments, that is,  in marriages in which Christ is the always-present Wedding Guest. As ministers of the marriage sacrament, husbands and wives, in their love for one another, mirror for all of us the great love of God in our midst. The symbols used and their meaning:  1) The fruit of the vine is used in the Old Testament as an emblem of the joy associated with the Messianic age and a gift and blessing of God (Dt 7:13; Prv 3:10, Ps 105). The water in the jars represents the old order of Jewish law and custom (Jer 31:12, Hos 14:7, Amos 9:13), which Jesus was to replace with something better, namely his sweet and inspiring Gospel.   2) The fact that the abundant wine (120 gallons) provided by Christ was of such superior quality and taste also reveals the glory, satisfaction, sufficiency, and lavishness of the grace, Divine Life, He provides to sinners. Since it is God Who provides, we will lack nothing; however, to receive it, we must be emptied, giving all we have to Him.  There are three steps found in the text which lead us to the sufficiency of Christ:  a) Ask God for help (v 3). b) Obey His commands (vv 7-8). c) Expect Him to be glorified as He provides (v 11).     3) Mary’s comments, “They have no wine” (v. 3) and “Do whatever He tells you” (v. 5), can be understood as a reflection on the barrenness of the Jewish purification rituals and as a directive to look to Jesus as the new means of salvation. 4) The new wine made by Jesus signifies the "new rich wine" of the Gospel and it points to the “wine of the New Covenant” and the “Bread of Life” which Jesus provides for his disciples in the Lord’s Supper or Eucharist. The wine that Jesus had to offer, i.e., his words and works, was far superior to any other teaching or wisdom. This first sign is the manifestation of the grace and truth that has come through Jesus Christ (Jn 1:17), and serves as a summons to us all to join in the celebration. It also points to the Messianic banquet which Jesus will provide at the end of the age when He comes again in glory

Life messages: 1) Let us, “invite Jesus and Mary to remain with us in our homes.”  St. John Mary Vianney suggests this as the solution for many of our family problems.   He used to encourage parents to create an atmosphere of prayer, Bible-reading, mutual love and respect and sacrificial service at home so that the presence of Jesus and Mary might be perpetually enhanced and experienced in the family.

2) Let us obey the command of Mary, "Do whatever He tells you."   This is the only command given by Mary recorded in the New Testament, and it is a prerequisite for miracles in our families.  The Bible tells us how to do the will of God and effect salvific changes in our daily lives.

3) We need to learn to appreciate the miracles of God's providence in our lives. God, often as an uninvited guest in our families, works daily miracles in our lives by protecting us from physical and moral dangers, providing for our needs, inspiring us and strengthening us with His Holy Spirit.

4) Just as Jesus filled the empty water jars with wine, let us fill the empty hearts around us with love.   By the miracle of Cana, Jesus challenges us to enrich the empty lives of those around us with the new wine of love, mercy, concern and care.

5) Let us appreciate the miracle of the Real Presence of the Lord on the altar.  The same Jesus, who transformed water into wine at Cana, transforms our gifts of bread and wine into his own Body and Blood in order to give us spiritual nourishment.  If our families have lost the savor of mutual love, let us renew them at the altar with the invigorating power of the Holy Spirit. 

Joke of the Week: 1) Little Tommy was so impressed by his oldest sister’s wedding that he announced. “I want to have a wedding just like Linda had.” “That sounds great,” said his father. “But whom will you marry?” Tommy announced: “I want to marry grandma because she loves me and I love her.” “You can’t marry grandma,” his father said. “Why not?” Tommy protested. “Because she is my mother.” ”Well,” reasoned Tommy. “Then why did you marry my mother?”

2) Whisky: A Congressman was once asked about his attitude toward whiskey. "If you mean the demon drink that poisons the mind, pollutes the body, desecrates family life, and inflames sinners, then I'm against it.  But, if you mean the elixir of Christmas cheer, the shield against
winter chill, the taxable potion that puts needed funds into public coffers to comfort little crippled children, then I'm for it. This is my position, and I will not compromise."

3) The same service? A man who had been a husband for ten years was consulting a marriage counselor. “When I was first married, I was very happy. When I came home from a hard day at the shop, my little dog would race around barking and my wife would bring me my slippers with a heart-warming smile. Now after all these years everything is changed. Now when I come home, my dog brings me my slippers and my wife barks at me.” “I don’t know what you are complaining about,” said the counselor. “You are still getting the same service.”

4) Countdown! One woman asked the other, "You were always so organized in school, meticulously planning every detail. How did you plan your married life?" "Well," said her friend, "My first marriage was to a millionaire; my second marriage was to an actor; my third marriage was to a preacher; and now I'm married to an undertaker." Asked the friend, "What do those marriages have to do with a well-planned life?" "The first marriage was for the money, the second for the show, the third to get ready and the fourth to go!"

Prepared by: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604.

Synopsis Synopsis of O.T. III homily on Luke 1: 1-4; 4: 14-21 (L/16)

Introduction: Today’s Gospel, presenting Jesus’ inaugural speech in the synagogue of Nazareth and outlining his theology of total liberation, marks a great moment in Jewish history. The Scripture readings for today focus our attention on the importance and liberating power of the Word of God as "sacramental," making God present in our midst. The readings challenge us to listen to the Word, accept it into our hearts, then put it into practice as we live out our lives, liberating ourselves and others from all types of bondages.

Scripture lessons: Today’s first reading, taken from Nehemiah, and Luke’s Gospel both describe a public reading of Sacred Scripture which challenged the hearers to make a "fresh beginning" with a new outlook.  In the first reading, after rebuilding the Temple and restoring the city, Ezra was leading the people in a “Covenant renewal” ceremony by reading and interpreting the Law. The Second Reading, taken from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, reminds us that “Together we are Christ’s Body, but each of us is a different part of it.” This suggests that, as different parts of Christ’s Body, we each have a share, as his instruments, in bringing the freeing and saving mission of Christ to our world in our times.   Today’s Gospel describes how, on a Sabbath, Jesus stood before the people in the synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth, reading and interpreting what Isaiah had prophesied about the Messiah and his mission. Jesus claimed that he was the One sent "to bring glad tidings to the poor, liberation to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and freedom for the oppressed"—language that reflects the Biblical year of Jubilee. To the great amazement and disbelief of his own townsmen, Jesus declared that Isaiah’s prophecy was being fulfilled at that very moment “in their hearing," because the prophet was foretelling and describing Jesus' mission and ministry.  Jesus’ mission would be to give liberation to everyone who would listen to his “Good News,” accept it and put it into practice. Luke reports that the initial reaction of the people was surprise at the power and eloquence of this son of their soil.

Life messages: 1) We need to receive Christ’s freedom, live it and pass it on to others: As members of Christ’s Mystical Body, we share in the freeing, saving mission of Jesus.   But we are captives of sin. We need Christ to set us free. We are often blinded by our evil habits, addictions and need for financial security. Once we receive true liberation from Christ, we have to share it with those we encounter in our daily lives, families, neighborhoods, parishes and workplaces.

2) We need to let the power of the Holy Spirit fill us, and to be ready to have miracles done through us. Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus performed miracles because he was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.   Let us be ready to become Spirit-filled instruments of Christ’s saving freedom.

OT III Neh 8: 2-4, 5-6, 8-10; I Cor 12:12-30; Luke 1: 1-4; 4: 14-21

Anecdote: # 1: Archbishop Blessed Oscar Romero’s “option for the poor.” Speaking in the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus used Isaiah’s prophetic terms, long since seen as referring to the coming Messiah, to describe his own mission.  Jesus said he had been sent, among other reasons, “to bring Good News to the poor." The success of Jesus’ mission, particularly with the poor who had no political power except that conferred by their sheer numbers, made Jesus a “dangerous” person to the religious authorities of Israel and eventually resulted in his crucifixion.   The Christian Gospel is still dangerous when its truth is really put into practice.  This is clearly seen in the case of Archbishop Blessed Oscar Romero, who was murdered when, like Jesus, he reminded people of the needs of the poor and the oppressed in El Salvador.   The story begins in 1979 when a young priest, Father Grande, was shot and killed on the streets of El Salvador.  His "crime" was that he spoke out against the government, which brutally suppressed all forms of protests and executed thousands of innocent people using its notorious “Death Squads.” When Fr. Grande's great friend, Bishop Oscar Romero, was chosen to be the new Archbishop, the authorities thought he would keep quiet on the question of the oppressed poor in that country. Instead, Archbishop Blessed Oscar Romero became an outspoken defender of the poor and a critic of the state-supported “Death Squads.” To honor the memory of his martyred friend, Romero refused to appear in any public ceremonies sponsored by the army or the government. He soon became the voice and conscience of El Salvador.  His words and actions were reported throughout the whole world, so that everybody knew the atrocities happening in El Salvador.   Romero’s fight for human rights led to his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.  On March 24, 1980, at 6:25 PM, as the Archbishop was offering Mass in a hospital Chapel, a shot from the back of the Church struck him in the chest, killing him instantly.  Thus, Archbishop Blessed Oscar Romero died a martyr for the Gospel of Christ.  As we reflect today on Jesus' words about his mission, let us remember Archbishop Blessed Oscar Romero and continue to strive to live out faithfully, in our world and in our daily lives, the “dangerous” truths of the “Good News” which is Jesus’ gift to us today.

#2: "Don't you want to be free?” In his book Ghost Soldiers, Hampton Sides tells the story of a dramatic mission during World War II. On January 28th, 1945, 121 hand-selected Army Rangers slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines in an attempt to rescue 513 American and British POW's who had spent three years in a hellish prison camp near the city ofCabanatuan. Hampton Sides describes the first effects of liberation as chaos and fear. The prisoners were mentally too brittle to understand what was taking place. Some even scurried away from their liberators. One particular prisoner, Bert Bank, refused to budge, even when a Ranger walked right up to him and tugged his arm. "C'mon, we're here to save you," he said. "Run for the gate." Bank still would not move. The Ranger looked into his eyes and saw they were vacant, registering nothing.” “What’s wrong with you?" he asked. "Don't you want to be free?" Finally, a smile formed on Bank's lips as the meaning of the words became clear, and he reached up to the outstretched hand of the Ranger. The Rangers searched all the barracks for additional prisoners, then shouted, "The Americans are leaving. Is there anybody here?" Hearing no answer, they left. The freed prisoners marched 25 miles and boarded their ship home. With each step, their stunned disbelief gave way to soaring optimism. In today’s Gospel, Jesus presents to his fellow-townsmen his mission of bringing them God’s saving freedom, to their great astonishment and, for some, their disbelief.

# 3: Liberation theology: A woman in Nicaragua gets eleven cents for sewing together a pair of blue jeans that are sold by an American company for $14.95. That company made $566 million in profits on those jeans in one year. One out of every five Ugandan children will not live to age five because they do not have simple, primary health care. That is not just in Nicaragua. This is not just in Uganda. There are hurts to heal in our cities. There are poor people here. There are homeless people here. There are addicted people here. There are lonely people here. There are oppressed and captive people here. There are hurts that need to be healed! And you ask, "What can I do? Is there anything I can do? Can I be one who stands in the gap between the way things are and the way things can be? Can I be a bridge over which other people can travel in that journey from the way things are and the way things can be?"

Introduction: The Scriptures for today focus our attention on the importance and power of the Word of God and its challenge for us today.   The Word of God is called "sacramental,” in the sense that when it is spoken, read or heard, God becomes present in our midst. For that to happen to us, we must listen to the Word, accept it into our hearts, and then put it into practice as we live out our lives. Both today’s first reading, taken from Nehemiah, and Luke’s Gospel, describe the public reading of Sacred Scripture which challenged the hearers to make a "fresh beginning" with a new outlook.  In the first reading, after rebuilding the Temple and restoring the city, Ezra was leading the people in a “Covenant renewal” ceremony.  In this ceremony,  with the active assistance of a few Levite helper-priests, Ezra read and interpreted the Law to the Jews gathered before the Water Gate from early in the morning till mid-day on the first day of the Jewish year. Taken from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, the second reading reminds us, “Together we are Christ’s Body, but each of us is a different part of it,” suggesting that, as different parts of Christ’s Body, we each have a share, as his instruments, in bringing the freeing and saving mission of Christ to our world in our times.   Hence, we should work together like the different parts of a body, offering our time, talents and treasures to each other as well as to all we encounter in our lives, in fulfillment of our Baptismal calling and promises. It is in mutual giving and receiving as one Body that we assist each other to experience the true freedom which Jesus offers us and wishes us to have, that is, freedom from our common legacy, the effects of Adam’s original choice of himself for god, namely, sin, darkness and the power of the evil one. Today’s Gospel describes how, on a Sabbath, Jesus stood before the people in the synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth, reading and interpreting what Isaiah had prophesied about the Messiah. Jesus rooted his mission and ministry in the written word of Isaiah, in the passage in which the Spirit sends the prophet to bring glad tidings to the poor, liberation to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and freedom for the oppressed—language that reflects the Biblical year of Jubilee. These words had long since been seen as applying to the coming Messiah, whom the Spirit would send to bring glad tidings to the poor, liberation to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and freedom for the oppressed. To the great amazement and disbelief of his own townsmen, Jesus declared that Isaiah’s prophecy was being fulfilled in him at that very moment because the prophet was foretelling and describing his mission and ministry. Jesus’ mission would be to give liberation to everyone who would listen to his “Good News,” accept it and put it into practice.

First reading, : After defeating Babylon, King Cyrus of Persia decreed that the exiled Jews, who had spent seven decades of exile in Babylon, could return home to Jerusalem.  The Jews who returned rebuilt their ruined Temple (Ezra 6:15-17), and finished rebuilding the city walls under Ezra, their spiritual leader, and Nehemiah, the Governor appointed by Persia (Nehemiah 6:15).  The Lord gave an important mission to both men. They were to teach the Hebrew Scriptures and inspire the people to the high ideals of their ancestral religion. In today’s reading, Ezra is leading the people in a “Covenant renewal” ceremony.  In this ceremony, with the active assistance of a few Levite helper-priests, Ezra read and interpreted the Law to the Jews gathered before the Water Gate, from early in the morning till mid-day on the first day of the Jewish year (Nehemiah 8:8).   The Torah, thus, became a living Word of power, grace and forgiveness for these exiles. It evoked from them a dramatic response. They came to realize the many ways in which they had failed to keep God’s Commandments. Hence, with tears of repentance in their eyes and joy in their hearts, the people responded with a great "Amen!"   Israel, as we sing in today's Psalm, was rededicating itself to God and His Law. The passage describes the birth of preaching! The first sermon took place at an assembly of the people during the 5th century BC!

Second Reading, : The Christian community in the Greek seaport, Corinth, was a mixture of people of various ethnic groups, a combination which occasionally caused divisions that threatened its unity. Paul was worried that the community might break apart into factions. So, in order to help them build up the Body of Christ in Corinth, he wrote about the need for them to have unity and mutual love.  Paul was addressing a Christian community with diverse manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Prophets, preachers, healers, teachers – you name it, the Spirit had bestowed the job on someone there. These folks often exercised their gifts in spectacular, ecstatic ways that drew a lot of attention, much as they can do today among people who attend revivals and the crusades of some faith-healers. Paul spent chapters 12, 13 and 14 of this letter trying to get the Corinthians to enjoy and express their gifts in ways that would give strength and unity to the community and glory to God. Paul insisted that the Corinthians must use their spiritual gifts to glorify God, not themselves. This particular passage tackles the unity-of-the-Church issue with the metaphor of the parts of the body. Everyone in the Church is compared to a part of the body, making his or her unique contribution to the health of the whole. Hence, Paul urges the Spirit-gifted Corinthian Christians to find Jesus in their community by recognizing Jesus in one another. The same plea is being addressed to us in our day. Even if the Spirit has not granted us the gift of speaking in tongues or that of healing powers, we can always choose to exercise the gift of love, which we have all been given, and which Paul ranks higher than all the rest. Paul, the earliest Christian author, believes that it is essential for all Jesus' followers to understand and appreciate the necessity of their own presence and of their freeing role in the Body of Christ.

Exegesis: Synagogue worship: The Jews had only one main Temple, located in Jerusalem, for offering sacrifices to God and for celebrating the major feasts.  Throughout the rest of the country, however, there were synagogues, one for every ten families or more, where the community, particularly the men, could offer Sabbath prayers and study the Scriptures.  It was customary for the men to sit in the central part of the synagogue, where the scrolls were kept.  The women and children sat in a separate area on the side of the synagogue.  It was the Jewish custom for the reader to stand while reading, and to sit down while teaching (Mt 13:54; Mk 6:1). The synagogue liturgy was based on seven readings. The first four were from the Law (the Torah or the Pentateuch) followed by explanations given by the rabbi, who was the teacher of the Law. The second set of readings, taken from the prophets, could be read and interpreted by any circumcised male over thirty years of age.  It was in this second capacity that Jesus read and preached on the passage from Isaiah (61: 1-2a).  Naturally, the people of his native place were curious to hear from this carpenter-turned-prophet who had grown up among them, and who, supposedly, had worked miracles throughout Galilee.  Luke reports that Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,and news of him spread throughout the whole region. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me," Jesus said, “because He has anointed me…” This “power of the Spirit" was absolutely essential in order for Jesus to complete his mission.

 “Theology of liberation”: The reading from Isaiah describes a kind of Messianic figure. Jesus identifies himself as that figure and declares that the mission and ministry prophesied are his mission and his ministry. This mission was similar to the mission given to Moses in Exodus 3: 7-10. Jesus claims that he has been sent to Israel: (1) to bring glad tidings to the poor; (2) to proclaim liberty to captives; (3) to give recovery of sight to the blind; (4) to free the oppressed, and (5) to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. [“An acceptable year,” in this context, suggested the ancient “Jubilee Year.”] Isaiah meant that the period of his ministry would open for all Israel the long-desired restoration of Zion which the Lord God Himself would accomplish, giving Israel His forgiveness and restoring her to His love and favor. In selecting this Messianic passage as referring to himself (“This text is being fulfilled today, even as you listen”), Jesus sums up both the source of his power and authority, and the nature of his freeing and saving ministry.  First, Jesus claims the power of God’s Spirit as the source of his work.  Second, Jesus makes this proclamation in the context of Judaism – on the Sabbath, from the Scriptures, and in the synagogue.  Third, Jesus identifies his work, the work of the Messiah, with that of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh (see Isaiah 42: 1-4, in particular), who brings   Good News to the poor, proclaims release to the oppressed and recovery of sight to the blind -- figuratively and literally.  Fourth, this agenda begins in Nazareth and extends to all places where the Word of God will be heard and understood.

Life messages: 1) We need to receive Christ’s freedom, live it and pass it on to others: As members of Christ’s Mystical Body, we share in the freeing, saving mission of Jesus.   However, even after we have chosen to believe in him, to accept his teachings and to live them out in our lives, we are still in bondage.   We are captives of sin, and only Christ can set us free. We are often blinded by our evil habits, addictions and need for financial security.  Pride and prejudice can make us blind to the needs of the less-fortunate, prompting us to fear and avoid them, rather than to love and help them. We can also be blind to the presence of God within ourselves and others.  We are often not free to listen to a lonely, heart-broken neighbor.  We can be prisoners of materialism and consumerism, chained to pleasure, power, money and control of everyone and everything in our world. Accordingly, we need to be freed and raised to a richer level of life. Once we receive true liberation from Christ, we need to share it with those we encounter in our daily lives -- in our families, communities, parishes and workplaces.

2) We need to let the power of the Holy Spirit fill us, and to be ready to have miracles done through us. Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus performed miracles because he was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus promised the same Spirit to his disciples: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth….  He lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17).  To this very day, the Holy Spirit is available to all believers who sincerely ask Him to dwell in their hearts.  If we fail to receive, and then to use, His power and His gifts, we are left with nothing but our natural abilities, and we will be unable to be used as instruments in His freeing miracles.   Miracles occur every day through weak human instruments, although they may be less spectacular than the ones Jesus performed. People whose minds are ravaged by fear and hatred can be miraculously filled with peace and kindness.   Those whose hearts are crippled with bitterness and anger can be made gentle and peaceful.   Perhaps others, whose relationships with their spouses are strained, can be   miraculously healed by love and faithfulness.  These are true miracles, performed by the power of God, through the Holy Spirit, often making use of human instruments.  Let us be ready to become Spirit-filled instruments of Christ’s saving freedom.

Joke of the week: “Liberation theology” of obesity: And God populated the earth with broccoli and cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow vegetable of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives. And Satan created McDonald's.   And McDonald's brought forth the 99-cent double-cheeseburger. And Satan said to Man, "You want fries with that?" And Man said, "Super-size them." And Man gained pounds. And God created the healthful yogurt, that woman might keep her figure that man found so fair. And Satan brought forth chocolate.  And woman gained pounds. And God said, "Try My crispy fresh salad." And Satan brought forth ice cream.  And woman gained pounds. And God said, "I have sent you heart-healthy vegetables and olive oil with which to cook them." And Satan brought forth a chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained pounds and his bad cholesterol went through the roof. ………..And Man went into cardiac arrest. And God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery. And Satan created HMOs.

Central theme: Today’s readings challenge us to hear, read and put into practice the saving and liberating word of God, thus transforming our lives and to convey the salvation and liberation of Christ to others around us through our renewed lives. Today’s Gospel, presenting Jesus’ “inaugural address” in the synagogue of Nazareth and outlining his theology of total liberation, marks a great moment in Jesus’ public ministry.

Scripture lessons summarized: Today’s first reading, taken from Nehemiah, and Luke’s Gospel both describe a public reading of Sacred Scripture which challenges the hearers to make a "fresh beginning" with a new outlook.  In the first reading, after rebuilding the Temple and restoring the city, Ezra leads the people in a “Covenant renewal” ceremony by reading and interpreting the Law. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 19) sings the praises of the Law of the Lord and its effects on those who accept it.  The Second Reading, taken from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, reminds us that “together we are Christ’s Body, but each of us is a different part of it.” This suggests that, as different parts of Christ’s Body, each of us has a share, as instruments in God’s hands, in bringing the freeing and saving mission of Christ to our world in our times. 

  Today’s Gospel describes how, on a Sabbath, Jesus stood before the people in the synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth, reading and interpreting what Isaiah had prophesied about the Messiah and his mission. Jesus claims that he is the One sent "to bring glad tidings to the poor, liberation to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and freedom for the oppressed"—language that reflects the Biblical year of Jubilee. To the great amazement and disbelief of his own townsmen, Jesus declares that Isaiah’s prophecy is being fulfilled at that very moment “in their hearing," because the prophecy foretells and describes Jesus' own mission and ministry.  Jesus’ mission is still to give liberation to everyone who will listen to his “Good News,” accept it and put it into practice. Luke reports that surprise and admiration were the initial reactions of the people who were astonished at the power and eloquence of this son of their soil.

Life messages: 1) We need to receive Christ’s freedom, live it and pass it on to others: As members of Christ’s Mystical Body, we share in the freeing, saving mission of Jesus.   But we are captives of sin. We need Christ to set us free. We are often blinded by our evil habits, addictions and need for financial security. Once we receive true liberation from Christ, we have to share it with those we encounter in our daily lives, families, neighborhoods, parishes and workplaces.   

2) We need to study the Bible and be filled with the Holy Spirit: In order to free us and others from the bondage of sin through our transparent Christin lives,  we need to read and study the Bible and practice its teaching in our lives, while praying for the daily, strengthening-anointing of the Holy Spirit and His guidance in our daily lives and cooperating sincerely with His grace.  

OT III [C] (Jan 27, 2019) Neh 8:2-4, 5-6, 8-10; I Cor 12:12-30; Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

Anecdote: # 1:  Saint Oscar Romero’s “option for the poor.” Speaking in the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus used Isaiah’s prophetic terms, long since seen as referring to the coming Messiah, to describe his own mission.  Jesus said he had been sent, among other reasons, “to bring Good News to the poor." The success of Jesus’ mission, particularly with the poor who had no political power except that conferred by their sheer numbers, made Jesus a “dangerous” person to the religious authorities of Israel and eventually resulted in his crucifixion.   The Christian Gospel is still dangerous when its truth is really put into practice.  This is clearly seen in the case of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, who was assassinated while he was celebrating Mass because, like Jesus, he reminded people of the needs of the poor and the oppressed in El Salvador.   The story began in 1979 when a young priest, Father Grande, was shot and killed on the streets of El Salvador.  His "crime" was that he spoke out against the government, which brutally suppressed all forms of protests and executed thousands of innocent people using its notorious “Death Squads.” When Fr. Grande's great friend, Bishop Oscar Romero, was chosen to be the new Archbishop, the authorities thought he would keep quiet on the question of the oppressed poor in that country. Instead, Archbishop Oscar Romero became an outspoken defender of the poor and a critic of the state-supported “Death Squads.” To honor the memory of his martyred friend, Romero refused to appear in any public ceremonies sponsored by the army or the government. He soon became the voice and conscience of El Salvador.  His words and actions were reported throughout the whole world, so that everybody knew the atrocities happening in El Salvador.   Romero’s fight for human rights led to his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.  On March 24, 1980, at 6:25 PM, as the Archbishop was offering Mass in a hospital Chapel, a shot from the back of the Church struck him in the chest, killing him instantly.  Thus, Archbishop Oscar Romero died a martyr for the Gospel of Christ. He was beatified May 23, 2015 by Cardinal Angelo Amato representing Pope Francis and canonized by Pope Francis October 14, 2018, with the designation “Bishop and Martyr.” As we reflect today on Jesus' words about his mission, let us remember Saint Oscar Romero and continue to strive to live out faithfully in our world and in our daily lives the “dangerous” truths of the “Good News” which is Jesus’ gift to us today. (https://youtu.be/NsqQeo57u8s)

#2: U.S. Presidents’ Inaugural Addresses: Every single Inaugural Address from George Washington's to Donald Trump’s has been preserved. In these speeches, presidents have laid out for the country their dreams, goals, and aspirations. Here is a part of the speech given by our first president, George Washington (April 30, 1789), when he bravely acknowledged the role of God in his administration: He said, “It would be improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being Who rules over the universe, Who presides in the councils of nations, and Whose providential aids can supply every human defect.” Franklin Roosevelt said on March 4, 1933, “This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly.” Americans remember the role of citizens outlined in President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address (January 20, 1961), “In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. …. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” More recently we call to mind Ronald Reagan’s American Song theme in 1985: “hopeful, big-hearted, idealistic – daring, decent and fair. That’s our heritage, that’s our song… we raise our voices to the God who is the author of this most tender music.” No doubt you were able to identify several of the presidents by the historical references or by the famous lines, and while all of these Inaugural Addresses are important, some are moving, inspiring and worthy of remembrance. Today in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 4, we have listened to an “inaugural address” delivered not to a Nation but to a synagogue congregation; not in an American city but in a poor village, Nazareth, in Galilee; and not by a man elected by the power of the people but by the God-man Jesus, anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus outlines his mission, vision and dreams in this famous reflection and teaching.

# 3: Liberation theology of Martin Luther King, Jr: As a Christian minister, King's main influence in his fights for the liberation of his people was Jesus Christ and the Christian Gospels, which he would almost always quote in his religious meetings, speeches at Church, and in public discourses. King's Faith was strongly  based in Jesus' commandment of loving your neighbor as yourself, loving God above all, and loving your enemies, praying for them and blessing them. His nonviolent thought was also based in the injunction to turn the other cheek in the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus' teaching of putting the sword back into its place (Matthew 26:52).^[33]In his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, King urged action consistent with what he describes as Jesus' "extremist" love, and also quoted numerous other Christian pacifist authors, which was very usual for him. In another sermon, he stated: “Before I was a civil rights leader, I was a preacher of the Gospel. This was my first calling and it still remains my greatest commitment. You know, actually all that I do in civil rights I do because I consider it a part of my ministry. I have no other ambitions in life but to achieve excellence in the Christian ministry. I don't plan to run for any political office. I don't plan to do anything but remain a preacher. And what I'm doing in this struggle, along with many others, grows out of my feeling that the preacher must be concerned about the whole man.”— King, 1967^[34][35] In his speech "I've Been to the Mountaintop", he stated that he just wanted to do God's will. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.)

Introduction: The Scriptures for today focus our attention on the importance and power of the Word of God and its challenge for us today.   The Word of God is called "sacramental,” in the sense that when it is spoken, read or heard, God becomes present in our midst. For that to happen to us, we must listen to the Word, accept it into our hearts, and then put it into practice as we live out our lives.

Scripture lessons: Both today’s first reading, taken from Nehemiah, and Luke’s Gospel, describe the public reading of Sacred Scripture which challenges the hearers to make a "fresh beginning" with a new outlook.  In the first reading, after rebuilding the Temple and restoring the city, Ezra leads the people in a “Covenant renewal” ceremony.  In this ceremony, with the active assistance of a few Levite helper-priests, Ezra reads and interprets the Law to the Jews gathered before the Water Gate from early in the morning till mid-day on the first day of the Jewish year. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 19) sings the praises of the Law of the Lord and its effects on those who accept it, ending with the prayer, “Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart/find favor before You, O Lord, My Rock and My Redeemer!”  Taken from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, the second reading reminds us, “Together we are Christ’s Body, but each of us is a different part of it,” suggesting that, as different parts of Christ’s Body, we each have a share, as God’s instruments, in bringing the freeing and saving mission of Christ to our world in our times.   Hence, we need to work together like the different parts of a body, offering our time, talents and treasures to each other as well as to all we encounter in our lives in fulfillment of our Baptismal calling and promises. It is in mutual giving and receiving as one Body that we assist each other to experience the true freedom which Jesus offers us and wishes us to have, that is, freedom from our common legacy, the effects of Adam’s original choice of himself for god, namely, sin, darkness and the power of the evil one. Today’s Gospel describes how, on a Sabbath, Jesus stood before the people in the synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth, reading and interpreting what Isaiah had prophesied about the Messiah. Jesus rooted and grounded his mission and ministry in the written word of Isaiah, particularly in the passage in which the Spirit sends the prophet to bring glad tidings to the poor, liberation to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and freedom for the oppressed—language that reflects the Biblical year of Jubilee. These words had long since been seen as applying to the coming Messiah. To the great amazement and disbelief of his own townsmen, Jesus declared that Isaiah’s prophecy was being fulfilled in him at that very moment because the prophet was foretelling and describing Jesus’ mission and ministry. Jesus’ mission would be to give liberation to everyone who would listen to his “Good News,” accept it and put it into practice.

First reading, Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10, explained: After defeating Babylon, King Cyrus of Persia decreed that the exiled Jews, who had spent seven decades of exile in Babylon, could return home to Jerusalem.  The Jews who returned rebuilt their ruined Temple (Ezra 6:15-17), and finished rebuilding the city walls under Ezra, their spiritual leader, and Nehemiah, the Governor appointed by Persia (Nehemiah 6:15).  The Lord gave an important mission to both men. They were to teach the Hebrew Scriptures and inspire the people to the high ideals of their ancestral religion. In today’s reading, Ezra is leading the people in a “Covenant renewal” ceremony.  In this ceremony, with the active assistance of a few Levite helper-priests, Ezra reads and interprets the Law for the Jews gathered before the Water Gate, from early in the morning till mid-day on the first day of the Jewish year (Nehemiah 8:8).   The Torah, thus, becomes a living Word of power, grace and forgiveness for these exiles. It evokes from them a dramatic response. They have come to realize the many ways in which they have  failed to keep God’s Commandments in their lives. Hence, with tears of repentance in their eyes and joy in their hearts, the people respond with a great "Amen!"   Israel, as we sing in today's Psalm, was rededicating itself to God and His Law. The passage describes the birth of preaching: the first homily took place at an assembly of the Chosen People of God during the 5th century BC!

Second Reading, 1 Corinthians 12:12-30, explained: The Christian community in the Greek seaport of Corinth was a mixture of people of various ethnic groups, a combination which occasionally caused divisions that threatened its unity. Paul was worried that the community might break apart into factions. So, in order to help them build up the Body of Christ in Corinth, he wrote about the need for them to have unity and mutual love. In today’s selection from that letter,  Paul addresses a Christian community blessed with diverse manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Prophets, preachers, healers, teachers – you name it, the Spirit had bestowed the job on someone in Corinth! These folks often exercised their gifts in spectacular, ecstatic ways that drew a lot of attention, much as they can do today among people who attend revivals and the crusades of some Faith-healers. And that could have caused trouble. So Paul spends chapters 12, 13 and 14 of this letter trying to get the Corinthians to enjoy and express their gifts in ways that will give strength and unity to the community and glory to God rather than cause divisions by competition among them. Paul insists that the Corinthians must use their spiritual gifts to glorify God, not themselves. This particular passage tackles the unity-of-the-Church issue with the metaphor of the parts of the body. Each member of the Church is compared to one of the parts of the body, who with God’s special gifts is making a unique contribution to the health of the whole. Hence, Paul urges the Spirit-gifted Corinthian Christians to find Jesus in their community by recognizing Jesus in one another. The same plea is being addressed to us in our day. Even if the Spirit has not granted us the gift of speaking in tongues or that of healing powers, we can always choose to exercise the gift of love, which we have all been given, and which Paul ranks higher than all the rest. Paul, one of the earliest Christian authors, believes that it is essential for all Jesus' followers to understand and appreciate the necessity of their own presence and of their freeing role in the ongoing life of Body of Christ.

Gospel exegesis: Synagogue worship: The Jews had only one main Temple, located in Jerusalem and used for offering sacrifices to God and celebrating the major feasts.  Throughout the rest of the country, however, there were synagogues, one for every ten families or more, where the community, particularly the men, could offer Sabbath prayers and study the Scriptures.  It was customary for the men to sit in the central part of the synagogue, where the scrolls were kept.  The women and children sat in a separate area on the side of the synagogue.  It was the Jewish custom for the reader to stand while reading, and to sit down while teaching (Mt 13:54; Mk 6:1).  The prayer began with “Shema’’ prayer followed by the recital of the “Eighteen Blessings," praising and thanking God. Then seven passages from the “Torah” the book of Law and three passages from the “Prophets” were read and interpreted.  Finally, the prayer was concluded by a priest or the synagogue president blessing the assembly using the blessing from the Book of Numbers (6; 22 ff). (Visit: https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/he-went-to-synagogue   for details).

Jesus’ reading and interpretation: Today’s gospel describes how Jesus participated in the sabbath prayer of the synagogue in his native place in Nazareth with a band of his disciples. The synagogue Liturgy of the Word was based on seven readings. The first four were from the Law (the Torah or the Pentateuch) followed by explanations given by the rabbi who was the teacher of the Law. The second set of three readings, taken from the prophets, could be read and interpreted by any circumcised male over thirty years of age.  It was in this second capacity that Jesus read and preached on the passage from Isaiah (61:1-2a).  Naturally, the people of his native place were curious to hear from this carpenter-turned-prophet who had grown up among them, and who had worked miracles throughout Galilee.  Luke reports that Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me," Jesus said, “because He has anointed me…” This “power of the Spirit" was absolutely essential in order for Jesus to complete his mission.

“Theology of liberation”: The reading from Isaiah describes a kind of Messianic figure. Jesus identifies himself as that figure and declares that the mission and ministry prophesied are his mission and his ministry. In other words, Jesus declares that Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in Him. This mission was similar to the mission given to Moses in Exodus 3:7-10. Jesus claims that he has been sent to Israel: (1) to bring glad tidings to the poor; (2) to proclaim liberty to captives; (3) to give recovery of sight to the blind; (4) to free the oppressed, and (5) to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. [“An acceptable year,” in this context, suggested the ancient “Jubilee Year.”] Isaiah meant that the period of his ministry would open for all Israel the long-desired restoration of Zion which the Lord God Himself would accomplish, giving Israel His forgiveness and restoring her to His love and favor. In selecting this Messianic passage as referring to himself (“This text is being fulfilled today, even as you listen”), Jesus sums up both the source of his power and authority, and the nature of his freeing and saving ministry.  First, Jesus claims the power of God’s Spirit as the source of his work.  Second, Jesus makes this proclamation in the context of Judaism – on the Sabbath, from the Scriptures, and in the synagogue.  Third, Jesus identifies his work, the work of the Messiah, with that of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh (see Isaiah 42:1-4, in particular), who brings   Good News to the poor, proclaims release to the oppressed and recovery of sight to the blind -- figuratively and literally.  Fourth, this agenda begins in Nazareth and extends to all places where the Word of God will be heard and understood.

Life messages: 1) We need to receive Christ’s freedom, live it out, and pass it on to others: As members of Christ’s Mystical Body, we share in the freeing, saving mission of Jesus.   However, even after we have chosen to believe in him, to accept his teachings and to live them out in our lives, we are still in bondage.   We are captives of sin, and only Christ can set us free. We are often blinded by our evil habits, addictions and need for financial security.  Pride and prejudice can make us blind to the needs of the less-fortunate, prompting us to fear and avoid them, rather than to love and help them. We can also be blind to the presence of God within ourselves and others.  We are often not free to listen to a lonely, heart-broken neighbor.  We can be prisoners of materialism and consumerism, chained to pleasure, power, money and control of everyone and everything in our world. Accordingly, we need to be freed and raised to a richer level of life. Once we receive true liberation from Christ, we need to share it with those we encounter in our daily lives -- in our families, communities, parishes and workplaces.   

2) We need to let the power of the Holy Spirit fill us, and to be ready to have miracles done through us. Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus performed miracles because he was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus promised the same Spirit to his disciples: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth….  He lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17).  To this very day, the Holy Spirit is available to all believers who sincerely ask Him to dwell in their hearts.  If we fail to receive, and then to use, His power and His gifts, we are left with nothing but our natural abilities, and we will be unable to be used as instruments in His freeing miracles.   Miracles occur every day through weak human instruments, although they may be less spectacular than the ones Jesus performed. People whose minds are ravaged by fear and hatred can be miraculously filled with peace and kindness.   Those whose hearts are crippled with bitterness and anger can be made gentle and peaceful.   Perhaps others, whose relationships with their spouses are strained, can be   miraculously healed by love and faithfulness.  These are true miracles, performed by the power of God, through the Holy Spirit, often making use of human instruments.  Let us be ready to become Spirit-filled instruments of Christ’s saving freedom.

3) We need to make Bible reading and study a part of our daily Christian life.  Bible reading enables us to know Jesus more and to love him better. That is why we should set apart a time in the morning and in the evening to read a part of the Bible, giving priority to the Gospels and the Epistles. This reading should be an integral part of the evening family prayer. Children should be encouraged to read the Bible with the adults explaining to them what they read. We need to read the Scriptures as books inspired by God that teach us about God and how we should live our lives. We also need to ask for God’s grace to interpret what we read. God give us inspiration so that we may understand the text and apply its lessons fruitfully to our lives. Five or ten minutes each day will make it possible to read the entire New Testament easily at least twice each year.

Joke of the week: 1) “Liberation theology” of obesity: And God created the earth with broccoli and cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow vegetable of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives. And Satan invented McDonald's.   And McDonald's invented the 99-cent double-cheeseburger. And Satan said to Man, "You want fries with that?" And Man said, "Super-size them." And Man gained pounds. And God created the healthful yogurt, that woman might keep her figure that man found so fair. And Satan discovered chocolate.  And woman gained pounds. And God said, "Try My crispy fresh salad." And Satan invented ice cream.  And woman gained pounds. And God said, "I have sent you heart-healthy vegetables and olive oil with which to cook them." And Satan invented a chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained pounds and his bad cholesterol went through the roof. ………..And Man went into cardiac arrest. And God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery. And Satan invented HMOs2)  God’s surprise message to three powerful presidents:  There is a story about God calling the world’s three most powerful Presidents for a meeting: Presidents coming from Russia, China and U.S.A. God told them one thing: “The world will end by the year 2020.” The three Presidents went to their respective countries and told their people about what God had told them. The Russian President said: “My dear people, I have two messages to give, both of them are bad news. First, God is real and second, the world will end by the year 2020.” The President of China announced to his people, “My dear people, I have two important messages for you, one unbelievable and God is real. The horrible message is that this God is so fed up with our world that He wants to destroy it.”  The American President appeared in the national television to speak to the Americans. He said: “My dear people I have three messages to convey to you, all of them are good news. First, God is still in control of the world. Second, He talked to your President directly. And the third is, our world will end by the year 2020 and all our problems will be over.” In today’s Gospel Jesus stands up in his native synagogue in Nazareth and announces the good news of a loving, liberating and saving God.

eleven cents for sewing together a pair of blue jeans that are sold by an American company for $14.95. That company made $566 million in profits on those jeans in one year. One out of every five Ugandan children will not live to age five because they do not have simple, primary health care. That is not just in Nicaragua. This is not just in Uganda. There are hurts to heal in our cities. There are poor people here. There are homeless people here. There are addicted people here. There are lonely people here. There are oppressed and captive people here. There are hurts that need to be healed! And you ask, "What can I do? Is there anything I can do? Can I be one who stands in the gap between the way things are and the way things can be? Can I be a bridge over which other people can travel in that journey from the way things are and the way things can be?"

2) "Poverty for us is a freedom": St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) thinks so. There was a beautiful article about her in Time magazine. She was asked about the materialism of the West. "The more you have, the more you are occupied," she contends. "But the less you have, the more free you are. Poverty for us is a freedom. It is a joyful freedom. There is no television here, no this, no that. This is the only fan in the whole house...and it is for the guests. But we are happy. I find the rich poorer," she continues. "Sometimes they are more lonely inside...The hunger for love is much more difficult to fill than the hunger for bread...The real poor know what is joy." When asked about her plans for the future, she replied, "I just take one day. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not come. We have only today to love Jesus." Is there anyone in this room as rich as Mother Teresa?

3) The Lake Wobegon effect A scandal is brewing in the hallowed halls of Academe. It has to do with test scores given to our young people. A West Virginia doctor noticed some time back that all 50 states claim that their students score above average on standardized test scores. That, of course, is impossible "for everyone to be above average." Someone has even given this scandal a thoughtful name, "the Lake Wobegon effect." Lake Wobegon is author Garrison Keillor's mythical town where, "All the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average." Obviously, by definition it is impossible for everyone to be "above average." Average is what most people are. Nobody, though, wants to admit it. What has Jesus got to do with the Lake Wobegon effect? Just this. How can I look across this congregation, we who have so much, who are so well-fed, so well-clothed, so surrounded by the good things of life, how can I look across this congregation and tell you that Jesus came to save the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed? That's not us! We are winners. We are stars. We're all above average. This is one text we can skip over. It's for someone else. Still, it's there. Maybe we ought to listen. "The Spirit of the Lord is on me," says Christ, "because He has anointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." What, if anything, is Christ saying to you and me?

4) Jesus the prophet: In one of his books, David Buttrick tells about a cartoon in a magazine. The cartoon showed three men sitting in a row behind a long table. A microphone has been placed in front of each of them. One man was pictured in long flowing hair and a draped white robe. Another was battered, a wreath of jagged thorns on his head. The third was swarthy, with dark curly hair and a pointed nose. The caption said, "Will the real Jesus Christ please stand?"
Everybody sees Jesus from a different angle, including the writers of the New Testament. For Matthew, Jesus is the Teacher of Righteousness. For Mark, Jesus is an exorcist, constantly battling the powers of evil. Even after Evil nails him to a cross, Jesus emerges from the tomb to continue his saving work. But for Luke, the word that best summarizes the person and work of Jesus is the word "prophet." In the story we heard today, Jesus is a different kind of prophet. The prophet Jesus says, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." When the prophet Jesus says, "Today the Scripture is fulfilled," he turns memory into mission. He transforms a hope into an assignment. He claims the beautiful poetry of Isaiah as his job description.

5) What is the mission of our Church? In Rachel Carson’s book, The Sea Around Us, she describes the microscopic vegetable life of the sea, which provides food for many of the ocean’s smallest creatures. She tells how these little plants drift thousands of miles wherever the currents carry them, with no power or will of their own to direct their own destiny. The plants are named plankton, a Greek word that means “wandering” or “drifting.” Plankton describes the wandering plant life of the ocean. [Robert A. Raines, New Life in the Church (San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1961).] Plankton may also be a good way to define the life of the Church today. We are wandering adrift. What is our mission as a Church? Why do we exist? From my studies of Jesus’ ministry and teachings, I believe we exist for two reasons: one is to reach individual people with the Good News of God’s love as revealed in Jesus Christ; the second is to influence society to the point that the kingdoms of this earth more closely resemble the Kingdom of God.

6) “The 2% Rule.” I don’t know if you are familiar with the 2% concept or not, but it is based on the findings of sociologist and educator Robert Bellah, author of the best-selling book, Habits of the Heart (1985). Bellah was for a long time a sociologist at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton University. While there, he came to this conclusion: “We should not underestimate the significance of the small group of people who have a vision of a just and gentle world . . . The governing values of a whole culture may be changed when 2% of its people have a new vision.” Think of that! All you need is 2% of the people, according to Bellah, and you can change an entire culture. (http://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/1996-05-26-A-Few-Good-Men/). I wonder if we realize just how powerful we potentially could be. But first we need to define our mission. Jesus called his followers salt . . . he spoke of the Kingdom as leaven. What he was saying is that we should be having an impact on our surrounding culture. A vital Church understands its mission.

7) Liberation starts in individuals: In 1835, Elijah Lovejoy saw a man lynched. It changed his life. He cut back on his career as a Presbyterian pastor and as a schoolteacher. He went back to his earlier training as a newspaper editor and began to write anti-slavery tracts. He delivered speeches and aroused hostility. People persecuted him, beat him, and finally burned him out of his home. He was injured in combating the fire, and after only two years, he was killed. Elijah P. Lovejoy, a life cut short. A young attorney in Elijah's home state of Illinois read Elijah P. Lovejoy's materials and was deeply influenced. Twenty-six years later, that young attorney signed the Emancipation Proclamation. One person! One! Will you be one?

8) "Don't you want to be free?” In his book Ghost Soldiers, Hampton Sides tells the story of a dramatic mission during World War II. On January 28th, 1945, 121 hand-selected Army Rangers slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines in an attempt to rescue 513 American and British POW's who had spent three years in a hellish prison camp near the city of Cabanatuan. Hampton Sides describes the first effects of liberation as chaos and fear. The prisoners were mentally too brittle to understand what was taking place. Some even scurried away from their liberators. One particular prisoner, Bert Bank, refused to budge, even when a Ranger walked right up to him and tugged his arm. "C'mon, we're here to save you," he said. "Run for the gate." Bank still would not move. The Ranger looked into his eyes and saw they were vacant, registering nothing.” “What’s wrong with you?" he asked. "Don't you want to be free?" Finally, a smile formed on Bank's lips as the meaning of the words became clear, and he reached up to the outstretched hand of the Ranger. The Rangers searched all the barracks for additional prisoners, then shouted, "The Americans are leaving. Is there anybody here?" Hearing no answer, they left. The freed prisoners marched 25 miles and boarded their ship home. With each step, their stunned disbelief gave way to soaring optimism. In today’s Gospel, Jesus presents to his fellow-townsmen his mission of bringing them God’s saving freedom, to their great astonishment and, for some, their disbelief.

9) Liberation attempts in parishes: One average-sized church in Brooklyn, New York, decided that it would fight a popular clothing company and, in doing so, ended the sweatshops in El Salvador. It was just an average-sized Church that stood up and said, "We are against the exploitation of children." The Faith Network of Children decided that it would conduct a campaign and close the sweat shop in El Camino, California, where 72 people from Thailand, behind barbed wire, were being paid $1.60 an hour and working eighteen hours a day because somebody stood up and said, "Wait a minute! We are against the exploitation of women."

In 1977, both Jews and Christians marched in silence during Holy Week in an effort to protest against the most luxurious hotels of California, and particularly Los Angeles, because they were paying slave-labor wages to the people who were making their guests feel luxurious. Some of them had been working there over twenty years and still had no benefits or any health care. Because they got some people's attention, fourteen of the most luxurious hotels in Los Angeles banded together and signed a commitment that they would pay their employees a living wage and try to provide for them benefits that would be an example for hotels all over the world to follow. This happened because Christians and Jews marched silently during Holy Week.

10) Princess Diana’s “liberation theology”: Before her tragic death in 1997, Princess Diana was championing the cause of those who had been victims of land-mine explosions. In the weeks following her funeral, the video footage of her last visit to Bosnia ran again and again on televised news programs. Featured in the footage was the Princess, reaching out in compassion to those who had survived the explosion but who would have to live the rest of their lives maimed by the loss of one or more of their limbs. Her care for these wounded members of society was a poignant reminder of what Paul teaches in today’s second reading. Just as every part or member of the human body is necessary to the well-being of the whole person, so is every member of the human family necessary to the well-being of the Body of Christ. Therefore, each member must be cherished, valued, respected and protected by all the other members.

11) Let me tell you about a commencement speech that was addressed to Harvard's Senior Class. On the morning of their graduation, seniors gather in Memorial Church to hear the minister offer words of solace and encouragement as they leave "the Yard" to take their places in the world.
The 1998 senior class heard the unvarnished truth from the Rev. Peter Gomes, minister at Harvard and the author of several books on the Bible. Doctor Gomes took no prisoners that day. He began: "You are going to be sent out of here for good, and most of you aren't ready to go. The president is about to bid you welcome into the fellowship of educated men and women and," (and here he paused and spoke each word slowly for emphasis), "you know just - how - dumb - you - really - are." The senior class cheered in agreement. "And worse than that," Doctor Gomes continued, "the world - and your parents in particular - are going to expect that you will be among the brightest and best. But you know that you can no longer fool all the people even some of the time. By noontime today, you will be out of here. By tomorrow you will be history. By Saturday, you will be toast. That's a fact - no exceptions, no extensions." "Nevertheless, there is reason to hope," Doctor Gomes promised. "The future is God's gift to you. God will not let you stumble or fall. God has not brought you this far to this place to ABANDON you or leave you here alone and afraid. The God of Israel never stumbles, never sleeps, never goes on sabbatical. Thus, my beloved and bewildered young friends, do not be afraid." What Doctor Gomes did for the senior class at Harvard, Isaiah does for Israel. This is the wonderful part of Isaiah's ministry. It's true that he told them they would be destroyed. But he also preached a message of restoration. He stood on the steps of the Temple in Jerusalem and told them there was hope. There would be a year of Jubilee. There would come a time when God would forgive. Listen to Isaiah's words in chapter 14: "The Lord will have compassion on Israel; once again he will choose his people and settle them in their land. And the house of Israel will possess the nations."

12) "You'll learn more from that than anything I can tell you." The story is told of Noelene Martin, a Franciscan monk in Australia assigned to be the guide and "gofer" for St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) when she visited New South Wales. Thrilled and excited at the prospect of being so close to this great woman, he dreamed of how much he would learn from her and what they would talk about. But during her visit, he became frustrated. Although he was constantly near her, the friar never had the opportunity to say one word to Mother Teresa. There were always other people for her to meet. Finally, her tour was over, and she was due to fly to New Guinea. In desperation, the Franciscan friar spoke to Mother Teresa: "If I pay my own fare to New Guinea, can I sit next to you on the plane so I can talk to you and learn from you?" Mother Teresa looked at him. "You have enough money to pay airfare to New Guinea?" she asked. "Yes," he replied eagerly. "Then give that money to the poor," she said. "You'll learn more from that than anything I can tell you." Mother Teresa understood that Jesus' ministry was to the poor, and she made it hers as well. She knew that they more than anyone else needed Good News.  

13) Liberation from hate: The Walt Disney TV movie, Ruby Bridges, told the story of Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old African-American girl, who was the first person to integrate the schools in New Orleans. Every day the federal marshals escorted her into the schoolhouse, because both sides of the sidewalk would be lined with people who were screaming threats. Robert Coles, a noted Harvard psychiatrist, volunteered his time to work with young Ruby. Every day he would talk with her, trying to help her weather the crisis. On the news one night, he noticed her walking up the sidewalk and the people were screaming and throwing things, but suddenly she stopped and said something and started backing down the sidewalk. Then the marshals picked her up and took her into the building. That night, Cole asked her what she said to the marshals. She said, "I was not talking to the marshals." He said, "Yes, you were. I saw you on the news. I saw your lips moving. You were talking to the marshals." She said, "I was not talking to the marshals." He said, "Well, what were you doing?" She said, "I was praying for those people who were hollering at me. I had forgotten to pray and I was trying to go back and pray for them as I walked to the school building." Cole shook his head and said, "You were praying for the people who were screaming at you?" She said, "Yes, my mama taught me that when people speak mean of you, you pray for them just like Jesus prayed for the people who spoke mean of him."

14) The "Cult of the Spectator." Our philosophers of history have pointed out to us that one of the sure signs of the disintegration of a society - the decay of a culture - is the growth of the Cult of the Spectator, the Cult of the Stadium, where most of the people never play the game. They just sit in the stadium and watch it. They also state that the test of a religion is its effect on such a culture. The more we recognize the similarities between our culture and that of decaying Ancient Imperial Rome, the more we can see the significance of one of the great passages in Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago. I thought of his words, as a few months ago, I stood on the highest rim of the Colosseum and allowed my mind to stray back 2,000 years to imagine what it had looked like then. Pasternak said, "Rome is a flea market of borrowed gods and conquered people, a mass of filth convoluted in a triple knot, as in an intestinal obstruction. Heavy wheels with no spokes, eyes sunk in fat, sodomy, double chins, illiterate emperors, fish fed on the flesh of learned slaves, all crammed into the arches of the Colosseum, and all wretched. And then, into this tasteless heap of gold and marble, HE came, Light, clothed in an aura, emphatically human, deliberately provincial, the Galilean, the Christ. And at that moment, gods and nations ceased to be, and MAN came into the glory of his being." Yes, there was vitality in the early Christian culture, so that a handful of slaves and outlaws could easily dump over the whole imperial facade without even raising a weapon. It is the power of the Good News of liberation preached by Jesus, officially starting at Nazareth.

15) Surprise, surprise! A man wrote into Reader's Digest with an embarrassing story about his former boss. This gentleman was just stepping out of the shower one evening when his wife called and asked him to run down to the basement and turn off the iron she had accidentally left on. Without bothering to grab a towel or robe, the man headed down to the basement. Just as he reached the bottom stair, the lights came on and a dozen friends and colleagues jumped out and shouted, "Surprise!" His wife had planned a secret party for the man's 40th birthday. ["Life in These United States," Readers Digest (Mar. 1997), p. 84.] Not all surprises are good ones, at least at first glance. Jesus had an uncanny ability to take people by surprise--and they weren't always pleased about it. Take, for instance, the surprise Jesus sprang on the Nazarene congregation in our Bible passage for today.

16) Observing or profaning the Sabbath? Under the blue laws of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Puritans administered religion to unwilling subjects by means of the whipping post, the ducking stool, the stocks, fines, and imprisonment. Mrs. Alice Morse Earle’s history, The Sabbath in Puritan New England has such examples: “Two lovers, John Lewis and Sarah Chapman, were accused and tried for sitting together on the Lord’s Day under an apple tree. A Dunstable soldier, for wetting a piece of old hat to put on his shoe to protect his foot, was fined forty shillings for doing this heavy work. Captain Kemble of Boston in 1656 was put in public stocks for two hours for his ‘lewd and unseemly behavior’ which consisted of kissing his wife in public on the Sabbath on the doorstep of his house after his return from a three-year voyage. A man who had fallen into the water [and so had) absented himself from Church to dry his only suit of clothes was found guilty and publicly whipped.” In today’s Gospel Jesus offers us his theology of liberation in contrast to the  Puritan Blue laws. (Anthony Castle in More Quotes and Anecdotes)

`17) The Courage to Change: In November of 1984 on one of his PBS Late Night America Shows, Dennis Wholey confessed that he was an alcoholic. He went on to describe a book he had put together entitled The Courage to Change: Personal Conversations about Alcoholism with Dennis Wholey. The book contains frank and revealing conversations with a wide variety of celebrity alcoholics such as rock singer Grace Slick, baseball player Bob Welch, actor Jason Robards, comedian Shecky Greene and Catholic priest Vaughan Quinn. Also, there are heartfelt conversations with Rod Steiger and Jerry Falwell, who are children of alcoholics; and Sybil Carter, whose husband Billy is an alcoholic. Four years earlier, Dennis Wholey confronted his own problem with alcohol and now is on a mission with his book to help other victims of what is sometimes called “the most treatable untreated disease in this country.” Dennis Wholey’s message about The Courage to Change matches our Lord’s message of liberation given in today’s Gospel. (Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds; quoted by  Fr. Botelho).

18) Homeland: Edgar Reitz, the German film director, tells the story of how he went home with a friend to visit his mother, and while they were there his mother told a story he had never heard before. The story was of a man from their town who had left his house one day saying he was going up the road to the local inn for a drink. But he never returned home, and no one ever heard of him again. Reitz was intrigued by the story because he was interested in what would make someone leave home without telling anyone, and what would keep him from ever coming back. He was interested in what makes people leave the place they belong to, and what makes some of them come back. Why do some people leave home never to return? What draws some people back – if only to rediscover why they left? Reitz decided to make a film on the theme. He has called it Heimat, which means “homeland”, and it lasts for 15 hours and 36 minutes! The film is a chronicle of one family and one small village in Germany from 1919 until 1982. One of its many appeals is how it depicts the great sense of belonging the people have in the small village of Schabbach when they are born into a place their family have lived for generations. They are born into a particular memory that associates them with people and places and little stories. They are able to call on all this, which gives them a sense of belonging and a hold over their identity. The film shows how, in the passage of time that sense of belonging slowly disappears. But no matter how far people travel from home, perhaps there is always some hope that they can go back. As one character in a poem by Robert Frost says: “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, They have to take you in.” In today’s Gospel, Jesus returns to Nazareth where he has been brought up, the place which gives him the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. (Dennis McBride in Seasons of the Word”; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

19) The current release Amazing Grace. This film tells the moving story of William Wilberforce and his life-long struggle against slavery in the Parliament of England. This young man of unusual ability and noteworthy power relentlessly appealed to the consciences of sophisticated people to stop what no normal person could stand to embrace. He literally gave his life trying to set people free. What the movie does not include is the fact that slavery was finally, fully outlawed in England on July 26, 1833. William Wilberforce died July 29, 1833. Lest we think slavery to be a problem of the past, there are eighteen to twenty thousand people trafficked in the U.S. each year for forced labor or prostitution. There are twenty-seven million enslaved people worldwide, eighty percent of them women and over half, children under eighteen. A sub-plot of Amazing Grace is the life of John Newton, the preacher behind Wilberforce. A former slave trader himself, Newton lived out the latter years of his life with the ghosts of twenty thousand slaves haunting him in the night. But as he proclaims in the movie, “I am a great sinner, but I found a Great Savior.” I don’t think I’ll ever sing about the "amazing grace that saved a wretch like me" in the same way again. Jesus Christ can do that for you and me.

The values of Jesus proclaim the year of God's favor for all. This kind of talk got Jesus kicked out of town. But let us not be too quick to judge. These Nazarenes liked the idea of a year of Jubilee. Who wouldn’t be in favor of a little Heaven on earth that grants forgiveness of debts and return of land to original owners? It was the sweet dream of all God’s children in Israel. They hoped Jesus would make it happen. So their hopes rose with this hometown boy. But Jesus led no revolution against Rome. Jesus fit no image of their expected Messiah. Jesus was not elected the Chief Rabbi of Galilee and worst of all, He told the home folks that the Jubilee would be for widows and foreigners and lepers, as well as, you and me. Talk like that gets you in big trouble. So our story ends with Jesus between a mob of angry people and the precipice of a huge cliff.

20) At the cross roads: The Stranger, novel by Albert Camus, introduces us to Meursault, a young man who commits a murder. The dramatic prosecutor theatrically denounces Meursault to the point that he claims Mersault must be a soulless monster, incapable of remorse and that he thus deserves only to die for his crime. Although Meursault's attorney defends him and later tells Mersault that he expects the sentence to be light, Meursault is alarmed when the judge informs him of the final decision: that he will be decapitated publicly. Now the young man stands at a crossroads. He has only two ways open in front of him. One is to accept the message of peace, repent and be exonerated. The other is to perish in his obstinacy. Dear friends, God's laws instruct us, educate us and lead us forward. Finally, we are placed in a situation where only two roads are open before us. There we have to make an ultimate choice: to follow God's precepts and attain freedom or to discard them and end up in doom. The first reading presents a beautiful scene. Ezra the priest is reading the Law of the Lord to the people. Upon listening to the Law they must choose whether to accept or reject it. Repentant, they decide to follow the precepts of the Lord. (Fr. Bobby Jose).

21) Dictionaries stolen, Bible safe: The Sanford Hotel in San Francisco reports that it never lost a single Bible in the 15 years it placed them at the bedside as a service to the guests. But, in one month after it started putting dictionaries in the rooms as well, 41 dictionaries disappeared. Now, I don't know whether you can draw a solid conclusion from that, but on the surface, it seems obvious that persons apparently place a greater value on human words than they do the Word of God. So, there are words and The Word. Of course, the Bible is the Word above all other words. But we go even further than that in the Christian Faith. Jesus is the Word -- the Word become flesh -- and by the Word that He is, we assess all other words including the Bible. (Maxie Dunnam).

22) Rehabilitation: In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and due in no small measure to advances in science and technology, a new methodology dealing with society’s physical, psychological, ethical, moral, and social ills has been developed. Foremost among these methods is that of rehabilitation. From the Latin re, which means again, and habilitare, which means to enable, rehabilitation has been defined as the process whereby: (1) a handicapped or otherwise incapacitated person is restored to useful life through education and therapy; (2) the good name of a person is reinstated; (3) the rank, privileges and rights of a person are restored; (4) a person is returned to his/her former state or condition. Criminal offenders who were once simply relegated to prison to protect society are now being rehabilitated through treatment and training so as to be rendered capable of returning to society and functioning as law-abiding members of the community. Persons with addictions to gambling, drugs and/or alcohol, people with eating disorders, people with other compulsive behaviors, etc., now have hope for rehabilitation by participating in extensive programs offered at special centers by qualified therapists and counselors. Patients with physical challenges suffered as a result of accident or illness (stroke, heart/lung disease, etc.) can also benefit from courses of rehabilitation therapy. In the past few decades some inner-city neighborhoods that had been allowed to degenerate into urban jungles have been rehabilitated through the cooperative efforts of caring citizens. In today’s Scripture readings, Ezra in the first reading and Jesus in the Gospel reading both invite a gathered assembly to appreciate and become participants in another sort of rehabilitation, viz., that which is freely offered to all people through the power of the Word of God. In the second reading, Paul notes that since all believers are members of the same body of Christ,  the rehabilitation of each of us is inextricably bound to the rehabilitation of all of us. At the outset of this new year, believers in Jesus are called to be rehabilitated by the power of the Word of God and to participate in the Church’s mission of rehabilitating all of humankind. (Sanchez files). 23) Rehab of Bosnian handicapped: Before her tragic death in 1997, Princess Diana was championing the cause of those who had been victims of land mine explosions. In the weeks following her funeral, the video footage of her last visit to Bosnia ran again and again on televised news programs. Featured in the footage was the Princess, reaching out in compassion to those who had survived the explosion but who would have to live the rest of their lives maimed by the loss of one or more of their limbs. Her care for these wounded members of society was a poignant reminder of what Paul teaches in today’s second reading. Just as every part or member of the human body is necessary to the well-being of the whole person, so every member of the human family is necessary to the well-being of the body of Christ. Therefore, each member must be cherished, valued, respected and protected. Perhaps Paul’s exhortation can also be understood as an appeal to contemporary believers to offer similar admiration and acceptance to the sanitation worker, teacher and short order cook as to the professional athlete, movie star and media mogul.  (Sanchez files). L-19

Prepared by: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604.

SYNOPSIS OF OT IV HOMILY [C] JESUS IN THE NAZARETH SYNAGOGUE-II (Lk 4: 21-30) L/16

Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is that we should have and show the courage of our Christian convictions in our Faith and in its practice in our communities, even when we face hatred and rejection because of our Christian Faith.

Scripture lessons: The first reading tells us how God called Jeremiah as His prophet and equipped him to face opposition and rejection. In his prophetic vocation, which he lived out while encountering rejection and persecution, Jeremiah prefigured Jesus, the greatest of all prophets. In the second reading, we hear Paul speaking with the courage of his convictions in correcting the Corinthian Christian community where the exercise of God's gifts was causing competition, jealousy and divisiveness.  He courageously presents to them a "way" which surpasses all others, namely, the way of love and instructs them to exercise their gifts with love.

Today’s Gospel is a continuation of last Sunday’s Gospel presenting his own people’s reaction to Jesus’ “Inaugural Address”at the synagogue of Nazareth. The passage shows us how Jesus faced skepticism and criticism with prophetic courage. Jeremiah, Paul and Jesus believed that they were commissioned by God to proclaim a disturbing prophetic message (Jer 1: 4-5, 17-19). No matter how strong the opposition, the three had the conviction that God was with them.

Life messages:  We need to face rejection with prophetic courage and optimism. Perhaps we have experienced the pain of rejection, betrayal, abandonment, violated trust, neglect or abuse, even from friends and family members, when we reached out to them as God's agents of healing and saving grace. Perhaps we ourselves are guilty of such rejection. Perhaps we, too, have been guilty of ignoring or humiliating people with our arrogance and prejudice.  Let us learn to correct our mistakes and face rejection from others with courage.

2) Let us not, like the people in Jesus' hometown, reject God in our lives. We reject God when we are unwilling to be helped by God, or by others.   Such unwillingness prevents us from recognizing God’s directions, help and support in our lives through His words in the Bible, through the teaching of the Church, and through the advice and examples of others.

3) We need to follow Christ, not political correctness, and to speak the truth of Christ without being hypocritical or disrespectful.  We must never remain silent in the face of evil for fear of being thought "politically incorrect."   Jesus taught us to love and respect others without condoning or encouraging sinful behavior. We need to be kind, charitable, honest and forgiving, but clear in speaking out our Christian convictions as Jesus was when he spoke in the synagogue at Nazareth.

OT IV [C] SUNDAY (JAN 31) JESUS IN THE NAZARETH SYNAGOGUE-II

Jer 1:4-5, 17-19; 1 Cor 12:31—13:13; Lk 4:21-30

Anecdotes # 1: Facing rejection, Martin Luther King style: April 16, 1963, almost fifty-two years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. offended a lot of people by writing a letter from a Birmingham jail.).  He wrote that letter to Church people, to the pastors. He said, "Now is the time. God wills that all his children be free. God wills that all his children be given an equal chance in this life.” He challenged the Church to believe that what the Scripture says, applies to "now." Not to sometime later, not to when everything is ready, but now. Not some other time, but right now. Martin Luther King, Jr. said a generation ago, “We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering with our capacity to endure suffering. We shall meet you physical force with soul force. Throw us in jail, and we will still love you. Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our community at the midnight hour and beat us and leave us half-dead and we will still love you. But be assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer. One day we shall win freedom, but not only for ourselves. We shall so appeal to your heart and conscience that we shall win you in the process and our victory will be a double victory. For love is the most durable power in the world.” (

# 2:  The prophetic call and fear of rejection: John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States and the son of a former President, reportedly said that he would rather clean filth from the streets than be President. Scripture tells us that most of the prophets shared John Quincy Adams’ feeling of inadequacy to their calling. Moses tried to convince God that he didn’t speak well enough, and Jeremiah complained to God that he was too young. The prophets trembled at the trials ahead of them – and with good reason. Israel had a long history of rejecting prophets (2 Chr 36:16; Jer 2:30; Amos 2:12; Matt 23: 37; Luke 13: 34; I Thes 2:15; Heb 11: 32ff.). Jeremiah was threatened with death several times, thrown into an empty and muddy cistern, imprisoned, dragged off to exile in Egypt, and, perhaps, most painful of all, was forced to watch the destruction of Jerusalem because its inhabitants would not listen to his message. At least twice in his lifetime, the prophetElijah spoke the truth of God to King Ahab of Israel concerning the King’s promotion of idolatry. As a result, Elijah was forced to flee into the wilderness where he suffered great privation (I Kgs 16-29-17: 3 and I Kgs 18: 16-19: 4). Today’s Gospel story is another example of why the prophets did not jump for joy at their career prospects. In the space of five verses, we see the people of Nazareth turn from amazement to such fury at Jesus’ words they seized Him and dragged him off to the cliff to murder him. Speaking God’s truth by word or by deed is a risky business even today. Hundreds of missionaries have been martyred since 1990. Thousands of Christians have been killed this past year in Moslem countries and Salvatore Ferragamo Womens Boots Sale Communist countries. Christians are subjected to the white martyrdom of mental torture in Cheap Ferragamo Womens Handbags Sale advanced countries, including the U.S., by the agnostic and atheistic media and liberal politicians and judges, as forms of the media constantly ridicule and insult Christians with unprecedented vengeance.  

# 3: Liberation for Dalits through Jesus: High castes represent a small minority in India, some 10-15% of the population, yet they dominated Indian society in much the same way whites ruled South Africa during the official period of Apartheid. For centuries, Indian society lived under a rigid caste system imposed by the high caste Hindus in which each person was born into a set social group. People who were born into the highest social group, or caste, used to receive the benefits of honor respect and privileges. Then, there are different levels, or castes, below this. A person's caste at birth determined what job he could have, whom he could marry, and what rights he had in his society. On the very lowest rungs of society were the Dalits, whose name actually means "broken, crushed." The Dalits were the targets of violence and discrimination in Indian society for long time. Fortunately, formal discrimination no longer exists under the new law. But now, the Dalits face persecution for another reason: their Faith. Nearly 70% of Indian Christians are Dalits. The Cheap Ferragamo Eyewear Sale reserved 22.5 percent of all government and semi-government jobs, including seats in Parliament and state legislatures, is available only to Dalits who follow Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, but Dalit Christians and Muslims are not protected as castes under Indian Reservation policy. The legal reason is that there is caste system in Christianity and Islam. The Christian Faith was quite attractive to the Dalits. They chose to follow Christ even when they knew the consequences they might face including the denial of free education and job reservation given to Hindu Dalits. Why would the Hindu Dalits, who were targets of discrimination and abuse, invite more such treatment by becoming Christians? Because in Christ, they meet a God of liberation Who loves and lifts up those whom others would tear down. His heart is with those who suffer. He cares about those who are hurting, who are helpless, who are brokenhearted, who are in bondage. They consider Jesus as their Divine liberator, and God of justice. [Timothy Merrill, "Giving Flesh to the Word," Homiletics, (July-August 1999).]

Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is that we should have and show the courage of our Christian convictions in our day-to-day lives in our communities, when we face hatred and rejection because of our Christian Faith. In both the first reading and the Gospel, Jeremiah and Jesus are presented as prophets, chosen, consecrated and sent to their brothers and sisters as emissaries of the Word of God. The first reading tells us how God called Jeremiah as His prophet and equipped him to face opposition and rejection. In his prophetic vocation, which he lived out while encountering rejection and persecution, Jeremiah anticipated Jesus, the greatest of all prophets. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (71), expresses the feelings of one who encounters opposition but trusts deeply in God’s protection, and determines to continue his proclamations of God’s Justice and wondrous deeds in spite of the negative response. In the second reading, we hear Paul speaking with the courage of his convictions in correcting the Corinthian Christian community where the exercise of God's gifts was causing competition, jealousy and divisiveness.  He courageously presents to them a "way" which surpasses all others, namely, the way of love.  He warns them that, if exercised without love, even the gifts of tongues, knowledge, Faith and generosity are useless.  Then Paul spells out for them and us the true nature of love.   Today’s Gospel is a continuation of last Sunday’s Gospel, presenting his own people’s reaction to Jesus’ “Inaugural Address.” The reading shows us how Jesus faced skepticism and criticism with prophetic courage. Along with Jeremiah, Jesus and Paul believed that they were commissioned by God to proclaim a disturbing prophetic message (Jer 1:4-5, 17-19). No matter how strong the opposition, the three had the conviction that God was with them.

First reading, : Today's first reading prepares us to hear , where Jesus, early in his mission, faces stiff opposition and compares himself to the prophets who had come before him. The prophet Jeremiah (600-550 BC) never held back in describing the persecution he suffered. Here in the first sentences of his book, Jeremiah describes how God called him, bolstered up his Faith and courage and predicted the opposition he would endure.  Speaking to Jeremiah, God makes four assertions: “I formed you” (as a potter forms clay), “I knew you” (referring to the intimate relationship between God and Jeremiah), “I dedicated you” (consecrating Jeremiah to do God’s work), and “I appointed you”(to a mission as His prophet to Israel).    At the start of Jeremiah's ministry, Yahweh warns the young prophet not to be intimidated by those to whom he prophesies (Jer 1:4-5, 17-19). "They will fight against you," Yahweh warns, "but will not prevail over you, for I am with you to deliver you." During his lifetime, Jeremiah was considered a total failure, but in later times he has been recognized as one of Israel’s greatest prophets.  Jeremiah is a wonderful example of “the triumph of failure."

Second Reading, : There were diverse manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit among the Christians living in the Greek seaport, Corinth. Paul spends chapters 12, 13 and 14 of this letter trying to get the Corinthians to enjoy and express their gifts in ways that give strength to the community and glory to God. Paul is addressing a community on the verge of self-destruction because of the Corinthians’ inability to recognize that Jesus is present in each member of the community. So he advises them to use their spiritual gifts for the unification of the Church, by humble submission to lawful authorities, by bidding farewell to rivalries, and by the re-direction of their efforts toward mutual service.  Paul also warns them that, if exercised without love, even the gifts of tongues, knowledge, Faith, prophecy, and generosity are useless. So he instructs them to recognize Christ in one another and to treat each other accordingly. The only way for them, and for us, to treat others   is with love. Paul concludes the chapter by Salvatore Ferragamo Womens Sneakers Sale affirming that even the greatest of virtues, Faith and Hope, cannot exist without Love, the driving force of all life in time and in eternity the only virtue to survive will be Love.

Exegesis of the Gospel passage: Amazement turning to hatred.  The first reaction of the people in the synagogue to Jesus' words was one of astonishment.  They were amazed that one of their fellow villagers could speak with such grace and eloquence and with such authority.  Luke says they were "amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips," because they knew him only as a carpenter from a poor family, with no formal training in Mosaic Law. But their amazement turned into displeasure when, during his “Inaugural Address” or “Mission Statement,” Jesus took upon himself the identity of a prophet, different from the image of the miracle-worker that people wished to see.  Like the other prophets of the past, Jesus called upon people to relinquish their selfishness, faithlessness, their lack of justice and mercy (Mic 6:6-8), and their sinfulness.  Hence, their displeasure turned into anger when Jesus claimed that he was the promised Messiah of Isaiah’s prophecy.   They challenged his Messianic claim, asking, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”  They could not understand how a mere carpenter could be the Messiah who would liberate them from Roman rule and reestablish the Davidic kingdom. Jesus explained their attitude by saying “No prophet is accepted in his native place.”

Jesus’ reaction to His people’s skepticism: In response to his townsmen's skepticism, Jesus Ferragamo Womens Boots Sale Online referred to the Biblical stories of how God blessed two Gentiles, while rejecting the many Jews in similar situations.  The reason for this was that these Gentiles were more open to the prophets than the Jewish people.  First, Jesus reminded them of the Gentile widow ofZarephath, a village on the coast of present-day Lebanon, near Sidon (1 Kings 17:7-24).  The Prophet Elijah stayed with her and her son during last year of the three-and-a-half-year drought that preceded Elijah's part in the Lord God’s victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.   Because of her kindness to the prophet, the widow's small jar of flour and tiny jug of oil were never depleted.  Later, when the widow's son died, Elijah's prayers revived him from the dead. No Israelite received such a blessing.

Naaman’s healing presented as reward of faith: Then Jesus recalled for his listeners of the story of Naaman, the Syrian Military General.   Naaman had contracted leprosy. But when he heard that the Prophet Elisha had the power to heal, he appealed to the prophet for help.   At Elisha's word, Naaman bathed seven times in the Jordan, after which his leprosy was healed and his skin was restored, becoming like that of a child.  There were many lepers in Israel at the time, commented Jesus, but only this foreigner was healed because he had Faith in the man of God.

Total rejection and attempted murder: Jesus' words implied that, like the Israelites of those former days, the people of his hometown, were unable to receive miracles because of their disbelief.  That was why in former times God had bestowed miracles on the Gentiles who believed in Him.  Jesus, like the earlier prophets (Jer 37:12-38:6; Mal 1:2, 6, 7, 13; Mic 3:5-8), dared to speak the truth to people who did not want to hear it.  Jesus’ reference to the unbelief of the Jews and to the stronger faith of the Gentiles infuriated his listeners.  "Good" people don't like to be reminded that God can and does work through religious systems other than their own and even through individuals who are outside any religious system. Hence, without a trial or even a hearing and in violation of both Jewish and Roman Law, his townspeople rushed to seize Jesus in order to throw him over the edge of the cliff on which their town was built. But Jesus escaped because “his hour had not yet come.” This rejection of Jesus by his own townsfolk must have sincerely grieved him.  Later John wrote, "To his own he came but his own did not accept him" (John 1: 11). This rejection in Nazareth foreshadowed the opposition and rejection that Jesus would experience in the coming years, culminating in his crucifixion.  Today’s Gospel tells us that prophets are rarely accepted among their own people. The pacifism of Dorothy Day, for example, was an embarrassment to the hierarchy. Archbishop Blessed Oscar Romero was hated by those in power, not simply because of his commitment to liberation theology and his advocacy of the poor, but because he was seen as opposing the ruling upper classes who felt the Church was “their own.”

Life messages: 1) Let us face rejection with prophetic courage and optimism. The story of Jesus' rejection in his own hometown is a story that we can identify with, because it is a story that has happened to most of us.  Perhaps we have experienced the pain of rejection, betrayal, abandonment, violated trust, neglect or abuse. What about rejection by those closest to us? Often our friends, families, or childhood companions fail to listen to us, refuse our advice and reject the words of grace, love and encouragement that we offer to them because they are unable to see us as God's appointed instruments, the agents of God's healing and saving grace. Perhaps we ourselves are guilty of such rejection.  How often have we discounted people through prejudice?  We must realize that God's power is always available to transform even the most unlikely people and that His power may come to us through unlikely instruments.

2) Let us not, like the people in Jesus' hometown, reject God in our lives. The story of Jesus' rejection by his townsfolk is also a story about how we often ignore and reject God. Are we unwilling to be helped by God, or by others?   Does our pride or lack of trust stop us from seeing or recognizing God’s purpose? Does it prevent us from recognizing God’s direction, help and support in our lives through His words in the Bible and through the advice and examples of others?  God calls us in many ways. Are we willing to listen to this calling and discover our role in carrying out God’s purpose?

3) We must have the prophetic courage of our convictions.  By our Baptism, God   calls us to be prophets like Jesus, sharing his prophetic mission.  The task of a prophet is to speak and to live out God’s truth.   We must never be afraid of this call, for it is Jesus who will supply us with the courage, the words and the deeds we will need to oppose the many evils in our society. By legalizing abortion in 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the killing of over forty- seven million unborn children in forty years.  The Roe versus Wade decision is currently permitting the brutal execution of 4400 unborn babies every day.    Our television and movie conglomerates, which are supported by the money paid by millions of Americans and many large corporate sponsors, are spewing forth pornographic material that is poisoning our children and our society.  Our society tells adults and youngsters that promiscuous sex, drugs, gambling and alcohol are legitimate pleasures for modern, liberated people.   Our country needs to hear God’s Truth from Spirit-filled Christians with the prophetic courage of their convictions. Heroes like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King consistently refused to retaliate violentlywhile affirming the dignity of every person, including their enemies.

4) We need to follow Christ, not political correctness, and to speak the truth of Christ without being hypocritical or disrespectful.  We must never remain silent in the face of evil for fear of being thought "politically incorrect."   Jesus was not against conflict if it promoted truth. He taught us to give respect and freedom without condoning or encouraging sinful behavior. That was the example given by Martin Luther King and his civil rights marchers singing, "We shall overcome," as they were carted off to jail, were washed down with fire hoses and had savage Alsatian dogs loosed on them. Love does not tolerate destructive behavior, but it sometimes causes pain--just as a surgeon must sometimes hurt in order to heal. We needto be kind, charitable, honest, forgiving and clear in speaking out our Christian convictions as Jesus was when He spoke in the synagogue. We live in a pluralistic society, but as the American Bishops say in their document Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics "Real pluralism depends on people of conviction struggling to advance their beliefs by every ethical and legal means at their disposal."

JOKE OF THE WEEK

# 1: Rejection at the Pearly Gate: A cab driver reaches the Pearly Gates and announces his presence to St. Peter, who looks him up in his Big Book. Upon reading the entry for the cabby, St. Peter invites him to grab a silk robe and a golden staff and to proceed into Heaven. A preacher is next in line behind the cabby and has been watching these proceedings with interest. He announces himself to St. Peter. Upon scanning the preacher's entry in the Big Book, St. Peter furrows his brow and says, "Okay, we'll let you in, but you will have only a cotton robe and wooden staff." The preacher is astonished and replies, "But I am a man of the cloth. You gave that cab driver a gold staff and a silk robe. Surely, I rate higher than a cabby." St. Peter responded matter-of-factly: "Here we are interested in results. When you preached, people slept. When the cabby drove his taxi, people prayed."

# 2: Rejection resulting in the resignation of the pastor: There was a feud between the Pastor and the Choir Director of a Baptist church. It seems the first hint of trouble came when the Pastor preached on “Dedicating oneself to service” and the Choir Director chose to sing: "I Shall Not Be Moved." Trying to believe it was a coincidence, the Pastor put the incident behind him. The next Sunday he preached on “giving”. Afterwards, the choir squirmed as the director led them in the hymn: "Jesus Paid It All." By this time, the Pastor was losing his temper. Sunday morning attendance swelled as the tension between the two built. A large crowd showed up the next week to hear his sermon on the “sin of gossiping." Would you believe the Choir Director selected, "I Love to Tell the Story.” There was no turning back. The following Sunday the Pastor told the congregation that unless something changed he was considering resignation. The entire church gasped when the Choir Director led them in: “Why Not Tonight?” Truthfully, no one was surprised when the Pastor resigned a week later, explaining that Jesus had led him there and Jesus was Ferragamo Shoes Sale Online leading him away. The Choir Director could not resist singing, "WhatA Friend We Have In Jesus."

Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is that we should have and show in our communities the courage of our Christian convictions in our Faith and in its practice, even when we face hatred and rejection because of them.

Scripture lessons: The first reading tells us how God called Jeremiah as His prophet and equipped him to face opposition and rejection. In living out his prophetic vocation while encountering rejection and persecution, Jeremiah prefigured Jesus, the greatest of all prophets. The Responsorial Psalm, Ps 71, offers us a prayer in time of persecution and a declaration of our trust in God with its foundation in Him.  In the second reading, we hear Paul speaking with the courage of his convictions in correcting the Corinthian Christian community where the exercise of God's gifts was causing competition, jealousy and divisiveness.  He courageously presents to them a "way" which surpasses all others, namely, the way of love, and instructs them to exercise their gifts with love.   Today’s Gospel is a continuation of last Sunday’s Gospel presenting his own people’s negative reaction to Jesus’ “Inaugural Address” at the synagogue of Nazareth when he applies to Himself the words of Isaiah 61, announcing a new time of jubilee, liberation and healing in God’s name. The passage shows us how Jesus faced skepticism and criticism with prophetic courage. Jeremiah, Paul and Jesus believed that they were commissioned by God to proclaim a disturbing prophetic message (Jer 1:4-5, 17-19). No matter how strong the opposition, the three had the conviction that God was with them.

Life messages: 1) We need to face rejection with prophetic courage and optimism. Perhaps we have experienced the pain of rejection, betrayal, abandonment, violated trust, neglect or abuse, even from friends and family members, when we reached out to them as God's agents of healing and saving grace. Perhaps we ourselves are guilty of such rejection. Perhaps we, too, have been guilty of ignoring or humiliating people with our arrogance and prejudice.  Let us learn to correct our mistakes and face rejection from others with courage. 2) Let us not, like the people in Jesus' hometown, reject God in our lives. We reject God when we are unwilling to be helped by God, or by others.   Such unwillingness prevents us from recognizing God’s directions, help and support in our lives through His words in the Bible, through the teaching of the Church, and through the advice and examples of others. 3) We need to follow Christ, not political correctness, and to speak the truth of Christ without being hypocritical or disrespectful.  We must never remain silent in the face of evil for fear of being thought "politically incorrect."   Jesus taught us to love and respect others without condoning or encouraging sinful behavior. We need to be kind, charitable, honest and forgiving, but clear in speaking out our Christian convictions as Jesus was when he spoke in the synagogue at Nazareth.

(Jer 1:4-5, 17-19; 1 Cor 12:31—13:13; Lk 4:21-30)

Visit http://frtonyshomilies.com/ when you miss any homily.

Anecdotes # 1: The prophetic call and the fear of rejection: Moses tried to convince God that he didn’t speak well enough, and Jeremiah complained to God that he was too young. The prophets trembled at the trials ahead of them – and with good reason. Israel had a long history of rejecting prophets (2 Chr 36:16; Jer 2:30; Amos 2:12; Matt 23:37; Luke 13:34; I Thes 2:15; Heb 11:32ff.). Jeremiah was threatened with death several times, thrown into an empty, muddy cistern, imprisoned, dragged off to exile in Egypt, and, perhaps, most painful of all, was forced to watch the destruction of Jerusalem because its inhabitants would not listen to his message. At least twice in his lifetime, the prophet Elijah spoke the truth of God to King Ahab of Israel concerning the King’s promotion of idolatry. As a result, Elijah was forced to flee into the wilderness where he suffered great privation (I Kgs 16:29--17:3 and I Kgs 18:16--19:4). John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States and the son of a former President, reportedly said that he would rather clean filth from the streets than be President. Scripture tells us that most of the prophets shared John Quincy Adams’ feeling of inadequacy to their calling. Today’s Gospel story is another example of why the prophets did not jump for joy at their career prospects. In the space of five verses, we see the people of Nazareth turn from amazement to such fury at Jesus’ words they seized Him and dragged him off to the cliff to murder him. Speaking God’s truth by word or by deed is a risky business even today. Hundreds of missionaries have been martyred since 1990. Thousands of Christians have been killed this past year in Moslem countries and Communist countries. Christians are subjected to the white martyrdom of mental torture in advanced countries, including the U.S., by the agnostic and atheistic media and liberal politicians and judges, as forms of the media constantly ridicule and insult Christians with unprecedented vengeance.

# 2:  Facing rejection, Martin Luther King style: April 16, 1963, almost fifty-six years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. offended a lot of people by writing a letter from a Birmingham jail.).  He wrote that letter to Church people, to the pastors. He said, "Now is the time. God wills that all his children be free. God wills that all his children be given an equal chance in this life.” He challenged the Church to believe that what the Scripture says, applies to "now." Not to sometime later, not to when everything is ready, but now. Not some other time, but right now. Martin Luther King, Jr. said a generation ago, “We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering with our capacity to endure suffering. We shall meet you physical force with soul force. Throw us in jail, and we will still love you. Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our community at the midnight hour and beat us and leave us half-dead and we will still love you. But be assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer. One day we shall win freedom, but not only for ourselves. We shall so appeal to your heart and conscience that we shall win you in the process and our victory will be a double victory. For love is the most durable power in the world.” (https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html

# 3: Liberation for Dalits through Jesus: High castes represent a small minority in India, some 10-15% of the population, yet they dominated Indian society in much the same way whites ruled South Africa during the official period of Apartheid. For centuries, Indian society lived under a rigid caste system imposed by the high caste Hindus in which each person was born into a set social group. People who were born into the highest social group, or caste, used to receive the benefits of honor respect and privileges. Then, there are different levels, or castes, below this. A person's caste at birth determined what job he could have, whom he could marry, and what rights he had in his society. On the very lowest rungs of society were the Dalits, whose name actually means "broken, crushed." The Dalits were the targets of violence and discrimination in Indian society for long time. Fortunately, formal discrimination no longer exists under the new law. But now, the Dalits face persecution for another reason: their Faith. Nearly 70% of Indian Christians are Dalits. The reserved 22.5 percent of all government and semi-government jobs, including seats in Parliament and state legislatures, is available only to Dalits who follow Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, but Dalit Christians and Muslims are not protected as castes under Indian Reservation policy. The legal reason is that there is caste system in Christianity and Islam. The Christian Faith was quite attractive to the Dalits. They chose to follow Christ even when they knew the consequences they might face including the denial of free education and job reservation given to Hindu Dalits. Why would the Hindu Dalits, who were targets of discrimination and abuse, invite more such treatment by becoming Christians? Because in Christ, they meet a God of liberation Who loves and lifts up those whom others would tear down. His heart is with those who suffer. He cares about those who are hurting, who are helpless, who are brokenhearted, who are in bondage. They consider Jesus as their Divine liberator, and God of justice. [Timothy Merrill, "Giving Flesh to the Word," Homiletics, (July-August 1999).]

Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is that we should have and show the courage of our Christian convictions in our day-to-day lives in our communities, when we face hatred and rejection because of our Christian Faith. In both the first reading and the Gospel, Jeremiah and Jesus are presented as prophets, chosen, consecrated and sent to their brothers and sisters as emissaries of the Word of God. The first reading tells us how God called Jeremiah as His prophet and equipped him to face opposition and rejection. In his prophetic vocation, which he lived out while encountering rejection and persecution, Jeremiah anticipated Jesus, the greatest of all prophets. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (71), expresses the feelings of one who encounters opposition but trusts deeply in God’s protection, and determines to continue his proclamations of God’s Justice and wondrous deeds in spite of the negative response. In the second reading, we hear Paul speaking with the courage of his convictions in correcting the Corinthian Christian community where the exercise of God's gifts was causing competition, jealousy and divisiveness.  He courageously presents to them a "way" which surpasses all others, namely, the way of love.  He warns them that, if exercised without love, even the gifts of tongues, knowledge, Faith and generosity are useless.  Then Paul spells out for them and us the true nature of love.   Today’s Gospel is a continuation of last Sunday’s Gospel, presenting his own people’s reaction to Jesus’ “Inaugural Address.” The reading shows us how Jesus faced skepticism and criticism with prophetic courage. Along with Jeremiah, Jesus and Paul believed that they were commissioned by God to proclaim a disturbing prophetic message (Jer 1:4-5, 17-19). No matter how strong the opposition, the three had the conviction that God was with them.

First reading, Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19, explained: Today's first reading prepares us to hear the Gospel, Luke 4:21-30, where Jesus, early in his mission, faces stiff opposition and compares himself to the prophets who had come before him. In both the first reading and the gospel, Jeremiah and Jesus are presented as God’s prophets (prophetes in Greek means mouthpiece), chosen, consecrated and sent to their brothers and sisters as emissaries of the Word of God The prophet Jeremiah (600-550 BC) never held back in describing the persecution he suffered. Here in the first sentences of his book, Jeremiah describes how God called him, bolstered up his Faith and courage and predicted the opposition he would endure.  Speaking to Jeremiah, God makes four assertions: “I formed you” (as a potter forms clay), “I knew you” (referring to the intimate relationship between God and Jeremiah), “I dedicated you” (consecrating Jeremiah to do God’s work), and “I appointed you” (to a mission as His prophet to Israel).    At the start of Jeremiah's ministry, Yahweh warns the young prophet not to be intimidated by those to whom he prophesies (Jer 1:4-5, 17-19). "They will fight against you," Yahweh warns, "but will not prevail over you, for I am with you to deliver you." During his lifetime, Jeremiah was considered a total failure, but in later times he has been recognized as one of Israel’s greatest prophets.  Jeremiah is a wonderful example of “the triumph of failure."  

Second Reading, 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13, explained: There were diverse manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit among the Christians living in the Greek seaport of Corinth. Paul spends chapters 12, 13 and 14 of this letter trying to get the Corinthians to enjoy and express their gifts in ways that give strength to the community and glory to God. Paul is addressing a community on the verge of self-destruction because of the Corinthians’ inability to recognize that Jesus is present in each member of the community. So, he advises them to use their spiritual gifts for the unification of the Church, by humble submission to lawful authorities, by bidding farewell to rivalries, and by the re-direction of their efforts toward mutual service.  Paul also warns them that, if exercised without love, even the gifts of tongues, knowledge, Faith, prophecy, and generosity are useless. So, he instructs them to recognize Christ in one another and to treat each other accordingly. The only way for them, and for us, to treat others   is with love. Paul concludes the chapter by affirming that even the greatest of virtues, Faith and Hope, cannot exist without Love, the driving force of all life in time, and in eternity, the only virtue to survive.

Exegesis of the Gospel passage: Amazement turning to hatred.  The first reaction of the people in the synagogue to Jesus' words was one of astonishment.  They were amazed that one of their fellow villagers could speak with such grace and eloquence and with such authority.  Luke says they were "amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips," because they knew him only as a carpenter from a poor family, with no formal training in Mosaic Law. But their amazement turned into displeasure when, during his “Inaugural Address” or “Mission Statement,” Jesus took upon himself the identity of a prophet, different from the image of the miracle-worker that people wished to see.  Jesus came to his hometown people as a prophet with healing in his hands, mercy in his heart, and salvation for all in his words. Like the other prophets of the past, Jesus directly called upon people to relinquish their selfishness, faithlessness, their lack of justice and mercy (Mic 6:6-8), and their sinfulness.  Hence, their displeasure turned into anger when Jesus claimed that he was the promised Messiah of Isaiah’s prophecy.   They challenged his Messianic claim, asking, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”  They could not understand how a mere carpenter could be the Messiah who would liberate them from Roman rule and reestablish the Davidic kingdom. ‘Doctor, cure yourself! It means “Do not be like a bad physician, who professes medical knowledge to his patients but does not know how to treat himself.”(As several commentators point out, the challenge of “Physician, heal yourself!” in Nazareth is probably meant to be paralleled with “If you are the ‘King of the Jews,’ then save yourself,” the taunt at the end of the Gospel, as Jesus hangs on the cross dying. In a sense “Physician, heal yourself” is paralleled with “Saviour, save yourself” Dr. Watson.) Jesus explained their attitude by saying “No prophet is accepted in his native place.” Jesus clearly establishes himself as a figure in the prophetic line, a theme that Luke will highlight repeatedly, in order to show that Jesus is in continuity with (and not a break from) the earlier tradition of Judaism.

Jesus’ reaction to His people’s skepticism: In response to his townsmen's skepticism, Jesus referred to the Biblical stories of how God blessed two Gentiles, while rejecting the many Jews in similar situations.  The reason for this was that these Gentiles were more open to the prophets than the Jewish people.  First, Jesus reminded them of the Gentile widow of Zarephath, a village on the coast of present-day Lebanon, near Sidon (1 Kings 17:7-24).  The Prophet Elijah stayed with her and her son during last year of the three-and-a-half-year drought that preceded Elijah's part in the Lord God’s victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.   Because of her kindness to the prophet, and the Faith her willingness to take him in as his God’s messenger demonstrated, the widow's small jar of flour and tiny jug of oil were never depleted.  Later, when the widow's son died, Elijah's prayers revived him from the dead. No Israelite received such a blessing.

Naaman’s healing presented as reward of Faith: Then Jesus recalled for his listeners of the story of Naaman, the Syrian Military General (II Kings 7:3-10).   Naaman had contracted leprosy. But when he heard that the Prophet Elisha had the power to heal, he appealed to the prophet for help.   At Elisha's word, Naaman bathed seven times in the Jordan, after which his leprosy was healed and his skin was restored, becoming like that of a child.  There were many lepers in Israel at the time, commented Jesus, but only this foreigner was healed because he had Faith in the man of God. Today, that same healing, mercy and salvation should be available to all through the Church.  “In the minds of his Jewish listeners, it was offense enough to be reminded that Elijah ministered to a poor Gentile widow, but it was intolerable to be oppressed by Roman occupation, and then be reminded that Elisha healed a soldier of Syria, a country which had oppressed Israel in an earlier time.” (Craig A. Evans, The Lectionary Commentary, Vol. 3: The Third Readings, p. 326).

Total rejection and attempted murder:  Jesus' words also implied that, like the Israelites of those former days, the people of his hometown, were unable to receive miracles because of their disbelief.  That was why in former times God had bestowed miracles on the Gentiles who believed in Him.  Jesus, like the earlier prophets (Jer 37:12--38:6; Mal 1:2, 6, 7, 13; Mic 3:5-8), dared to speak the Truth to people who did not want to hear it.  By using Scriptural precedents, Jesus stresses that, if he does not receive a welcome in, or support from, his own community, he will certainly be well within his rights to extend his ministry beyond the bounds of the Jewish nation, and to reach out to the Gentiles, just as the great prophets of old did. Jesus’ reference to the unbelief of the Jews and to the stronger Faith of the Gentiles infuriated his listeners.  "Good" people don't like to be reminded that God can and does work through religious systems other than their own and even through individuals who are outside any religious system. Jesus’ citing evidence from authoritative sources to prove that the Lord had compassion on Israel’s enemies was perceived as a threat to the intensely nationalistic Galileans. Consequently, the attitude of many of the townsfolk swung from proud admiration to hatred, resentment and violence. Hence, without a trial or even a hearing and in violation of both Jewish and Roman Law, his townspeople rushed to seize Jesus in order to throw him over the edge of the cliff on which their town was built. (This site cannot be located with any certainty. Tradition, however, associates this account with the cliff called the “Mount of Precipitation/Mount of the Leap,” just under 2 miles outside Nazareth. Others suggest a hill in the ridge of local mountains called the Jebel Nazra, or “Nazareth Hill”). But Jesus escaped because “his hour had not yet come.” This rejection of Jesus by his own townsfolk must have sincerely grieved him.  Later John wrote, "To his own he came but his own did not accept him" (John 1:11). This rejection in Nazareth foreshadowed or anticipated the opposition and rejection that Jesus would experience in the coming years, culminating with his crucifixion.  This rejection by his own friends in Nazareth is the first of his crucifixions, and Luke speaks of the brow of the hill to remind us of Calvary, and the threat of what will happen on that hill. Jesus, in spite of all the rejections and crucifixions, now passes through our midst serenely and out of our grasp and slips away, when we have said ‘No thanks,’ and shown our choice for something less.” (Rev. Grant Gallup). Today’s Gospel tells us that prophets are rarely accepted among their own people. The pacifism of Dorothy Day, for example, was an embarrassment to the hierarchy. Archbishop Blessed Oscar Romero was hated by those in power, not simply because of his commitment to liberation theology and his advocacy of the poor, but because he was seen as opposing the ruling upper classes who felt the Church was “their own.”

Life messages: 1) Let us face rejection with prophetic courage and optimism. The story of Jesus' rejection in his own hometown is a story that we can identify with, because it is a story that has happened to most of us.  Perhaps we have experienced the pain of rejection, betrayal, abandonment, violated trust, neglect or abuse. What about rejection by those closest to us? Often our friends, families, or childhood companions fail to listen to us, refuse our advice and reject the words of grace, love and encouragement that we offer to them because they are unable to see us as God's appointed instruments, the agents of God's healing and saving grace. Perhaps we ourselves are guilty of such rejection.  How often have we discounted people through prejudice?  We must realize that God's power is always available to transform even the most unlikely people and that His power may come to us through unlikely instruments.

2) Let us not, like the people in Jesus' hometown, reject God in our lives. The story of Jesus' rejection by his townsfolk is also a story about how we often ignore and reject God. Are we unwilling to be helped by God, or by others?   Does our pride or lack of trust stop us from seeing or recognizing God’s purpose? Does it prevent us from recognizing God’s direction, help and support in our lives through His words in the Bible and through the advice and examples of others?  God calls us in many ways. Are we willing to listen to this calling and discover our role in carrying out God’s purpose?

3) We must have the prophetic courage of our convictions.  By our Baptism, God   calls us to be prophets like Jesus, sharing his prophetic mission.  The task of a prophet is to speak and to live out God’s truth.   We must never be afraid of this call, for it is Jesus who will supply us with the courage, the words and the deeds we will need to oppose the many evils in our society. By legalizing abortion in 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the killing of over forty-seven million unborn children in forty years.  The Roe versus Wade decision is currently permitting the brutal execution of 4400 unborn babies every day.    Our television and movie conglomerates, which are supported by the money paid by millions of Americans and many large corporate sponsors, are spewing forth pornographic material that is poisoning our children and our society.  Our society tells adults and youngsters that promiscuous sex, drugs, gambling and alcohol are legitimate pleasures for modern, liberated people.   Our country needs to hear God’s Truth from Spirit-filled Christians with the prophetic courage of their convictions. Heroes like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King consistently refused to retaliate violently while affirming the dignity of every person, including their enemies.

4) We need to follow Christ, not political correctness, and to speak the truth of Christ without being hypocritical or disrespectful.  We must never remain silent in the face of evil for fear of being thought "politically incorrect."   Jesus was not against conflict if it promoted truth. He taught us to give respect and freedom without condoning or encouraging sinful behavior. That was the example given by Martin Luther King and his civil rights marchers singing, "We shall overcome," as they were carted off to jail, were washed down with fire hoses and had savage Alsatian dogs loosed on them. Love does not tolerate destructive behavior, but it sometimes causes pain--just as a surgeon must sometimes hurt in order to heal. We need to be kind, charitable, honest, forgiving and clear in speaking out our Christian convictions as Jesus was when He spoke in the synagogue. We live in a pluralistic society, but as the American Bishops say in their document Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics "Real pluralism depends on people of conviction struggling to advance their beliefs by every ethical and legal means at their disposal."

JOKE OF THE WEEK

# 1: Rejection at the Pearly Gate: A cab driver reaches the Pearly Gates and announces his presence to St. Peter, who looks him up in his Big Book. Upon reading the entry for the cabby, St. Peter invites him to grab a silk robe and a golden staff and to proceed into Heaven. A preacher is next in line behind the cabby and has been watching these proceedings with interest. He announces himself to St. Peter. Upon scanning the preacher's entry in the Big Book, St. Peter furrows his brow and says, "Okay, we'll let you in, but you will have only a cotton robe and wooden staff." The preacher is astonished and replies, "But I am a man of the cloth. You gave that cab driver a gold staff and a silk robe. Surely, I rate higher than a cabby." St. Peter responded matter-of-factly: "Here we are interested in results. When you preached, people slept. When the cabby drove his taxi, people prayed."

# 2: Rejection resulting in the resignation of the pastor: There was a feud between the Pastor and the Choir Director of a Baptist church. It seems the first hint of trouble came when the Pastor preached on “Dedicating Oneself to Service” and the Choir Director chose to sing: "I Shall Not Be Moved." Trying to believe it was a coincidence, the Pastor put the incident behind him. The next Sunday he preached on “giving”. Afterwards, the choir squirmed as the director led them in the hymn: "Jesus Paid It All." By this time, the Pastor was losing his temper. Sunday morning attendance swelled as the tension between the two built. A large crowd showed up the next week to hear his sermon on the “sin of gossiping." Would you believe the Choir Director selected, "I Love to Tell the Story.” There was no turning back. The following Sunday the Pastor told the congregation that unless something changed he was considering resignation. The entire church gasped when the Choir Director led them in: “Why Not Tonight?” Truthfully, no one was surprised when the Pastor resigned a week later, explaining that Jesus had led him there and Jesus was leading him away. The Choir Director could not resist singing, "What A Friend We Have In Jesus."

19- Additional anecdotes: 1) "We hold it to be self-evident, that all people are created equal." Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream that one day, on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners would be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. He had a dream that one day his four children would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. With this Faith, he believed people could turn the mountain of despair into the mountain of hope, and transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony. Americans are better people because Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream. In his preaching for liberation he did not say anything new. His message was 2000 years old -- as old as Jesus’ synagogue speech at Nazareth. He said, "We hold it to be self-evident, that all people are created equal." Dr. King looked out and saw people who were not treated as equals. He perceived others for whom this truth was not self-evident. So he went from city to city and said, "Today is the day when we will take seriously our own Declaration of Independence." Gunshots rang out and cut him down. Why? What radical act did he commit which took his life? In the tradition of the Bible's prophets, he reminded people of what they already knew and said, "Today is the day." He drew inspiration from the message of total liberation preached by Jesus in his inaugural address at Nazareth and met with the same fate as Jesus did. The theology of liberation, when courageously preached can be costly, costing one his very life itself.

2) An enclave of resistance: In September of 1997 there was a groundbreaking service for a Catholic cathedral that was going to be constructed in Los Angeles. The Diocese of Los Angeles commissioned the famous Spanish architect Jose Rafael Moneo to design the building. Their hope was that the cathedral would be completed by the beginning of the millennium. It was to be a peculiar witness to the glory of God. There were models of the cathedral at the groundbreaking service, and on the basis of the models a Los Angeles Times reporter wrote a review of the cathedral. This is a part of what the reporter said: “Moneo is creating an alternate world to the everyday world that surrounds the cathedral, a testimony to grandeur of the human spirit, an antidote to a world that is increasingly spiritually empty.” Then he wrote this sentence: “The cathedral, set in the midst of the secular city, will be an enclave of resistance.” What an image . . . the Church an enclave of resistance. The words “an enclave of resistance” should be a part of the mission statement of every Church in the city, “an enclave of resistance against all that diminishes human life” (“An Enclave of Resistance,” a sermon preached by Rev. Mark Trotter, San Diego, California, October 5, 1997). Today’s Gospel, presenting Jesus, the liberator, challenges us to become enclaves of resistance to the attacks on Christians by the atheistic and agnostic media and liberal politicians and judges.

3) We are at war for liberation:  Gary Bauer of the Family Research Council recalls a newspaper article about a teacher who had taught in the public schools of Los Angeles. She had been a good teacher. But then she went to start her own family and left the profession. She and her husband had three children. They raised them well, and not too long ago they sent the last one off to college. This teacher decided she wanted to go back to the teaching profession. She applied and was accepted and she wrote in the Los Angeles Times about her first day back in a seventh-grade class, after nearly twenty years away from teaching. She spoke about her anxiety. Would she be up to the task? Would she be able to handle the kids? She talked about walking into the classroom that morning and suddenly she remembered she used to begin the day by simply putting her books down on her desk and saying, “Good morning, class.” That would kind of quiet the class down. Then they would say, “Good morning, Mrs. Jones” and she should get on with teaching. So she put her books down on her desk, feeling a little bit more confident, and she said, “Good morning, class.” Some kid in the front row shouted back, “Shut up, bitch!” and everybody in the classroom laughed. This teacher asked the question in the LA Times, “What happened in America between ‘Good morning, Mrs. Jones,’ and ‘Shut up, bitch!” And who is going to do something about it? We are at war. Our task as an enclave of resistance is to subvert the calloused, materialistic, secular, godless culture of which we are a part – to subvert that culture at its root

4) The Church should be an enclave of resistance. The Church should be an enclave of resistance.  Last year in Brooklyn, or Queens, New York, there was a terrible accident. A seventh-grade student died on a Friday afternoon in a pool accident. The following Monday when the class came back to school, as you can imagine, they were emotionally distraught. Some of the kids were crying. One of the children asked their teacher, Mrs. Rezario, “Do you think Johnny is in Heaven?” And Mrs. Rezario said, “Of course he is. God loves every one of you. Look, I am going over to the corner here and if anyone wants to come over with me I will say a little prayer for Johnny. And those of you who don’t want to do that, go on and turn your computers on and we’ll be with you in a moment.” Mrs. Rezario was fired the next day. No appeals. No second chances. There is a woman in the New York City school system, a counselor, who a couple of years ago took a fifteen-year-old girl to an abortion clinic without telling her parents, and the girl bled to death. She is still a counselor in the New York public schools. But Mrs. Rezario – she committed the unpardonable sin. She told her children God loved them, and prayed with them. We would point to other places in our culture to verify that the war is on and the culture seems to be winning. Doesn’t the image demand our attention?  The Church should be an enclave of resistance.

5) Poverty for us is a freedom: Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) thought so. There was a beautiful article about her in Time magazine. She was asked about the materialism of the West. She said, "The more you have, the more you are occupied, but the less you have the more free you are. Poverty for us is a freedom. It is a joyful freedom. There is no television here, no this, no that. This is the only fan in the whole house...and it is for the guests. But we are happy. "I find the rich poorer," she continued. "Sometimes they are more lonely inside...The hunger for love is much more difficult to fill than the hunger for bread...The real poor know what is joy." When asked about her plans for the future, she replied, "I just take one day. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not come. We have only today to love Jesus." Is there anyone in this room as rich as Mother Teresa?

6) Passing the buck:  One of our favorite national pastimes is “passing the buck”. We have all played this game of letting someone else do what we should be doing, of handing on a job, a responsibility, or an assignment. We particularly like to pass the buck when it comes to listening to sermons. We think that some of the best homilies, retreats, conferences and lectures we hear are “meant for someone else." We listen and say: “That’s good advice for my kids,” “My neighbors should have heard this homily,” or “That’s aimed at my office staff,” and so on. And that is precisely what Jesus’ hometown people did. They did not acknowledge that they were poor, blind or prisoners who needed a savior and liberator. Hence, they not only rejected Jesus and His “liberation theology,” but also tried to eliminate him from the world as their ancestors had killed the prophets sent to them by God.

7) "You are either with me or against me:” I remember the scene on Calvary as depicted by a Hungarian artist, Monsky. On the one side of the cross are Christ's frightened, dedicated followers, a little knot of them. On the other side of the cross are his sneering, vicious, passionate enemies. These are they who, at least, made a choice. But on the hill in the background is a host of unidentifiable faces. They show neither hatred nor mercy, neither cruelty nor compassion. They are the spectators. They are the neutrals. And they are the most guilty of all! Their passionate commitment could have swung the whole thing either way. But they chose to do nothing! They just weren't interested! Pythagoras, the Greek philosopher, was once asked why he attended the Olympic Games. He replied, "Some come to compete for prizes, some to sell merchandise, some to enjoy meeting their friends. But I just come to stand on the sidelines and look on." Bacon, who was writing about the incident later on, said, "But men must know that in the theater of God's world, only God and the angels are allowed to be spectators." But, you see, Bacon was wrong also, because as Jesus said: "My Father never stops working, and I work." "Life is a daring adventure or it is nothing." Helen Keller said that, a lady robbed of her sight, hearing, and ability to speak.

8) Did you see the movie Amistad? It is a must. It’s based on real events of 1839. A group of Africans – men, women and children – had been kidnapped by slave traders. They staged an insurrection aboard their prison ship. When they gained control of the vessel, they thought they were headed home from Cuba, but instead they sailed to the east coast of the United States, ending up in jail in New England, on trial for their lives. During the time they were incarcerated, a small but persistent group of Christians kept a vigil of prayer for the prisoners. We see these Christians kneeling outside the jail. We see them in the courtroom. We see them on the streets, walking alongside the shackled Africans. We see them dressed in rather severe clothes with somber countenances, so much so that at first the prisoners think they’re sick. Then it seems to the inmates that their advocates are upset about something. They are upset about something. They’re upset that these men, women, and children, who are thought to be slaves, are being held in custody. The Christian group is upset that anyone could be made a slave of another. Some of these Christian abolitionists carry Bibles, some carry small crosses. In one brief scene, the camera zooms in on a cross on a chain, held by one of the women. It hit me hard. That ancient symbol has been in so many places, in so many hands, clutched to so many hearts, bringing out in so many a courage they didn’t know they had for causes they didn’t know they cared that much about. It has always been the sign of something radically different from the prevailing ways of culture and human systems. It’s the Church’s most definitive mark – the cross. For the world – foolishness. But for those who believe, the power of God unto salvation. It labels who we are as the Church – an enclave of resistance. (MaxieDunnam.com)

9) Rejection hurts: The book Crossing Over is the story of the rejection one woman faced when she fell in love with a person outside the Amish Community and ran away to marry him. Ruth Garrett had always been a little rebellious, but not even she could imagine the pain she was about to experience from being shunned by her family and community. Arnold Palmer played his last Master’s Tournament in 2002. Palmer, who won the Master’s in 1958, 1960, 1962, and 1964, had seen his game slip away with age and his stardom fade with the rise of Tiger Woods and Phil Nicholson. A reporter asked Palmer, “Why did you do it? Why did you quit?” To which Palmer replied, “I didn’t want to get the letter that former champions Ford, Brewer, and Casper have already received asking them to step down.” Whether it’s that girl in elementary school who looked at you in disdain when you offered her a Valentine card, or the boss that suggests you are not included in the company’s new plans, rejection hurts. It causes pain. Today’s Gospel teaches how Jesus faces rejection from his hometown with prophetic courage of his convictions.

10) Preaching liberation with courage: When Bishop Desmond Tutu was visiting the United States and lecturing in those days just before the fall of Apartheid, he said, "God is at work in this world, breaking down the barriers that separate people from one another." Then, interpreting Scripture, he said, "God was not only freeing the slaves in Moses' time, but Moses' story is there to reveal to us that God is always freeing slaves, always freeing those who are in bondage." So, he said, again in Scripture, in the words of Deuteronomy, "Choose ye this day whom you will serve." Choose on whose side you are going to stand. "Today this Scripture is being fulfilled in your hearing."

11) Evolution of the Church from liberating fellowship to enterprise: Some years ago, Richard Halverson, then Chaplain of the United States Senate, in an address to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, described the evolution of the Church: “In the beginning,” he said, “the Church was a fellowship of men and women who centered their lives in the living Christ. They had a personal and vital relationship with the Lord and it transformed their lives and the world around them. But then the Church moved to Greece, where it became a philosophy. And then it moved to Rome, where it became an institution. And then it moved to Europe, where it became a culture. And now it has moved to America, where it has become an enterprise.” What an indictment – the Church as a philosophy, as an institution, as a culture, as an enterprise!  Any of these violates God’s intention for the Church. The Church is to be that fellowship of people who have a vital and personal relationship with the Lord, which transforms their lives. As result of that transformation, the Church becomes an enclave of resistance, transforming the world that surrounds it.

12) Jesus the prophet: In one of his books, David Buttrick tells about a cartoon in a magazine. The cartoon showed three men sitting in a row behind a long table. A microphone has been placed in front of each of them. One man was pictured in long flowing hair and a draped white robe. Another was battered, a wreath of jagged thorns on his head. The third was swarthy, with dark curly hair and a pointed nose. The caption said, "Will the real Jesus Christ please stand?"
Everybody sees Jesus from a different angle, including the writers of the New Testament. For Matthew, Jesus is the Teacher of Righteousness. For Mark, Jesus is an exorcist, constantly battling the powers of evil. Even after Evil nails him to a cross, Jesus emerges from the tomb to continue his saving work. But for Luke, the word that best summarizes the person and work of Jesus is "prophet." In the story we heard today, Jesus is a different kind of prophet. The prophet Jesus says, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." When the prophet Jesus said, "Today the Scripture is fulfilled," he turned memory into a mission statement. He transformed hope into an assignment. He claimed the beautiful poetry of Isaiah as his job description.

13) Liberate dungeon lovers: Kazimerz Symanski of Poland was a prisoner of war during World War II. There is no record of what happened to Symanski in the prison camp, but his experiences there obviously changed him. In his later years, Symanski seemed bent on reliving his prison experience. He even turned his small apartment into a prison cell. He put bars over the windows and constructed a small cage in which he slept. He refused to allow electricity or running water in his apartment. He seemed determined to live in the most primitive and confining conditions. Symanski died in 1993 from the effects of his living conditions. [The Comedian Who Choked to Death on a Pie . . . And the Man Who Quit Smoking at 116, compiled by the editors of Fortean Times (New York: Cader Books, 1996), pp. 48-49.] Some of us, too, have been living for years in prison cells of our own making. We are bound by addictions, anxiety, low self-esteem, anger, fear, guilt, misconceptions about God. We get this blank expression when the preacher talks about joy, or stepping out in Faith, or living the abundant life. We're just lucky to make it through the day without collapsing from the weight of our chains. But we weren't made to live that way.

14) Truth Shall Prevail: Brinsley McNamara wrote a classic story called The Valley of the Squinting Windows. He came from a very rural area of Ireland and was well known, because his father was a teacher in the local school. His story was such that everybody in the village recognized themselves among the characters of the story. This led to public outrage in his hometown, while the rest of the country was avidly reading the book! The book was burned in public, his family had to leave town, and, to this day, his name still evokes strong reactions among many of the people of that town. What he wrote was too close to the bone. If he had written a book about the people of some other town, he probably would have been hailed as the local literary hero. To this day none of his descendants would dare return to their roots in that town. They did, in a symbolic way, take him outside the town, and threw him over a cliff. (Jack McArdle in And That’s the Gospel Truth; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

15) Rejection because of helping a man in need: Long ago, there lived an English priest named George Herbert, who was also a poet and amateur musician On his way to a music session with some friends, he once came across a man whose horse had collapsed under the weight of its load. Both horse and owner were in great distress. Without a moments’ hesitation, he stopped and emerged from his vehicle, took off his clerical robes and rolled up his sleeves. First he helped the owner unload the horse, getting it standing on its feet and then reload the animal systematically so that the weight would be evenly and reliably stacked. Then, to the owner’s delighted surprise, he gave him some money to refresh himself and his horse. Finally, the priest got back into his vehicle and drove on to meet his friends. Of course, when he arrived late for the music session, his hair was disheveled, his face grimy, his clothes soiled and his hands dirty. This astounded the other musicians, who had known George to be prim, proper and punctual. And when he told them the reason for his unkempt appearance and late arrival, the others frowned upon him for getting involved in such a mess with an ordinary stranger. Unabashed and unapologetic, George Herbert answered: “The thought of what I have done will be like music to me at midnight. The omission of it would have caused discord in my conscience. For if I am bound to pray for all who are in distress, I am sure that I am bound, so far as it is in my power, to practice what I pray for. So now let’s tune our instruments.” (James Valladares in Your Words O Lord, Are Spirit and They Are Life; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

16) Facing Rejection, Diogenes style: The Greek philosopher Diogenes was regarded by many who knew him as a somewhat eccentric teacher, not least for his belief that virtue consisted in the avoidance of all physical pleasures and that pain and inconvenience were conducive to goodness. When Alexander the Great visited Diogenes in Corinth, the philosopher was living in a large earthenware tub in one of the city suburbs. Few people could accept either his teaching or his way of life. Diogenes was once noticed begging from a statue. When someone asked him the reason for this pointless conduct, he replied: “I am exercising the art of being rejected.” Diogenes experienced plentiful rejection in his time; whether he ever became accustomed to being rebuffed remains an open question. In today’s Gospel we see how Jesus, after preaching in the synagogue in Nazareth, is rejected by his own townspeople. (Fr. Botelho).

17) Unpopular Prophets of our time: The movie Black Like Me is based on a book by the same title written by John Howard Griffin. It documents his experiences when he had his skin darkened to pose as a Negro and travelled for a month through the Deep South in the late 1950’s. John Howard Griffin was born in Dallas of a mother who was a concert pianist. As a youth he studied psychiatry in France. During World War II he was wounded while serving in the army and went blind as a result. In 1947 Griffin returned to Texas to study Braille and become a novelist. After ten years of blindness, he recovered his eyesight in a dramatic way and was able to see his wife and two children for the first time. Griffin then got a job with a Negro magazine. It was during this time that he undertook his Black Like Me adventure. Griffin went on to become a leader in the Civil Rights Movement, thus incurring a backlash of hatred from white racists, ranging from threatening mail and phone calls to being hung in effigy by his own townspeople. Griffin died in 1980. The opposition John Howard Griffin encountered in his prophetic work for civil rights finds a parallel in today’s readings. (Jack McArdle in And That’s the Gospel Truth; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

18) A Prophet living for ever: In one of its issues, Newsweek addressed in depth the Women’s Liberation Movement. It observed that once the revolution was declared, the nation was flooded with books on the subject. Some books, like those written by Nancy Woloch and Phyllis Schlafly, were serious studies of the significance of the movement. Other books, like those authored by Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, were more strident and dogmatic. The latter illustrate what often happens in a movement – self-styled prophets emerge who presume to speak with full authority. And so we have had such figures as Hugh Hefner as the spokesman for the Playboy Philosophy, guru Timothy Leary for the LSD cult and the militant Malcolm X for the Black Power movement. History shows that many of these movements die out and that their prophets fade away. But there is one movement that endures, one prophet who lives forever. The movement is Christianity, and the prophet is Jesus Christ. (Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

19) “Stirring-the-oatmeal.” Therapist and author Robert A. Johnson (We: Understanding the Psychology of Romantic Love, Harper Collins Pub. Inc., New York: 1983) once described the ineffable experience of love as “stirring-the-oatmeal.” “Stirring-the-oatmeal” is authentic love in that it is a humble act, not exciting or thrilling. It represents a down-to-earth willingness to share the ordinary things, to find meaning in simple tasks like earning a living, living within a budget, putting out the garbage, feeding the baby in the middle of the night. To “stir the oatmeal” means to find relatedness, value and beauty in the routine expressions of loving and giving. Stirring-the-oatmeal avoids the dramatic and the ostentatious in favor of the ordinary and even the banal. Like the rice hulling of the Zen monks, the spinning wheel of Gandhi and the tent making of Paul, stirring-the-oatmeal means giving love practical expression by affording those we love a tangible experience of our sincerity. Although Paul’s portrait of love, as enunciated in today’s second reading, is so beautifully poetic as to cause our thoughts to soar high with idealism, his challenge is nonetheless as real and palpable as the oatmeal on the stove. (Sanchez Files). L/19

Prepared by: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604.

Synopsis of O.T. V [C] (Feb 7, 2016) Homily on Luke 5:1-11 (L/16)

Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is God's call to a person, and the positive response to this call which leads the person to discipleship. As in our own lives, that call has three steps: 1) the revelation of God Himself, or of Jesus’ identity as the One sent from God; 2) the recognition and confession of one’s unworthiness and inadequacy to receive this call; and 3) the word of reassurance from God, or Jesus, and a call to share in his life-giving mission.  Today’s readings tell us that God has His own criteria for selecting people to be prophets and ministers.  Presenting the special calls, or vocations, of Isaiah, Paul and Peter as life-changing events, the readings challenge us to examine our own personal calls to conversion and discipleship.

Scripture lessons: Isaiah in the first reading and Peter in today’s Gospel express their unworthiness to be in the presence of God’s great holiness, and Peter and Isaiah both immediately receive their Divine calls. Today’s describes the call of another great apostle, Paul, who judges himself to be unworthy of the name or the call as he was a former persecutor of the Christians. It was by giving these three men a strong conviction of their unworthiness and of their need for total dependence on His grace that God prepared them for their missions. The Second Vatican Council teaches that we are all called to ministry by virtue of our Baptism into Jesus Christ.

Life Messages: 1) We need to pray that our encounters with the holiness of God may lead us to recognize our sinfulness. God, who calls us and commissions us for His service, wants us to realize His presence everywhere and in everyone, to repent of our sins and to remain in readiness to speak and act for Him in our life circumstances as He shall direct.

2) We need to teach and practice expressions of reverence for the Lord.     We need to express our reverence for God through appropriate bodily gestures.  For example, when we come into Church we need to show reverence for Jesus’ presence in the tabernacle by making a deep bow or by genuflecting and blessing ourselves with sign of the cross. Then we need to honor Him by listening to the word of God and by actively participating in the liturgy's prayers and singing. This same sense of reverence can be expressed by keeping the Bible, God’s living word to us, in a prominent place in our homes and by kissing it each time we read from it.   True reverence for God naturally leads us to the reverent, respectful love of our neighbors as God dwells in them. 3) Each of us has a unique mission in the Church.   This is why God has a different call for each of us. Each of us is unique, so each of us has a mission which no one else can fulfill. Let us accomplish this mission by radiating the love, mercy and forgiveness of Jesus and by participating in the various ministries of our parish.

OT V (Feb 7, 2016):  Is 6:1-2a, 3-8; I Cor 15:1-11; Lk 5:1-11(L/16)

Anecdote 1: “Ours is total commitment!” There was a story about the hen and the pig bragging to each other about their contribution and commitment to humanity. The hen brags: “We hens supply thousands of eggs for the market every day. Ours is the best.” Not satisfied, the pig countered, “And who lay down their lives so that people may eat bacon, lechon, barbecue, ham and sausages? Pigs. Ours is total commitment!” In all the readings for today, especially the Gospel, the message is one – a Call from God and the Commitment expected from those God has called.

# 2: A call rejected:  Reverend Billy Graham tells of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach a sermon.  Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was.  When the boy had told him, Dr. Graham thanked him and said, “If you’ll come to the Baptist church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to Heaven.” “I don’t think I’ll be there,” the boy said. “Why?” Billy Graham asked him.  “Because you don’t even know your way to the post office! How can you show me the way to Heaven?” Today’s readings tell us about the calls of the prophet Isaiah, Paul, and Peter to God’s ministry.

# 3: Call answered as a continuous process:  There is a story about a sophomore who worked in the library at Princeton, New Jersey to earn money to help with his education. One night about closing time, he was walking around the empty halls of the library when he noticed in the very back corner amid an old stack of books, an old man reading and taking notes furiously. The old man was very intent. The librarian became a little curious so he went back to the old man and said, "My, what are you studying so intently?" The old man looked up long enough to say, "Well, I'm a student of physics." The young librarian said, "Well, last year I took a course in physics and I think I have all I need for an understanding of physics." He then turned and walked back to his desk. You can imagine his chagrin a few minutes later when the old man checked out some books, and on his library card was the name Albert Einstein. God's call is a calling to a process, not to a single task. Today’s Scripture readings about the calls of Isaiah, Peter and Paul remind us that our calling is to a lifelong process of obedience, service and surrender to God in which we grow daily more like Jesus. There is nothing in the world more joyful than that. There is nothing in the world more challenging.

# 4: Divine call daily executed:  One day, author and educator Howard Hendricks was on a plane that was delayed from takeoff. As passengers became irritated and demanding, Howard noticed how gracious one of the flight attendants continued to be with each passenger. When they were finally in the air he continued to be amazed at her poise and control. When she came by his seat, Howard asked if he could write a letter of commendation to the airline on her behalf. “I don’t work for the airline,” she replied, “I work for Jesus Christ. My husband and I prayed this morning that I would be a good representative of Jesus Christ on this flight.” Do you have a career or a calling? You see, somewhere out on Lake Galilee, a handful of fishermen were transformed in such a way that they would eventually change the world because Christ had come and had given them a mission for eternity.

Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is God's call and people's response.  Today’s readings teach us that Christian spirituality is discipleship, which means a positive response to God’s call. Discipleship has three steps: 1) The revelation: The miraculous, catch of fish described in today’s Gospel was a revelation of Jesus’ identity as the One sent from God. 2) The recognition and confession of one’s unworthiness and inadequacy: “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”  3)The word of reassurance from Jesus and a call to share in his life-giving mission.  Today’s readings are “epiphany-call stories” which tell us that God has His own criteria for selecting people to be prophets and ministers.  Presenting the special calls, or vocations, of Isaiah, Paul and Peter as life-changing events, the readings challenge us to examine our own personal calls to conversion and discipleship. When faced with the awesome power of God, Isaiah, Paul, and Peter are all struck dumb by a sense of their own unworthiness.  Peter in today’s Gospel and Isaiah in the first reading express their unworthiness to be in the presence of God’s great holiness, and Peter and Isaiah both immediately receive their Divine calls. Today’s describes the call of another great apostle, Paul, who judges himself to be unworthy of the name or the call as he was a former persecutor of the Christians. It was by giving these three men a strong conviction of their unworthiness and of their need for total dependence on His grace that God prepared them for their missions. The calls of these various ministers of God are set before us so that we can reassess our own call from God and our response to Him. The Second Vatican Council teaches that we are all called to ministry by virtue of our Baptism into Jesus Christ.

First reading, : In the late eighth century BC, God's people in the Promised Land had become divided into a northern kingdom, Israel, and a southern kingdom, Judah. Among outside hostile forces, Assyria was the dominant power in the region. A fourth nation, Syria, was also vying for power, and trying to recruit Israel to support its ambitions.   The kings of Israel and Judah started cooperating in political schemes to insure their nations’ safety, instead of relying faithfully on the Lord God to sustain them. This was the situation in which Isaiah received God’s mission to speak God’s word to the kings and people of Judah and Israel. Yahweh permitted Isaiah to experience His magnificence in a vision in the Temple of Jerusalem. Experiencing the glory of God, Isaiah at once confessed his unworthiness, calling out, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips.” In the presence of God’s holiness, Isaiah became painfully aware of his own sinful human nature. However, when cleansed by God, he was ready for His ministry:  "Here I am. Send me!" God gave him the courage to speak His word, interpret His will, and call His people and their leaders to repent and return to God’s ways.

Second Reading, : Some Corinthian Christians questioned Paul's authority and disputed the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. Paul silenced them by presenting the evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus. Then he recounted the story of how he had been chosen to be an apostle to the Gentiles. But Paul confessed his unworthiness to be an apostle because of his former persecution of Christians and gave the full credit to God for his call to the ministry:  "By the grace of God I am what I am.”  That is, it was only by the grace of God that Paul was claiming the designation of "apostle" and only by that authority that he proclaimed the Gospel, toiling harder than the other apostles. He reminded the Corinthians that he had already passed on to them the traditional confession of faith about Jesus’ death and Resurrection, which he had received personally from Christ Himself. Hence, the Corinthians should not doubt his teaching about the resurrection, lest they forfeit salvation and wind up having believed in vain. A real Faith not only accepts the content of God's message but involves a total surrender of one's self and all one has into God's hands. Our response to God’s grace must   be like that of Paul.

 Exegesis: Epiphany on the sea: The story of the miraculous catch of fish described in today’s Gospel is similar to the post-resurrection appearance of Jesus recounted in John 21: 4-14.   In both accounts, the apostles at first fail to recognize who Jesus is, then receive a revelation of his true identity. This prompts a full confession of Faith from Simon Peter to which Jesus responds by commissioning him as the representative of the disciples.  In this sense, both narratives are Epiphanies in which Jesus reveals himself to the world as the Messiah —for he does what only God can do.  The point of this story lies, not in the miraculous catch, but in the confession of Peter and his commissioning by Jesus.

The fishermen and fishing: The scene is the Sea of Galilee (Gennesaret in Greek and Tiberias in Latin). This body of water is thirteen miles long and seven and a half miles wide.  In Jesus’ time, there were ten prosperous towns situated around the lake. Most of the people residing in them made their living from the waters in front of them. Thus, one gets the idea of how rich the lake was in fish. The Sea of Galilee was the site of many manifestations of Jesus’ Divine power.  In the incident in today's Gospel, Jesus preached from Peter's boat to a large crowd jammed together at the edge of the water. When the teaching had ended, Jesus told Peter to pull out into deeper water for a catch of fish.  In matters of fishing, Peter was an expert, while Jesus was only a carpenter.  Hence Peter, perhaps not wanting Jesus to look foolish, explained, "Master, we have worked hard all night long, caught nothing." Peter might have added that   fish come to the surface in the Sea of Galilee only at night, or that the presence and noise of people would frighten the remaining fish away.   Instead he said, “Nevertheless, if You wish it, I will lower the nets.”

 Hope against hope:  That declaration of trust was what made the miracle that followed possible. We may assume that Jesus smiled a little, indicating that he understood Peter’s point and still wanted the fisherman to take the boat out into deeper water.  So Peter obeyed.   This time, however, instead of pulling up an empty net, Peter and Andrew found the net was filled to bursting point, and they had to ask the help of their partners, Zebedee’s sons James and John, to help them bring in the catch.   Simon Peter understood the message very quickly. Confronted by the size of the catch, he recognized the presence of God before him and became convinced of his own pride and self-centeredness, that is, of his sinfulness. We find the same response in all three readings today. Isaiah, seeing the glory of God in his vision, says, "What a wretched state I am in! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips... and my eyes have looked at the King, the Lord of hosts." Paul, not particularly known for his modesty, says, "I am the least of the apostles... I hardly deserve the name apostle." Peter begs Jesus to go away. His simple confession --“Leave me Lord. I am a sinful man.”-- marks a turning point in his life, and becomes the model for our response to Jesus.  Jesus seized the opportunity to proclaim Peter's mission, a call Peter was able to receive because he had seen the tremendous power of God.     Thus Peter became the first person in the Gospel to acknowledge his sinfulness.   He is also the first apostle to be called by Jesus. Today’s Gospel concludes with an inspiring image of commitment: “When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him” (Lk 5:11).

The abundance miracle: The miraculous catch of fish is a miracle of abundance and resembles other "abundance" miracles such as the sending of manna to Israel in the wilderness (Ex 16),  the widow’s never-empty meal jar and oil jug (1 Kgs 17:8-16), the necessary supply of oil for the lamps for  the rededication ceremony of the  Temple (2 Kgs 4:1-7), and Elisha's feeding of a hundred men with twenty loaves of bread (2 Kgs 4:42-44).  Later in this same Gospel, we will see Jesus feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish (9:12-17).  The Gospel of John reports another abundance miracle, the wine Jesus supplied at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11).     All these "abundance" miracles have two common characteristics:  (1) they meet human needs and (2) they demonstrate God's power.  The spiritual outcome of this particular miracle was that the disciples, "left everything and followed [Jesus]" (v. 11).

 Dimensions of discipleship: The Gospel reading today displays the three dimensions of discipleship: (1) the recognition of the power of Jesus, (2) the response of confession, and (3) the assurance of success when we follow God’s word. Peter's commission is one which is repeated often in the New Testament (Lk 9: 20, 22:32; Jn 21: 1ff; Mt 16: 16ff).   Peter and the other disciples were given the privilege of sharing in Christ's work of gathering people to God. As they shared in gathering the fish, so now they would share in gathering "lost" human beings. Simon’s response was similar to the responses made in other Old Testament human encounters with God. As he stood before the burning bush, Moses confessed his disqualifications for leadership, particularly his inability to speak well.   (Ex 3:11-4:17, esp. 4:10).  Later in the Bible, when God came to Solomon in a dream, Solomon declared that he was not wise enough to govern God’s people and asked for an “understanding heart” (1 Kgs 3:7-9).   Likewise, when God called Jeremiah, the prophet recognized the inadequacy of his youth to take on this mission (Jer1:6).

Who are called as the fishers of men? It is not true that Christ’s invitation to become “fishers of men” is addressed only to the apostles and their successors (the bishops together with the priests and religious). Every Christian is commissioned to a ministry of love and justice by virtue of his/her Baptism. Lumen Gentium - one of the documents of Vatican II, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, in paragraph no. 31 describes all of us very clearly as, “the faithful who by Baptism are incorporated into Christ’s Body and are placed in the people of God and in their own way share the priestly, prophetic and kingly office of Christ and to the best of their ability carry on the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world.” In addition to this, Vatican II’s Apostolicam Actuositatem no. 3 says, “Incorporated into Christ’s Body through Baptism and strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit through Confirmation, the laity are assigned to the apostolate by the Lord Himself.” It is even stated that where lay involvement is lacking, “the apostolate of the pastors will frequently be unable to obtain its full effect; where lay responsibility is absent the Church is incomplete,” (Apostolicam Actousitatem nos. 10, 21, PCP II).

Life Messages: 1) We need to pray that our encounters with the holiness of God may lead us to recognize our sinfulness. The Good News of today’s Gospel is that our sinfulness -- our pride and self-centeredness – does not repel God. Our God is a God Who gives sinners a new start.   It is important that we acknowledge our sinfulness.  Our response must be modeled on that of the tax collector in the parable:   "Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner" (Lk 18:13). The recognition of our inadequacy and sin is necessary for us, if we are to be willing and able to receive transformation through God’s grace. Isaiah, Paul, and Peter teach us that even the greatest among us stand in need of conversion. God, Who calls us and commissions us for His service, wants us to realize His presence everywhere and in everyone, to repent of our sins and to remain in readiness to speak and act for Him in our life-circumstances as He shall direct.

2) We need to teach and practice expressions of reverence for the Lord.     Today’s world desperately needs a "revival of reverence."  We need both to recognize God as God and to express that reverence for God through appropriate bodily gestures.  For example, when we come into Church, we enter the presence of Jesus dwelling in the tabernacle. We need to remember that this is His house, a part of Heaven, and we need to express that remembrance by making a deep bow toward the tabernacle, or, if we are able to kneel, by genuflecting on the right knee before we enter the pew. We should offer him the same reverent recognition when we leave the Church and His Sacramental Presence.   We might also remember to give a slight bow of the head whenever we hear, or say, the name of Jesus.  The new regulation of bowing one’s head before receiving Communion is another beautiful act of reverence. This same sense of reverence can be expressed by keeping the Bible, God’s living word to us, in a prominent place in our homes and by kissing it each time we read from it.   True reverence for God naturally leads us to the reverent, respectful love of neighbor.  Blessed Mother Teresa loved people because she saw Jesus in them. That was the same Jesus Whom she reverenced and experienced in the Holy Eucharist. We, too, will have many opportunities for daily experiences of Christ. So the heart of our mission as Christians is really to find him hidden in our neighbors, and to accept his challenge to us – to love him, to have compassion on him, to practice justice toward him, to be kind to him there.   Then it becomes easier for us to forgive injury as he did, and to be reconciled to those with whom we have difficulties.   Thus, our mission as his disciples is to seek, to find, and to respond to Him in all people and events.

3) Each of us has a unique mission in the Church.   God has a different call for each of us. Because each of us is unique, each of us has a mission which no one else can fulfill.  God will use all of us, and particularly what is unique in us, to bring this mission to fulfillment.  Our response must be like that of Isaiah: “Here I am, Lord…send me."  "I’ll do it.  I’ll play my part.  I’ll speak to that neighbor, that coworker, that friend, that relative.  I’ll talk to my daughter about the way she is rearing her children. I’ll keep my mouth shut and refuse to gossip or criticize my co-workers or my bosses. I’ll pray every day. I’ll learn to listen patiently to those in need.  I’ll do it.”   

Joke of the week

1) Catching fish from the shop: A man had spent fruitless day fishing. He didn't want to go home empty-handed. He decided to stop at a local fish market. "I'd like three good sized fish," he said to the clerk. "But before you wrap them, toss them to me, one by one." The clerk looked puzzled at his request, "Sir? That's a strange thing to ask." Smiling the man said, "This way I'll be able to tell my wife truthfully that I caught them!"

2) “I am a fisher of men." The Reverend Dr. McStuffedshirt encountered one of his less-than-faithful parishioners returning from a day's fishing and engaged him in conversation. "Ah, Brother Jones," he began in his best preaching tone, "You are a fine fisherman, but I am a fisher of men." Jones, determined to get home after a long day, replied, "So I have heard. But I was passing your Church last Sunday, looked in the window, and noticed you had not caught too many..."

3) Priest Plays Hooky: The pastor was a fisherman, but he hadn't fished in months. One perfect Sunday morning he couldn't resist. He called up his associate priest and claimed he had laryngitis. The priest then headed out to his favorite spot. The hook hadn't been in the water five minutes before he got a strike, and landed the biggest fish he had ever caught - although he had seen bigger ones caught by others. A half hour later, he caught the biggest fish he had ever seen. Another forty-five minutes later he landed a fish that broke the world record. All this time St. Peter and God have been watching the priest from heaven.St. Peter turned to God, and said, "How can you reward this priest? He lied. He doesn’t observe the Sunday obligation." God smiled at St. Peter, and replied, "I'm punishing him." St. Peter was confused, so God continued, "Well, after he finishes, whom can he tell his story to?"

4) Walking on water: Three ministers were out on a lake fishing one fine afternoon in a boat, a Protestant minister, an Episcopalian priest and a newly-arrived Catholic priest. They were sitting out in the middle of the lake and the Protestant minister said he had to relieve himself, so he got out of the boat and walked across the water to shore, relieved himself behind a tree. Then walked back to the boat. The Episcopalian priest did the same thing. The Catholic priest thought to himself, if they can do it, so can I. So he stepped out of the boat and started sinking. After saving him and bringing him back on the boat one minister commented: "We should have told him where the rocks are under the water!"

Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is God's call to a person, and the positive response to this call which leads the person to discipleship. As in our own lives, God’s call has three steps: 1) the revelation of God Himself in the Old Testament, or of Jesus as the Messiah sent from God in the NT; 2) the recognition and confession of one’s unworthiness and inadequacy to receive this call; and 3) the word of reassurance from God, or Jesus, and a call to share in His life-giving mission.  Today’s readings tell us that God has His own criteria for selecting people to be prophets and ministers.  Presenting the special calls, or vocations, of Isaiah, Paul and Peter as life-changing events, the readings challenge us to examine our own personal calls and responses to conversion and discipleship.

Scripture lessons: Isaiah in the first reading and Peter in today’s Gospel express their unworthiness to be in the presence of God’s great holiness, and Peter and Isaiah both immediately receive their Divine calls. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 138) gives us a prayer that could reflect the gratitude experienced by those who follow God’s call. Today’s second reading describes the call of another great apostle, Paul, who judges himself to be unworthy of the name or the call as he was a former persecutor of the Christians. It was by giving these three men a strong conviction of their unworthiness and of their need for total dependence on His grace that God prepared them for their missions. The Second Vatican Council teaches that we are all called to ministry by virtue of our Baptism into Jesus Christ.

Life Messages: 1) We need to pray that our encounters with the holiness of God may lead us to recognize our sinfulness. God, who calls us and commissions us for His service, wants us to realize His presence everywhere and in everyone, to repent of our sins, and to remain in readiness to speak and act for Him in our life circumstances as He shall direct us through His grace and His Holy Spirit. 2) We need to teach and practice expressions of reverence for the Lord.     We need to express our reverence for God through appropriate bodily gestures.  For example, when we come into Church, we need to show reverence for Jesus’ presence in the tabernacle by making a deep bow or by genuflecting and blessing ourselves with sign of the cross. Then we need to honor Him by listening to the word of God and by actively participating in the liturgy's prayers and singing. This same sense of reverence can be expressed by keeping the Bible, God’s living word to us, in a prominent place in our homes and by kissing it each time we read from it.   True reverence for God naturally leads us to the reverent, respectful love of our neighbors, as God dwells in them.

 3) Each of us has a unique mission in the Church.   This is why God has a different call for each of us. Each of us is unique, so each of us has a mission which no one else can fulfill. Let us accomplish this mission by radiating the love, mercy, and forgiveness of Jesus and by participating in the various ministries of our parish.  

OT V [C] :  Is 6:1-2a, 3-8; I Cor 15:1-11; Lk 5:1-11

Anecdote 1: “Ours is total commitment!” There was a story about the hen and the pig bragging to each other about their contribution and commitment to humanity. The hen bragged: “We hens supply thousands of eggs for the market every day. Ours is the best selfless gift.” Not satisfied, the pig countered, “And who lay down their lives so that people may eat bacon, lechon, barbecue, ham and sausages? Pigs. Ours is total commitment of our lives in the service of humanity!” In all the readings for today, especially the Gospel, the message is one – a Call from God and the Commitment expected from those God has called.

# 2: Divine calls answered: Agnes Bojaxhiu was born in Macedonia in 1910. At the tender age of 12 she strongly felt the call of God and knew she was called to spread the love of Jesus Christ. At age 18 she entered a convent and joined the sisters of Loreto. While teaching at a high school in Calcutta she was so moved by the extreme poverty she saw from her window that she sought and received permission to work among the poorest of poor in the slums. The story of her work became well known to all because this woman we know as Mother Theresa, now St. Teresa of Calcutta, continued to obediently answer God's call to serve God's people until her death. About 5 years ago a very successful attorney from Atlanta was sitting on the cloister porch at a monastery in New York. He had just spent three days in prayer, and quiet listening for God. He made a decision at that time to leave his comfort zone of high income, recognition in the legal community, power and prestige and enter seminary. He was ordained Deacon in this place in December and will be ordained Priest later this year. God said "follow me"� and in faith and obedience, this man did exactly that. There was a special blessing for me in all of that because I was sitting next to him on the cloister porch when he made and announced his decision. (Rev. Ed Fuller).

# 3: A call rejected:  Reverend Billy Graham tells of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach a sermon.  Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was. When the boy had told him, Dr. Graham thanked him and said, “If you’ll come to the Baptist church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to Heaven.” “I don’t think I’ll be there,” the boy said. “Why?” Billy Graham asked him.  “Because you don’t even know your way to the post office! How can you show me the way to Heaven?” Today’s readings tell us about the calls of the prophet Isaiah, Paul, and Peter to God’s ministry.

# 4: Divine call daily executed:  One day, author and educator Howard Hendricks was on a plane that was delayed from takeoff. As passengers became irritated and demanding, Howard noticed how gracious one of the flight attendants continued to be with each passenger. When they were finally in the air he continued to be amazed at her poise and control. When she came by his seat, Howard asked if he could write a letter of commendation to the airline on her behalf. “I don’t work for the airline,” she replied, “I work for Jesus Christ. My husband and I prayed this morning that I would be a good representative of Jesus Christ on this flight.” Do you have a career or a calling? You see, somewhere out on Lake Galilee, a handful of fishermen were transformed in such a way that they would eventually change the world because Christ had come and had given them a mission for eternity.

Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is God's call and people's response.  The Scripture readings present three of the greatest witnesses in the Bible—Isaiah, Paul and Peter—expressing their own worthlessness. A seraph cleanses Isaiah lips with a burning coal and Jesus has a cleansing word for Peter. When Isaiah had his vision and Peter had his epiphany, each experienced deep humility, fear, respect, and reverence—in short, awe. Today’s readings teach us that Christian spirituality is discipleship, which means a positive response to God’s call. Discipleship has three steps: 1) The revelation: The miraculous, catch of fish described in today’s Gospel was a revelation of Jesus’ identity as the One sent from God. 2) The recognition and confession of one’s unworthiness and inadequacy: “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”  3) The word of reassurance from Jesus and a call to share in his life-giving mission.  Today’s readings are “epiphany-call stories” which tell us that God has His own criteria for selecting people to be prophets and ministers.  Presenting the special calls, or vocations, of Isaiah, Paul and Peter as life-changing events, the readings challenge us to examine our own personal calls to conversion and discipleship. When faced with the awesome power of God, Isaiah, Paul, and Peter are all struck dumb by a sense of their own unworthiness.  Peter in today’s Gospel and Isaiah in the first reading express their unworthiness to be in the presence of God’s great holiness, and Peter and Isaiah both immediately receive their Divine calls. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 138) gives us a prayer that could reflect the gratitude experienced by those who follow God’s call. Today’s  second reading describes the call of another great apostle, Paul, who judges himself to be unworthy of the name or the call as he was a former persecutor of the Christians. It was by giving these three men a strong conviction of their unworthiness and of their need for total dependence on His grace that God prepared them for their missions. The calls of these various ministers of God are set before us so that we can reassess our own call from God and our response to Him. The Second Vatican Council teaches that we are all called to ministry by virtue of our Baptism into Jesus Christ.

First reading, Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8, explained: In the late eighth century BC, God's people in the Promised Land had become divided into a northern kingdom, Israel, and a southern kingdom, Judah. Among outside hostile forces, Assyria was the dominant power in the region. A fourth nation, Syria, was also vying for power, and trying to recruit Israel to support its ambitions.   The kings of Israel and Judah started cooperating in political schemes to insure their nations’ safety, instead of relying faithfully on the Lord God to sustain them. This was the situation in which Isaiah received God’s mission to speak God’s word to the kings and people of Judah and Israel. Yahweh permitted Isaiah to experience His magnificence in a vision in the Temple of Jerusalem.  Experiencing the glory of God, Isaiah at once confessed his unworthiness, calling out, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips.” In the presence of God’s holiness, Isaiah became painfully aware of his own sinful human nature. However, when cleansed by God, he was ready for His ministry:  "Here I am. Send me!" God gave him the courage to speak His word, interpret His will, and call His people and their leaders to repent and return to God’s ways. “Today’s scene from Isaiah is recalled in every Mass. Before reading the Gospel, the priest silently asks God to cleanse his lips that he might worthily proclaim His Word.” (Scott Hahn).

Second Reading, 1 Corinthians 15:1-1, explained: Some Corinthian Christians questioned Paul's authority and disputed the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. Paul silenced them by presenting the evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus. Then he recounted the story of how he had been chosen to be an apostle to the Gentiles by the Risen Lord who appeared to him on his trip to Damascus. But Paul confessed his unworthiness to be an apostle because of his former persecution of Christians and gave the full credit to God for his call to the ministry:  "By the grace of God I am what I am.”  That is, it was only by the grace of God that Paul was claiming the designation of "apostle" and only by that authority that he proclaimed the Gospel, toiling harder than the other apostles. He reminded the Corinthians that he had already passed on to them the traditional confession of Faith about Jesus’ death and Resurrection, which he had received personally from Christ Himself. Hence, the Corinthians should not doubt his teaching about the resurrection, lest they forfeit salvation and wind up having believed in vain. A real Faith not only accepts the content of God's message but involves a total surrender of one's self and all one has into God's hands. Our response to God’s grace must   be like that of Paul.

Gospel Exegesis: Epiphany on the sea: The story of the miraculous catch of fish described in today’s Gospel is similar to the post-Resurrection appearance of Jesus recounted in John 21:4-14.   In both accounts, the apostles at first fail to recognize who Jesus is, then receive a revelation of his true identity. This prompts a full confession of Faith from Simon Peter to which Jesus responds by commissioning him as the representative of the disciples.  In this sense, both narratives are Epiphanies in which Jesus reveals himself to the world as the Messiah —for Jesus does what only God can do.  The point of this story lies, not in the miraculous catch, but in the confession of Peter and his commissioning by Jesus.  

The fishermen and fishing: The scene is the Sea of Galilee (Gennesaret in Greek and Tiberias in Latin). This body of water is thirteen miles long and seven and a half miles wide.  In Jesus’ time, there were ten prosperous towns situated around the lake. Most of the people residing in them made their living from the waters in front of them. Thus, one gets the idea of how rich the lake was in fish. The Sea of Galilee was the site of many manifestations of Jesus’ Divine power.  In the incident in today's Gospel, Jesus preached from Peter's boat to a large crowd jammed together at the edge of the water. When the teaching had ended, Jesus told Peter to pull out into deeper water for a catch of fish.  In matters of fishing, Peter was an expert, while Jesus was only a carpenter. Hence Peter, perhaps not wanting Jesus to look foolish, explained, "Master, we have worked hard all night long, caught nothing." Peter might have added that   fish come to the surface in the Sea of Galilee only at night, or that the presence and noise of people would frighten the remaining fish away.   Instead he said, “Nevertheless, if You wish it, I will lower the nets.”

 Hope against hope:  That declaration of trust was what made the miracle that followed possible. We may assume that Jesus smiled a little, indicating that he understood Peter’s point and still wanted the fisherman to take the boat out into deeper water.  So, Peter obeyed.   This time, however, instead of pulling up an empty net, Peter and Andrew found the net was filled to bursting point, and they had to ask the help of their partners, Zebedee’s sons, James and John, to help them bring in the catch.   Simon Peter understood the message very quickly. Confronted by the size of the catch, he recognized the presence of God before him and became convinced of his own pride and self-centeredness, that is, of his sinfulness. We find the same response in all three readings today. Isaiah, seeing the glory of God in his vision, says, "What a wretched state I am in! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips... and my eyes have looked at the King, the Lord of hosts." Paul, not particularly known for his modesty, says, "I am the least of the apostles... I hardly deserve the name apostle." Peter begs Jesus to go away. His simple confession --“Leave me Lord. I am a sinful man.” -- marks a turning point in his life and becomes the model for our response to Jesus.  Jesus seized the opportunity to proclaim Peter's mission, a call Peter was able to receive because he had seen the tremendous power of God.     Thus, Peter became the first person in the Gospel to acknowledge his sinfulness.   He is also the first apostle to be called by Jesus. Today’s Gospel concludes with an inspiring image of commitment: “When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him” (Lk 5:11). 

The abundance miracle: The miraculous catch of fish is a miracle of abundance and resembles other "abundance" miracles such as the sending of manna to Israel in the wilderness (Ex 16),  the widow’s never-empty meal jar and oil jug (1 Kgs 17:8-16), the necessary supply of oil for the lamps for  the rededication ceremony of the  Temple (2 Kgs 4:1-7), and Elisha's feeding of a hundred men with twenty loaves of bread (2 Kgs 4:42-44). Later in this same Gospel, we will see Jesus feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish (9:12-17). The Gospel of John reports another abundance miracle, the wine Jesus supplied at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11).     All these "abundance" miracles have two common characteristics: (1) they meet human needs and (2) they demonstrate God's power. The spiritual outcome of this particular miracle was that the disciples, "left everything and followed [Jesus]" (v. 11).

 Dimensions of discipleship: The Gospel reading today displays the three dimensions of discipleship: (1) the recognition of the power of Jesus, (2) the response of confession, and (3) the assurance of success when we follow God’s word. Peter's commission is one which is repeated often in the New Testament (Lk 9:20, 22:32; Jn 21:1ff; Mt 16:16ff).   Peter and the other disciples were given the privilege of sharing in Christ's work of gathering people to God. As they shared in gathering the fish, so now they would share in gathering "lost" human beings. Simon’s response was similar to the responses made in Old Testament human encounters with God. As he stood before the burning bush, Moses confessed his disqualifications for leadership, particularly his inability to speak well.   (Ex 3:11-4:17, esp. 4:10).  Later in the Bible, when God came to Solomon in a dream, Solomon declared that he was not wise enough to govern God’s people and asked for an “understanding heart” (1 Kgs 3:7-9).   Likewise, when God called Jeremiah, the prophet recognized the inadequacy of his youth to take on this mission (Jer 1:6).

Who are called as the fishers of men? It is not true that Christ’s invitation to become “fishers of men” is addressed only to the apostles and their successors (the bishops together with the priests and religious). Every Christian is commissioned to a ministry of love and justice by virtue of his/her Baptism. One of the documents of Vatican II, Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church ), in paragraph no. 31 describes all of us very clearly as, “the faithful who by Baptism are incorporated into Christ’s Body and are placed in the people of God and in their own way share the priestly, prophetic and kingly office of Christ and to the best of their ability carry on the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world.” In addition to this, Vatican II’s Apostolicam Actuositatem (The Apostolate of the Laity), no. 3 says, “Incorporated into Christ’s Body through Baptism and strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit through Confirmation, the laity are assigned to the apostolate by the Lord Himself.” It is even stated that where lay involvement is lacking, “the apostolate of the pastors will frequently be unable to obtain its full effect; where lay responsibility is absent, the Church is incomplete,” (Apostolicam Actousitatem nos. 10, 21, PCP II).

Life Messages: 1) We need to pray that our encounters with the holiness of God may lead us to recognize our sinfulness. The Good News of today’s Gospel is that our sinfulness -- our pride and self-centeredness – does not repel God. Our God is a God Who gives sinners a new start.   It is important that we acknowledge our sinfulness.  Our response must be modeled on that of the tax collector in the parable:   "Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner" (Lk 18:13). The recognition of our inadequacy and sin is necessary for us, if we are to be willing and able to receive transformation through God’s grace. Isaiah, Paul, and Peter teach us that even the greatest person among us stands in need of conversion. God, Who calls us and commissions us for His service, wants us to realize His presence everywhere and in everyone, to repent of our sins and to remain in readiness to speak and act for Him in our life-circumstances as He shall direct.

2) We need to teach and practice expressions of reverence for the Lord.     Today’s world desperately needs a "revival of reverence."  We need both to recognize God as God and to express that reverence for God through appropriate bodily gestures.  For example, when we come into Church, we enter the presence of Jesus dwelling in the tabernacle. We need to remember that this is His house, a part of Heaven, and we need to express that remembrance by making a deep bow toward the tabernacle, or, if we are able to kneel, by genuflecting on the right knee before we enter the pew. We should offer him the same reverent recognition when we leave the Church and His Sacramental Presence.   We might also remember to give a slight bow of the head whenever we hear, or say, the name of Jesus.  The new regulation of bowing one’s head before receiving Communion is another beautiful act of reverence. This same sense of reverence can be expressed by keeping the Bible, God’s living word to us, in a prominent place in our homes and by kissing it each time we read from it.   True reverence for God naturally leads us to the reverent, respectful love of neighbor. St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa), loved people because she saw Jesus in them. That was the same Jesus Whom she reverenced and experienced in the Holy Eucharist. We, too, will have many opportunities for daily experiences of Christ. So the heart of our mission as Christians is really to find Jesus hidden in our neighbors, and to accept his challenge to us – to love him, to have compassion on him, to practice justice toward him, to be kind to him there.   Then it becomes easier for us to forgive injury as Jesus did, and to be reconciled to those with whom we have difficulties.   Thus, our mission as Jesus’disciples is to seek, to find, and to respond to Him in all people and events.

3) Each of us has a unique mission in the Church.   God has a different call for each of us. Because each of us is unique, each of us has a mission which no one else can fulfill.  God will use all of us, and particularly what is unique in us, to bring this mission to fulfillment.  Our response must be like that of Isaiah: “Here I am, Lord…send me."  "I’ll do it.  I’ll play my part.  I’ll speak to that neighbor, that coworker, that friend, that relative.  I’ll talk to my daughter about the way she is rearing her children. I’ll keep my mouth shut and refuse to gossip or criticize my co-workers or my bosses. I’ll pray every day. I’ll learn to listen patiently to those in need.  With Your help, I’ll do it.”  

Joke of the week

1) Catching fish from the shop: A man had spent fruitless day fishing. He didn't want to go home empty-handed. He decided to stop at a local fish market. "I'd like three good sized fish," he said to the clerk. "But before you wrap them, toss them to me, one by one." The clerk looked puzzled at his request, "Sir? That's a strange thing to ask." Smiling the man said, "This way I'll be able to tell my wife truthfully that I caught them!"

2) “I am a fisher of men." The Reverend Dr. McStuffed-Shirt encountered one of his less-than-faithful parishioners returning from a day's fishing and engaged him in conversation. "Ah, Brother Jones," he began in his best preaching tone, "You are a fine fisherman, but I am a fisher of men." Jones, determined to get home after a long day, replied, "So I have heard. But I was passing your Church last Sunday, looked in the window, and noticed you had not caught too many..."

3) Priest Plays Hooky: The pastor was a fisherman, but he hadn't fished in months. One perfect Sunday morning he couldn't resist. He called up his associate priest and claimed he had laryngitis. The priest then headed out to his favorite spot. The hook hadn't been in the water five minutes before he got a strike and landed the biggest fish he had ever caught - although he had seen bigger ones caught by others. A half hour later, he caught the biggest fish he had ever seen. Another forty-five minutes later he landed a fish that broke the world record. All this time St. Peter and God have been watching the priest from Heaven. St. Peter turned to God, and said, "How can you reward this priest? He lied. He doesn’t observe the Sunday obligation." God smiled at St. Peter, and replied, "I'm punishing him." St. Peter was confused, so God continued, "Well, after he finishes, whom can he tell his story to?"

4) Walking on water: Three ministers were out on a lake fishing one fine afternoon in a boat, a Protestant minister, an Episcopalian priest and a newly-arrived Catholic priest. They were sitting out in the middle of the lake and the Protestant minister said he had to relieve himself, so he got out of the boat and walked across the water to shore, relieved himself behind a tree. Then walked back to the boat. The Episcopalian priest did the same thing. The Catholic priest thought to himself, if they can do it, so can I. So he stepped out of the boat and started sinking. After saving him and bringing him back on the boat one minister commented: "We should have told him where the rocks are under the water!"

26- Additional anecdotes:

1) Call answered as a continuous process:  There is a story about a sophomore who worked in the library at Princeton, New Jersey to earn money to help with his education. One night about closing time, he was walking around the empty halls of the library when he noticed in the very back corner amid an old stack of books, an old man reading and taking notes furiously. The old man was very intent. The librarian became a little curious, so he went back to the old man and said, "My, what are you studying so intently?" The old man looked up long enough to say, "Well, I'm a student of physics." The young librarian said, "Well, last year I took a course in physics and I think I have all I need for an understanding of physics." He then turned and walked back to his desk. You can imagine his chagrin a few minutes later when the old man checked out some books, and on his library-card was the name Albert Einstein. God's call is a calling to a process, not to a single task. Today’s Scripture readings about the calls of Isaiah, Peter and Paul remind us that our calling is to a lifelong process of obedience, service and surrender to God in which we grow daily more like Jesus. There is nothing in the world more joyful than that. There is nothing in the world more challenging.

2)Impala problem: One of the few creatures on earth that can out-jump Michael Jordon is the Impala. This is an African deer with a supercharged spring. It has a vertical leap of over 10 feet and can broad-jump over 30 feet. You would think that the zoos of the world would find it impossible to keep such an animal enclosed. Not so! It's rather easy. The experts discovered something about the Impala. It will not jump unless it can see where it is going to land. Therefore, a solid wall even 6 feet tall is a sufficient enclosure. Lots of Christians have the Impala problem. They won't take a leap of Faith unless they have all the answers in advance about where the leap will take them. But God is looking for some bold believers who, even in the face of the unknown, will leap when the Spirit says leap, will fly when the Spirit says fly, will launch when the Spirit says launch, all to the glory of the Lord. Why must we be willing to launch out into the deep with the Lord? Because our Lord was willing to launch out into the deep for us. Today’s Scripture passages present Isaiah, Paul and Peter who dared to make a leap of Faith.

3) "Hop into my wheelbarrow. I'll wheel you across!" There's a wonderful story of a tightrope walker, who was challenged to walk a tightrope across Niagara Falls. Everything was in place. There were huge steel struts on either side of the canyon and a strong, steel tightrope. There were television cameras, reporters and a massive crowd. But there was no safety net. The tightrope walker appeared with a wheelbarrow, which he had decided to push in front of him across the rope. The crowd cheered him on, although some begged him not to make this foolish attempt. One voice in the crowd was more vociferous than the rest: "Go on! You can do it! I know you can! Don't listen to these pessimists. I have complete faith in you." The tightrope walker turned to the speaker and asked, "You have faith in me? You're certain? You know I can do it?" The speaker emerged from the crowd and nodded. "I'm absolutely certain. I have no doubts at all. You can do it!" "OK," said the tightrope walker. "Hop into my wheelbarrow. I'll wheel you across!" Amazingly, the speaker climbed into the wheelbarrow. And the tightrope walker wheeled him safely across to the other side. What incredible, courageous, foolhardy faith! Today’s Gospel describes Peter's leap to a much deeper and stronger Faith in Jesus and His ministry through Jesus’ response to Peter’s trusting obedience, His gift of a miraculous haul of fish at the Lake of Gennesaret.

4) "Can you balance a ball on the end of your nose?" There was a man who took great pride in being a former Navy Seal. And why not? This is an elite group. It takes a special sailor to qualify as a Navy Seal. This man tells about sharing his military exploits with his grandson's kindergarten class. This former Seal regaled the children with his war stories. After he finished, hands shot up into the air all over the classroom. The kids were eager to ask questions. "So," asked one little girl, "can you balance a ball on the end of your nose?" Well, to be sure, a Navy Seal ought to be able to balance a ball on the end of his nose. Life has a way of humbling us, doesn't it? We think we are impressing people, and all they want is to see us balance a ball on the end of our nose. Our Scriptures for today all have one thing in common: Isaiah, Paul and Peter met God and were humbled.

5) Failure of Leonardo da Vinci. Failure is not a dirty word--and yet we sometimes act as if it is. Every great person fails at some time in his or her life. Leonardo da Vinci did. In addition to his incredible talents in painting and sculpting, da Vinci was also a mathematician, philosopher, master chef, architect, athlete, and inventor. But even great geniuses can experience failures, sometimes, great ones. One of da Vinci's biggest blunders occurred when he was working in the household of an Italian nobleman, Ludovico Sforza. Sforza put da Vinci in charge of planning a banquet for two hundred guests. Leonardo intended to sculpt all the food into tiny artistic masterpieces. He created a fully automated kitchen in Sforza's mansion in order to feed that many people. But the night of the banquet, everything fell apart. The conveyor belt da Vinci had installed broke down and started a fire. Next, the sprinkler system he had created kicked in to put the fire out. Soon, the whole kitchen was flooded. The banquet had to be called off. [Michael J. Geb. How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci (New York: Dell Publishing, 1998), p. 79.] Have you known failure? Have you felt you were a failure? Have you had nights when the fish just don't bite? I have. I have felt I was a failure. I have been like Simon Peter toiling all night, giving my best, maybe working too hard, yet at the end of the day, my nets felt empty!

6) "Oh God, here am I, send me. Send me!" William Bausch tells the story of a nun who received some extra grant money. She worked as a chaplain in a women's prison in Chicago. She went to the women and said, "I have some money that I want to spend on you and I'm going to give you some options: 1) I can hire an attorney to come and talk with you on how you can shorten your sentences; 2) I can hire a welder to come in and teach you to weld so that you can have a marketable skill when you leave the prison; or 3) I can hire a dancer and a painter to teach you how to dance and how to paint." Ninety-five percent chose the dancer and the painter because, as they said, "They always wanted to express themselves, but never had the chance." That puts God's calling where it should be and that is in a positive light. The most fulfilling, the most expressive, the most joyful experience you will ever know in your life is walking in the middle of God's will for your life. Hear the invitation, and say, "Oh God, here am I, send me. Send me!"

7) “Everything for sale” as Satan is going out of business: There is a legend that tells about the time the devil decided to close up shop in one part of the world and open up in another.  A “going-out-of-business” sale was announced. One of the first customers, being quite fascinated with the various evil instruments on display, noticed that of all the devil’s tools, the highest priced one was called “discouragement.” “Why is this one so expensive?” he inquired. “Quite simple,” replied the devil.  “It’s my favorite. With the tool of discouragement, I can pry into almost everyone’s life and cause all kinds of damage.” Today’s Scripture lessons tell us that God calls weak and sinful men like Isaiah, Paul, and Peter to His ministry and fills them with His Spirit to free them from all feelings of discouragement when this attack. All they have to do is to ask and receive His help.  

8) Legal permanent resident: One hundred three miles of open water separates the most southern tip of Florida from the most northern coast of Cuba. It’s a stretch of water that has claimed hundreds of lives since the Cuban revolution. Flotillas of “boat people,” seeking freedom and family in the US, have created desperate “boats” out of anything that might possibly float long enough to reach US soil. The goal of these “boat people” is simple: hit dry land. As long as these refugees are in the water, they are Cubans. As of 1995 the US has agreed either to return rescued or captured "boat people" to Cuba or transport them to a neutral third country. But once these soggy sailors’ feet hit dry land they are instantly transformed. They have the right to stay in the US for at least a year. That qualifies them to get expedited “legal permanent resident” status and eventually even perhaps US citizenship. The moment a Cuban refugee has “dry feet,” a whole new future welcomes him or her. The first disciples Jesus calls in Luke’s Gospel are “dry feet” disciples. But they didn’t become dry-feet disciples until they were willing to be "boat people." They launched into deep water at Jesus’ command. Once out there, they saw and experienced things over which they had no control. Things they knew with their hearts and souls were sure evidence of God’s providence and sovereignty.

9) The challenging invitation: Many years ago, the great explorer, Sir Francis Drake, was attempting to recruit a number of young men for an upcoming exploration. He gathered them around and told the group that, if they came with him, they would see some of the most marvelous things their eyes could ever behold – sandy white beaches, juicy fruits, foreign peoples, priceless treasures, and gorgeous landscapes. And he told them that this wild adventure could be theirs if they came with him. Not one of them enlisted for the journey. The next day a different group came out. Drake told them that if they came with him they would encounter storms that would terrify them to tears. Tiger winds would hammer them and blow them off course for months. Water would frequently be scarce. At times they would be so thirsty that their very souls would cry out for simply one drop of water. In short, danger would always be their constant companion. Drake concluded by declaring that if they could handle these things, the joys of exploration would exceed their wildest dreams. Every single one of them in the group joined Sir Francis Drake that day. Some did not even go home to say goodbye to their families! They just boarded the ship, eager for the journey. What is it about Jesus' message that made the disciples eager for the journey? They were made eager because first, Jesus offered them a change. The paths that are offered to us must promise to shape us, build our character, change our world-view, if they are to have any appeal to us at all. If we are presented with a challenge that will change us, we will be eager for the journey.

10) Prompt response to God’s call: Dr. Paul Brand was a physician who volunteered in India as the first orthopedic surgeon to work with leprosy patients. He listed as his reference Henri Nouwen, a former professor at Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard, who ended up devoting his life to the mentally handicapped in institutions in France and Toronto. Neither of these men had a low opinion of his own worth or abilities. In spite of that, and because of their relationship with God, they chose to serve the least and the lowest. (Philip Yancey, "Humility's Many Faces," Christianity Today, December 4, 2000). Isaiah writes: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I; send me!'" That was Isaiah's response, "Send me." Paul's response was: "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me has not been in vain.”

11) “We could change the world." In James Goldman's novel, The Lion in Winter, there is a scene where three sons wrestle for the right to succeed King Henry. John tells his mother Eleanor that his brother Richard has a knife. Listen as she captures the base instinct of humanity and then offers a better way: "Of course (your brother) has a knife. We all have knives--we are barbarians--we are the origins of war--we breed war. For the love of God," she continues, "can't we love one another--just a little? That's how peace begins. We have such possibilities, my children. We could change the world" (James Goldman, The Lion in Winter, pp. 55-56). After Simon and Andrew, James and John had fished all night and failed to catch any fish, Jesus came to them and made life right. Jesus' order to Simon, "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch," is both a challenge and a promise. Challenge: We must never be afraid to try again. Promise: the long night passes into day and we live to put our nets down for another day, expecting the providence of God. We have such possibilities. We could change the world.

12) “I’ll do it myself. I’ll do it myself.” It was just after midnight on November 20, 1988. A 19-year-old Los Angeles woman apparently fell asleep behind the wheel of her car. The car plunged through a guardrail and was left dangling by its left rear wheel. That one wheel was all that prevented the young woman from falling to a certain death. A half dozen passing motorists stopped and attempted to help. One of them had some ropes in his vehicle. They tied the ropes to the back of the young woman’s car and hung on until the fire units arrived. A ladder was extended from below to help stabilize the car while firefighters tied the vehicle to tow trucks with cables and chains. “Every time we would move the car,” said one of the rescuers, “she’d yell and scream. She was in pain. ”It took almost 2 1/2 hours for the rescuers, about 25 of them in all, to secure the car and pull the woman to safety. “It was kinda funny,” L.A. County Fire Capt. Ross Marshall recalled later. “She kept saying, “I’ll do it myself. I’ll do it myself.” (http://www.holwick.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=679:1-samuel-18-6-12 every-crutch-kicked&catid=38:1-a-2-samuel&Itemid=11.) People are funny like that. “I’ll do it myself.” Against all evidence to the contrary, we somehow think we don’t need other people. And we think we don’t need God. We are going to meet three men in today’s Scripture, Isaiah, Paul and Peter, three men who had their lives radically changed by God. We’re going to see how God changed their lives, and, with His help, we are going to ask God to do the same for us.

13) "Atlas complex” You may have heard the expression, "He has an Atlas complex." This usually refers to an individual who seems to have an exaggerated sense of his or her own importance. Or it may refer to the person who feels that he or she is the only one who can do a certain job, make important decisions, take care of himself/herself or other people. It is helpful for us to remember the Greek legend of Atlas. Atlas is the Titan of Greek mythology, guardian of the Pillars of Heaven who took part in the Titans' rebellion against Zeus and the gods. The great and powerful Zeus won the battle of course, in part because he was assisted by his famous 100-handed monster. The punishment which Atlas received was the job of replacing the Pillars of Heaven and holding up the sky on his own shoulders [M. C. Howatson and Ian Chilvers, The Concise Oxford companion to Classical Literature (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), p. 72]. The story of Atlas is, of course, a myth. However, we both know that there are many people who go through life holding the weight of the world on their shoulders. Instead, let us learn to surrender ourselves to God, receive His strength and do what He commands us to do.

14) “But the fog is not on the maps." Several years ago, two land surveyors were sent from a large city in Wales to survey the mountains in North Wales. For a week, they stayed in an isolated cabin in shepherd country. Every day they went out with maps, compasses, and charts checking the countryside and the valleys. Several days into the first week, an old shepherd came up to them and said, "Might be best if I go with you tomorrow." They said, "No, there's no need for that. We have our maps and charts. We'll be fine. We have everything we need." The old shepherd said again, "It might be best if I went with you tomorrow." "No, we have our maps and charts. We know these hills just like you. We'll be okay." And the old shepherd said, "You may have your maps, but the fog is not on the maps." There come times in our lives when all the charts, maps, and other resources are insufficient. There come times when we can only do God's work in His power and in his strength. It is an awesome, humbling, and revealing experience to stand before the miracle worker as He reaches out and calls us.

15) "What fish?" A man was stopped by a game-warden in a State Park with two buckets of fish leaving a lake well known for its fishing. The game warden asked, "Do you have a license to catch those fish?" The man replied to the game warden, "No, sir. These are my pet fish." "Pet fish?" the warden replied. "Yes, sir. Every night I take these here fish down to the lake and let them swim around for a while. I whistle and they jump back into their buckets, and I take 'em home." "That's a bunch of hooey! Fish can't do that!" The man looked at the game warden for a moment, and then said, "Here, I'll show you. It really works." "OK. I've GOT to see this!" The game warden was curious. The man poured the fish into the river and stood and waited. After several minutes, the game warden turned to the man and said, "Well?" "Well, what?" the man responded. "When are you going to call them back?" the game warden prompted. "Call who back?" the man asked. "The FISH!" "What fish?" the man asked.

16)  "Roo raf roo reep ra rums rrarm." A cold winter day. An old man walked out onto a frozen lake, cut a hole in the ice, dropped in his fishing line, and waited patiently for a bite. He was there for almost an hour, without even a nibble, when a young boy walked out onto the ice, cut a hole in the ice next to him. The lad dropped his fishing line and minutes later he hooked a Largemouth Bass. The old man could not believe his eyes but chalked it up to plain luck. Shortly thereafter, the young boy pulled in another large catch. He kept catching fish after fish. Finally, the old man could take it no longer. "Son," he said, "I have been here for over an hour without even a nibble. You have been here only a few minutes and have caught a half dozen fish! How do you do it?" The boy responded, "Roo raf roo reep ra rums rrarm." "What was that?" the old man asked. Again the boy responded, "Roo raf roo reep ra rums rrarm." "Look," said the old man, "I can't understand a word you're saying." The boy leaned over, brought his hand to his mouth and spat out a mess of bait. He said again, "You have to keep the worms warm!" You know, there may well be a lesson in that for us too. If we are going to "catch people" as Jesus said, we had better use attractive bait.

17) "Nevertheless!" What a glorious Faith word is "Nevertheless!" Are you willing to say it today whatever your circumstances may be? An 80-year-old man says, "Lord, I have cancer and my chances of beating it are almost nil. I really would like for my doctor to help me overdose so I can just exit as quickly as possible. What possible purpose could I still have on this earth? (But here comes that word) ..."NEVERTHELESS, if You want me to model a Faith that not even cancer can touch, if You want me to cast my burden upon You and allow You to sustain me, if You want me to show all these younger people how to die as well as live, with courage and conviction. ..Then Lord, I will launch into the deep with You."

Consider another example. A middle-aged couple is heartbroken. Their 19-year-old son is hooked on drugs. He even steals items from the home in order to pawn them and buy drugs. These distraught parents cry out to God in all honesty, saying, "Lord, we don't deserve this misery. We gave the boy every advantage. He grew up in the lap of luxury. Sure, we made some mistakes; perhaps we were overly indulgent. But, who doesn't make mistakes? We are tempted not only to kick him out of the house, but also to kick him out of our hearts. He no longer deserves to be called our son." Then here comes that word again! "NEVERTHELESS, if You want us to persevere with that boy, we will try. If You will help us demonstrate tough love, we will. If You can break into his hard, cold, addicted heart, we will keep up our vigil of love and prayer."

The Scriptural message should be abundantly clear. At crucial living, Jesus calls us to take risks, to launch out with him into the deep. Everything that is prudential, timid, and conservative tells us to play it safe. Dare we step up with Simon Peter and declare boldly, "NEVERTHELESS, I will launch out into the deep with my Lord!"?

18) Best Fantasy Film of the Year." In the spring of 1978, the film, Oh God! was given an award. It was a film that portrayed the message that God cares about people, that God comes to people, and He wants people to be happy. Do you know the award that film received? "Best Fantasy Film of the Year." To some people, it is a fantasy that God cares for us; that God loves us and comes to us in the ordinary affairs of our life. To some, it is a fantasy! Why? If we truly believe that God comes to us, speaks to us, calls out to us, then we, too, have to place the net where He tells us, in spite of the fact that we think we know better. That is what this Church is trying to do. When Simon saw the miracle and stood face-to-face with the miracle worker, he fell to his knees at Jesus' feet and said, "Get away from me! I am unclean! Get away from me! I am a sinful man!" Confrontation with Jesus was not a fantasy for him.( https://youtu.be/ORgQ-i1eFdw)

19)  Victor not vanquished: Many years ago a little boy in the U.S.A. was badly burnt in a school fire. So severe was the damage to his limbs and muscles that the doctors predicted that he would never walk again. To his good luck, however, that little boy had a mother, who, though illiterate, was staunch in her Christian faith. Against all odds she believed her son would recover and get well. Day after day, sometimes for hours, that devoted mother would massage the scarred, seemingly lifeless legs of her little boy, even as he cried with pain, and would say to him: “Don’t worry, my boy, you will not only walk someday, but you will run.” To the cynical and the pessimistic, that was mere wishful thinking, in fact absolute nonsense. But that noble mother firmly believed her son was going to be victor and not the vanquished. And he was – in 1934 he set the world’s record for running a mile in 4 minutes 6.7 seconds. His name? Glen Cunningham! –After spending an entire night fishing without success, the apostle Peter, a seasoned fisherman, was very disappointed and depressed. He was ready to brand himself a failure. Then Jesus who was not a fisherman stepped in and urged him not to give up but try another strategy. So Peter could choose between being branded a failure or hailed a success. And Peter decided wisely on the latter – he was going to be a victor and not the vanquished. In the words of a Yiddish saying, ”From success to failure is one step. From failure to success is a long road.” (James Valladares in Your Words O Lord, are Spirit and They Are Life; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

20) Strengths and weaknesses In a certain Church there was a man in the choir who couldn’t sing very well. The choir director suggested that he should leave the choir. Others felt that he should be given more time to improve. The choir director then decided to go to the pastor and complain. “You have got to get that man out of the choir or else I am going to resign.” So the pastor went to the man and said to him, “Perhaps you should leave the choir.” “Why should I leave the choir?” the man asked. “Well” said the pastor, “four or five people have told me you cannot sing.” “That’s nothing,” the man replied, “forty or fifty people have told me you cannot preach!” – Our lives are a mixture of strengths and weaknesses. We certainly try to maximize our strengths, but at the same time we may try to conceal our weaknesses so people can appreciate our strengths. We can even talk about the weaknesses of others, so people are not likely to notice ours. This weekend’s readings talk to us about ‘strengths’ and ‘weaknesses’. (John Pichappilly in The Table of the Word; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

21) Faith is a gift: The famous author of The Song of Bernadette, Franz Werfel, gave an enthusiastic graduation talk at Mundelein College for girls in Chicago about the Blessed Virgin. This was all the more remarkable since the students knew that he was a Jew. During the short question period after the speech, one student asked him, “Mr. Werfel, if I am not getting too personal, could you explain how it is that you seem to know so much about the Catholic Church and its teachings and still you are not a Catholic?” “Yes,” he answered. “I can explain. Faith is a gift, and I have not yet received that gift.”(Frank Michalic in Tonic for the Heart; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

22) Film: Fisher King: This excellent movie is an exploration of the way in which the central character, a shock-jock radio host, seeks for forgiveness, having unwittingly incited a man to commit a massacre in a restaurant. He meets someone who has suffered a breakdown as a result of witnessing the massacre and tries in all sorts of ways to free himself of his own sense of guilt. The man he has met (played by Robin Williams), is convinced that the DJ has been sent to bring him a silver cup (actually a sporting trophy), which he thinks is the Holy Grail. The Robin Williams character repeatedly calls him to this task, but he dismisses it as ridiculous. Finally, though, when Robin Williams falls into a catatonic state, the repentant DJ realizes that, simply because the man needs the “grail” to get better he will retrieve it. The film strikes me as relevant to the theme of “call” because of the way in which it is circumstance, which compels the DJ, eventually, to do something only he can do. The act he is called to is ridiculous, but it is the doing of it which is really important. In fulfilling his “call” by doing something out of simple love, the DJ not only heals someone else but finds the freedom he has been seeking for himself. (Anonymous; from Text this Week; Quoted by Fr. Botelho).

23) Called to go forth in his name: Charles Spurgeon was a British preacher who had an experience of sudden conversion to Christianity in 1950 at age 15. On his way to a scheduled appointment, a snowstorm forced him to cut short his intended journey and to turn into a primitive Methodist chapel where God opened his heart to the message of salvation. The text that moved him was Isaiah 45:22 "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God and there is no other." It is estimated that after his conversion, in his lifetime, Spurgeon preached to 10 million people. By his death in 1892, he had preached nearly 3,600 sermons, and published 49 volumes of commentaries. Today's liturgy of the Word invites us to explore our own possibilities. (A.K. in The Sunday Liturgy; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

24) “You will not only walk someday, but you will run." Many years ago, a little boy in the USA, was badly burnt in a schoolhouse fire. So severe was the damage to his limbs and muscles that doctors predicted that he would never walk again. To his good luck, however, that little boy had a mother who, though illiterate, was staunch in her Christian faith. Against all odds, she believed that God could heal her son. Day after day, sometimes for hours, that devoted mother would massage the scarred, seemingly lifeless legs of her little boy, even as he cried with pain, and she would say to him: "Don't worry, my boy, you will not only walk someday, but you will run." To the cynical and the pessimistic, that was mere wishful thinking, in fact, absolute nonsense. The noble mother firmly believed her son was going to be victor not the vanquished. And he was - in 1934 he set the world's record in running a mile in 4 minutes 6.7 seconds. His name? Glenn Cunningham! -"Launch out into the deep!" said Jesus to the crestfallen Peter after his failure in catching any fish during the night, and to us. "Be not afraid!" said a certain Jim Vorsas: "The Lord gives us friends to push us to our potential -and enemies to push us beyond it." (James Valladares, in Your Words O Lord, Are Spirit and They Are Life; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

25) He can transform our weaknesses: There was a king who owned a large perfectly cut diamond. He was very proud of it and made it the national symbol. Unfortunately, the diamond one day got damaged and its beauty was marred by a long hair-like scratch. Its splendor was gone and its sparkle diminished. The king was very saddened. He gathered all the reputed jewelers for consultation. They all said that it had lost its splendor and value. In desperation the king sent our word throughout his kingdom, "Anyone who could repair the damaged diamond would be suitably rewarded." Finally, just when the king was about to give up the hope of restoring the stone, a poor lapidary gem engraver came forward to restore it. "Sir" he said to the king, "this same scratch which has diminished the diamond's worth will become its most beautiful asset." The king entrusted the man with the stone and many weeks passed before his return. Finally, when the lapidary opened his velvet box to display his craftsmanship, the king gasped in amazement. There was the stone -more beautiful than ever, with a beautiful rose carved on it. Only the king could detect that on the rose's graceful stem was the scratch that had once so ruined the diamond. Jesus is the master jeweler, who can transform the scratches, which dim and distort our lives into something that could shine and scintillate. (John Rose in John's Sunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
26) “Do you know where you’re going?” Years ago, the British agnostic Thomas Huxley had to leave early one morning to go from one speaking assignment to another, so he got into a horse-drawn taxi to go from his hotel to the train station. He assumed that the hotel doorman had told the driver of the carriage that they were to go to the train station. So when he got in, he simply said to the driver, “Drive fast.” Off they went. After a short while, Huxley, who was somewhat familiar with the area, realized that they were actually going in the opposite direction from the train station. He yelled to the driver, “Do you know where you’re going?” Without looking back, the driver replied, “No, sir, but I’m driving very fast.”   Obviously, it doesn’t do much good to go fast if you’re not going in the right direction! Yet, many people, even Christians, are like that. Their lives are busy, they are going full bore, but they haven’t stopped to evaluate where they ought to be going. In Luke 5:1-11, we see the Lord Jesus helping some fishermen get their lives aimed in the right direction. (Bible.org) L/19

Prepared by: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604.

Introduction: Today’s readings teach us that true happiness, or beatitude, lies in the awareness that we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father and that we will be  happy only when we share our blessings with our brothers and sisters in need, and when we work  to uplift them, thus declaring our “option for the poor,” as Jesus did. Contrary to the popular belief, wealth, health, power and influence are not the source of true happiness. The word “beatitude” means “blessedness” in a double sense: both enjoying God’s favor and enjoying true or supreme happiness.

Scripture lessons:    In the first reading, Jeremiah tells us that true happiness consists in our placing our trust in God and in putting our trust in His promises. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 1), finds beatitude in keeping God’s Law. In the second reading St. Paul warns us that true beatitude is obtainable only in Heaven and that Christ’s Resurrection gives us our assurance of reaching Heaven for an everlasting life of happiness. In today’s Gospel, Jesus instructs his disciples in the paradoxical   blessedness of poverty, hunger, sorrow and persecution.  “Blessed are those who are poor, hungry, weeping, hated, excluded, insulted and denounced,” because in poverty, we recognize our dependence on God; in hunger, God’s providence; in sorrow for sins, reconciliation with God; and in persecution, the true joy of standing for the Faith with heroic convictions. What makes one blessed is not simply poverty or hunger or sadness or suffering for the Faith but living these in the context of our commitment to Jesus and his spirit of sharing. The beatitudes must be understood as eschatological statements which see and evaluate the present in terms of the future glory and everlasting happiness.

Life Messages: 1) We need to respond to the challenge of the beatitudes in our daily life.  Millions are starving, persecuted, homeless, and leading hopeless lives. The only way the promises of the beatitudes can become a reality for them is through the efforts of people like us.  Hence, let us remember that each time we reach out to help the needy, the sick and the oppressed, we share with them a foretaste of the promises of the beatitudes here and now. 2) Let us light a candle instead of blaming the political set-up.   God knows that 50% of His children are hungry, 80% live in substandard housing and 70% have no education. If over half our children were hungry, cold and uneducated, how would we respond to their suffering?  God wants us to live as brothers and sisters who care for one another. 3) We must take care to choose our way wisely. "There are two Ways, one of Life and one of Death, and there is a great difference between the two Ways." These are the opening lines of the "Didache" a first century Christian catechism used to teach new Christians the essence of the Christian Faith. The way of life and true happiness is the way of Jesus, the way of the beatitudes, the way of rendering loving service to God by serving our brothers and sisters.

OT VI [C] : Jer 17: 5-8; I Cor 15:12, 16-20; Lk 6:17, 20-26 

Homily starter anecdote: # 1: Happiness Myths: Dr. Harold Treffert is the director of the Winnebago Mental Health Institute in Wisconsin. In an article entitled “The American Fairy Tale,” he discusses five dangerous ideas we have about the meaning of happiness. First, happiness isthings. The more you accumulate and have, the happier you will be. Second, happiness is what you do. The more you produce and earn, the happier you will be. Third, happiness is being the same as others. The more you are fashionable and conform with the times, the happier you will be. Fourth, happiness is mental health. The fewer problems you have and the more carefree you are, the happier you will be. Fifth, happiness is communicating with electronic gadgets. The more you can communicate with a television set, a satellite or a computer, the happier you will be. According to Dr. Treffert, these five myths about happiness are the cause of many mental health problems today. If happiness cannot be found through these five myths of “The American Fairy Tale,” then where do we find it? Jesus gives us the answer when he outlines the beatitudes in today’s reading from Luke. (Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds)   

#2: "Don't you believe the Bible?  Sometime before she died, someone had the audacity to ask St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa), "Why do you spend so much energy on the poor, the hungry, and the weeping of those in Calcutta?" She responded, “Jesus says the poor are the blessed ones. I take him at his word. I treat them as the royalty of God's kingdom, because they are." To grow into becoming a Christian is, in no small part, to be converted into seeing the world as God sees it. It is to be given new eyes to look upon people and events from an eternally loving perspective. When that begins to happen, you begin to see that God has an opinion about how life should be lived, what Churches should be doing, and how people should act. You begin to see that the future belongs to those whom God blesses. They include the poor, the hungry, the hopeless, the damaged, and those whose only salvation is found in the God who comes to redeem.

# 3: Beatitude in puppy’s tail:  Said a puppy to his old uncle dog, “From my short experience in life I have learned that the best thing for a dog is happiness and that happiness is in my tail. That is why I am chasing my tail, and when I catch it, I shall have perfect happiness.” The old dog replied, “From my research and long experience, I too, have judged that happiness is a fine thing for a dog and that happiness is in his tail. But I've noticed that whenever I chase it, it keeps running away from me, but when I go about my business, it comes after me.” (Here are the examples of three famous women who chased happiness as the puppy did, in the wrong places, and met with tragic ends: 1) Anna Nicole Smith (39)-model, cover girl, actress - sought happiness in drugs. 2) Marilyn Monroe (36)- actress, American idol, model- who did the same in 1962, and 3)  Princess Diana of England (36) who met with accidental death on her way to seeking happiness in the wrong place).   What is our picture of a happy life? According to one study conducted in the U. S. only 20% of Americans claim to be happy.  Is the “American dream” our picture of the happy life: the ideal of owning a beautiful home with a two-car garage, having a loving and adjusting spouse, two well-behaved kids, and a dog, enjoying a decent job, and having enough money to enjoy leisure and retired life?  Where do we go in search of happiness: the movie theater, the amusement park, a hiking trail, a shopping mall, a good restaurant, a ballpark?  In the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Matthew, and in the Sermon on the Plain in Luke from which we read today, Jesus gives us a rather different picture of a happy life.  Jesus tells us that we can find true and lasting happiness in ways we may never have considered.

Introduction: Today’s readings teach us that true happiness, or beatitude, lies in the awareness of who we are and of what we are supposed to do. They remind us that we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father and that we will be  happy in this world and in Heaven only when we share our blessings with our brothers and sisters in need and work to uplift them, thus declaring our “option for the poor,” as Jesus did. The eight beatitudes Jesus gives in Mathew and the four in Luke contradict the ideas of real happiness found in the Jewish culture and in our modern society, according to which wealth, health, power and influence are the true beatitudes.    "The beatitudes" are technically known as “macarisms”, or blessings (from the Greek makarios, meaning "blessed" or "happy.")   Macarisms are found in the Book of Proverbs, in the Psalms, and even in the Book of Revelation.  There are thirty-seven beatitudes in the New Testament, seventeen of which are sayings of Jesus. Beatitudes appear in the Old Testament as well. The first reading tells us that true beatitude consists in placing our trust in God and in putting our trust in His promises. The Responsorial Psalm, (Ps 1), finds beatitude in keeping God’s Law. St. Paul warns us, in the second reading, that true beatitude is obtainable only in Heaven, and that Christ’s Resurrection is our assurance of reaching Heaven for an everlasting life of happiness. In today’s Gospel, Jesus instructs his disciples in the paradoxical   blessedness of poverty, hunger, sorrow and persecution because these contradict our natural expectations in every way.  “Blessed are those who are poor, hungry, weeping, hated, excluded, insulted and denounced,” because in poverty, we recognize God’s reign; in hunger, His providence; in sorrow, true happiness; and in persecution, true joy. Experiencing these miseries opens the way for us to receive the true riches, food, comfort and acceptance we can find only in His love and His presence here, and in His Kingdom forever. The beatitudes are commands for how we should live, and what we should do. What makes one blessed is not simply poverty or hunger or sadness or suffering for the Faith but living these in the context of our commitment to Jesus and His spirit of sharing.

First reading (Jer. 17:5-8), explained: Jeremiah gives a beatitude of blessing (17:7-8), paired with a curse (17:5-6), as its opposite, when he compares the wicked to a barren bush in a desert and the just to a well-watered tree growing near a running stream.  In essence, this “beatitude” teaches us that if we choose God as our hope, our security, and our happiness, we will be blessed, truly happy. On the other hand, if we choose human standards for our guides, ourselves as our source of security and the meeting of our own needs and desires as our happiness, we will find ourselves living in increasing misery and confusion, that is, in woe.   Jeremiah tells us that the only source of lasting happiness is trust in God and hope in His promises. The manner in which each of us exercises our freedom of choice will also determine whether we shall bring upon ourselves and our world blessings or curses. The passage is amplified in Psalm 1, today’s Responsorial Psalm.

Second reading (I Cor 15:12, 16-20), explained: St. Paul writes that trust and hope in the Resurrection of Jesus are the basis of our Faith, of our own resurrection and of our eternal bliss. Through Jesus’ death and Resurrection, believers are now welcomed into a new relationship with God as His sons and daughters, and with each other as dear brothers and sisters who have Jesus as our Elder Brother and Redeemer. This means that all the blessings of the Beatitudes are now available to us, provided we choose to follow the Beatitudes, for they codify, so to speak, the pattern of living Jesus established.  

Gospel exegesis: Luke presents the Sermon on the Plain as following immediately upon the choosing of the twelve apostles (Luke 6:13 ff).   Therefore, one of the Fathers of the Church called this sermon “The Ordination Address to the Twelve."  Both the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew and theSermon on the Plain in Luke are also known as “The Compendium of Christian Doctrine,” “The Magna Carta of the Kingdom," and “The Manifesto of the King."    In these two sermons we have the essence of Jesus' teachings to his chosen apostles.  The introductory portion of the sermon consists of blessings and woes that reflect the real economic and social conditions of humanity (the poor--the rich; the hungry--the satisfied; those grieving--those laughing; the outcast--the socially acceptable).  Each beatitude consisted of a pronouncement of blessedness (makarios) followed by who is blessed and why. These beatitudes of Jesus were taught in Aramaic.   In Aramaic they are not simple statements; rather, they are exclamations, i.e., “O the blessedness of the poor in spirit!" (Compare today’s Responsorial Psalm [Psalm 1], for a similar Hebrew version). In our current language it may be phrased as “Congratulations to …” the poor, the hungry etc. as a way of celebrating the blessed person’s success. Luke proposes that material poverty leads us to greater detachment from the things of this world, thereby allowing us to attach ourselves to spiritual values.  The beatitudes must be understood as eschatological statements which see and evaluate the present in terms of the future. In the same way, the woes pronounced upon the rich, the full, and those who laugh, function as an expression of sadness, not because of the person’s present circumstances but because of what will ultimately be.

Matthew’s vs. Luke’s versions:  Matthew presents the beatitudes as coming at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.  In Luke's version, Jesus stands on a plain and states the beatitudes in   more compact and radical terms.  Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain” is shorter than Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount,” the latter extending through three chapters.   Matthew gives eight beatitudes (the ninth being an explanation of the eighth), while Luke gives four “beatitudes” and four “woes."   This practice of pairing of blessings and woes is seen in Deuteronomy 27:12-13.  The wording in Luke is also quite different from that in Matthew.   In Matthew, Jesus uses   the third person ("they will be filled"), whereas in Luke, He speaks in the second person ("you will be filled").   Matthew speaks only of the reward promised to those who live according to Jesus' message.  Luke, on the other hand, emphasizes the consequences those who do not heed Jesus' words will suffer.  Whereas Luke declares that the "poor," are blessed, Matthew uses the phrase "poor in spirit," thereby advocating a slightly different attitude, or disposition, toward God. Luke's version seems to mark with greater severity Jesus' warning to the "rich,” the "full,” the "laughing,” and "those who are spoken well of,” that is, to the self-centered and self-satisfied, whatever their financial or social status.

The fourth beatitude: Addressing his disciples, Jesus calls those who are persecuted for their Faith blessed because 1) they are eligible for a glorious reward ("Your reward will be great in Heaven"), 2) they are given the privilege of sharing in the pain, suffering, and rejection which Jesus himself endured for our sins, and 3) they are following in the footsteps of the martyrs of the Old Testament period and of the early martyrs of the infant Church. The thousands of Christians who courageously face persecution for their Faith in different parts of the world today share in the same beatitude.  Bearing heroic witness to their Faith in Christ Jesus, they teach and inspire us to do the same.

Liberation theology in the “Beatitudes.” Luke presents the beatitudes as reinforcing what Mary had said a few chapters earlier in the Magnificat: “He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty."  The themes of the beatitudes reappear throughout both Luke's Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Luke’s account, alone among the Gospels, expands on the words spoken by Jesus at his inaugural sermon in Nazareth. There, Jesus declared an “option for the poor” and a “theology of liberation” with the powerful theme of economic and social reversal clearly stated. Luke’s account also demonstrates Jesus' solidarity with the poor, the oppressed, and the vulnerable and with women, minorities, and the socially despised. In both Matthew and Luke, the beatitudes are a “series of bomb-shells” or “flashes of lightning followed by the thunder of surprise and shock" for Jesus’ hearers. That is because Jesus reverses our “natural” assumption that happiness lies in riches, pleasure, comfort and influence, and emphasizes the paradoxical   blessedness of poverty, hunger, sorrow, and persecution, not in themselves but in what they can do.  He also challenges his listeners to find the fulfillment of all their needs in God. Jesus teaches that, although the poor are despised, resented or pitied by the world, God loves them deeply in their poverty, their sadness, their hunger and their deprived status. This is the basis of the so-called "option for the poor" that we are called to have.  

 Liberation of the oppressed: If the poor, the hungry, the sorrowful and the hated are all blessed, then why should anyone attempt to help them improve their lot?  The answer is that there is a difference between choosing poverty and being plunged into it without one’s choice, due to an unjust socio-political situation.   There are a few, only a few, saints like Francis of Assisi, who freely choose the sufferings and hardships that poverty brings. That is not what the Beatitude suggests, nor what Jesus asks of most of us. It is true that we are unable to eradicate poverty from the face of the earth. But we can help, either directly or by working with others for our poor brothers and sisters to improve their living conditions and education, so that they may choose to free themselves from the poverty thrust upon them by greedy exploiters. Luke’s account offers the rich the good news that their salvation lies in their concern for the poor and in the good stewardship of sharing their goods with others in need. But the rich among us remain cursed as long as they remain unwilling to share their surplus with the needy. In short, in the beatitudes, Jesus envisions a society where the resources which belong to all are divided among all according to need, making everyone blessed and happy.

Life Messages: 1) We need to respond to the challenge of the beatitudes in our daily life.  Millions are starving, persecuted, homeless, and leading hopeless lives. The only way the promises of the beatitudes can become a reality for them is through the efforts of people like us. That is why we are told that we will be judged on the basis of our acts of mercy and charity (Mt. 25:31-46).  St. Teresa of Calcutta, (Mother Teresa) and her Sisters have accepted this challenge and demonstrate that we can “live the beatitudes” in the modern world.  Hence, let us remember that each time we reach out to help the needy, the sick, and the oppressed, we share with them a foretaste of the promises of the beatitudes here and now. Just as the apostles were called to minister to society's untouchables, all Christians are called to minister to the untouchables, and the discriminated against, and the marginalized in our own modern society.  

2) Let us light a candle instead of blaming the political set-up.   Suppose we put the entire human family into a microcosm of one hundred people.   Eighty of them live in sub-standard housing, fifty are malnourished, and seventy are unable to read, while only one of them has a college education or owns a computer. Six of those one hundred people possess 59% of the world's wealth and five of them are from the United States.  This may help us to get a picture of the poverty in our world.   God, however, doesn't need such a microcosm.   He   sees the whole human family.   He knows that 50% of His children are hungry, 80% live in substandard housing and 70% have no education. If over half our children were hungry, cold and uneducated, how would we respond to their suffering?  God wants us to live as brothers and sisters who care for one another. This is why, down through the centuries, individuals, congregations and church bodies have practiced charity in creative, faithful ways. They have operated soup kitchens, food banks, clothing centers, homeless shelters and housing programs.  Individuals have taken care of their neighbors, helping them out with food, clothing and shelter when there was need

3) We must take care to choose our way wisely. "There are two Ways, one of Life and one of Death, and there is a great difference between the two Ways." These are the opening lines of the "Didache" a first century Christian catechism used to teach new Christians the essence of the Christian Faith. The way of life is the way of Jesus, the way of the beatitudes, the way of loving service to God and our brothers and sisters that leads to eternal life. The other way is the way of death. It is the way of self-centeredness, self-reliance, immorality, self-indulgence and immediate gratification. It leads to death and hell. Which way are we going? The challenge of the beatitudes is: “Are you going to be happy in the world’s way or in Christ’s way?” If we choose the world’s way, we are seeking our blessings in the wrong place.

JOKE OF THE WEEK:

# 1: Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God: This is taken from the national archivesof the letters of pure-hearted kids to their pastors proving how pure they are in heart: Dear Pastor, I know God loves everybody, but He never met my sister. Yours sincerely, Arnold. Age 8, Nashville. Dear Pastor, please say in your sermon that Peter Peterson has been a good boy all week. I am Peter Peterson. Sincerely, Pete. Age 9, Phoenix. Dear Pastor, my father should be a minister. Every day he gives us a sermon about something. Robert Anderson, age 11. Dear Pastor, I'm sorry I can't leave more money in the plate, but my father didn't give me a raise in my allowance. Could you have a sermon about a raise in my allowance? Love, Patty. Age 10, New Haven. Dear Pastor, My mother is very religious. She goes to play Bingo at Church every week even if she has a cold. Yours truly, Annette. Age 9, Albany. Dear Pastor, I would like to go to Heaven someday because I know my brother won't be there. Stephen. Age 8, Chicago. Dear Pastor, I think a lot more people would come to your Church if you moved it to Disneyland. Loreen. Age 9. Tacoma. Dear Pastor, Please say a prayer for our Little League team. We need God's help or a new pitcher. Thank you, Alexander. Age 10, Raleigh.Dear Pastor, My father says I should learn the Ten Commandments. But I don't think I want to because we have enough rules already in my house. Joshua. Age 10, South Pasadena. Dear Pastor, who does God pray to? Is there a God for God? Sincerely, Christopher. Age 9, Titusville. Dear Pastor, Are there any devils on earth? I think there may be one in my class. Carla. Age 10, Salina. Dear Pastor, How does God know the good people from the bad people? Do you tell Him or does He read about it in the newspapers? Sincerely, Marie. Age 9, Lewiston

2) Blessed are the peace makers:Choice of Weapons:   Little Johnny came home from the playground with a bloody nose, black eye, and torn clothing. It was obvious he'd been in a bad fight and lost. While his father was patching him up, he asked his son what happened. "Well, Dad," said Johnny, "I challenged Larry to a duel. And, you know, I gave him his choice of weapons." "Uh-huh," said the father, "that seems fair." "I know, but I never thought he'd choose his big sister!"

3) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: Religious Holidays:  An atheist complained to a friend, "Christians have their special holidays, such as Christmas and Easter; and Jews celebrate their holidays, such as Passover and Yom Kippur; Muslims have their holidays. EVERY religion has its holidays.  But we atheists,"  he said,  "have no recognized national holidays.  It's an unfair discrimination."  His friend replied, "Well,...why don't you celebrate April first?"

Prepared by: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604.

Central theme: The readings today are linked together by one main theme:  the power of Christian love, when exercised in unconditional forgiveness by the believing community of forgiven sinners. The readings also instruct us about our right and wrong choices. The right choices lead us to God, and the wrong ones break our relationship with Him and with one another.

Scripture lessons:  The first reading shows us how David made the right choice, respecting God’s anointed king by forgiving his offenses, while Saul continued to make the wrong choices, perpetuating his misery with his revenge. In the Responsorial Psalm, Ps 103, the Psalmist reminds us of the mercy of God and His compassion which we should practice.  In the second reading, St. Paul tells us how the “First Adam” made a wrong choice of disobedience, bringing death into the world, whereas Jesus, the “Second Adam,” made the correct choice of fulfilling his Father’s saving plan. Today’s Gospel (Luke 6: 27-38) gives us Jesus' revolutionary moral teaching about correct choices in our human relationships, placing special emphasis on the golden rule, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” This golden rule is amplified by a string of particular commands:  "Love your enemies...Do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you and pray for those who maltreat you."  For Jesus, love is a fundamental attitude that seeks another’s good.  Jesus orders us to love our enemies and to be merciful as God our Father is merciful. Jesus challenges us to do for others what God has done for us. “Be compassionate, as your Father is compassionate." He concludes by instructing us to stop judging and start forgiving.

Life Messages: 1) We need to practice grace-filled behavior: What makes Christianity distinct from any other religion is the quality known as grace, i.e., God’s own life working in us, so that we are able to treat others, not as they deserve, but with love, kindness and mercy. God is good to the unjust as well as to the just.  Hence, our love for others, even those who are ungrateful and selfish towards us, must be marked by the same kindness and mercy which God has shown to us. His love conquers our hurts, fears, prejudices and grief.  Only the cross of Jesus Christ can free us from the tyranny of malice, hatred, revenge, and resentment, and give us the courage to return good for evil. 

2)  We need to pray for the strength to forgive. At every Mass we pray the “Our Father”, asking God to forgive us as we forgive others. Our challenge is to overcome our natural inclination to hate family members, co-workers, neighbors etc. who offend us. To meet that challenge, we need to ask God for the strength to forgive each other. We must forgive, because only forgiveness truly heals us. If we remember how God has forgiven us, it will help us forgive others. Let us start forgiving right now by curbing the sharp tongue of criticism, suppressing the revenge instinct and tolerating the irritating behavior of a neighbor.

VII [C] SUNDAY: I Sm 26 2:7-9, 12-13, 22-23; I Cor 15:45-49; Lk 6:27-38

Anecdote: # 1: Adopt an orphaned Muslim child in your Hindu family. In his autobiography, “The Story of My Experiments with Truth,” Mahatma Gandhi mentions the “Sermon on the Mount” as one of the main religious works that inspired him to search for ways of bringing about political freedom for India by non-violent resistance to oppression. He writes: “I came to see that the Sermon on the Mount was the whole of Christianity for one who wanted to live a Christian life. It is that sermon that has endeared Jesus to me."  In 1947, when British India was divided into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan, Mahatma Gandhi went on a hunger strike to end the communal violence which had erupted between Hindu and Moslem fanatics in the Indo-Pakistani Border States. During this time, a Hindu fanatic came to him and confessed, "I will surely go to hell and no one can save me."  Gandhi asked the man why he thought he was doomed to hell. The man replied that he was a Hindu, and that Muslims had killed his child during a riot. In revenge, he had slaughtered a Muslim child and his parents, but felt very guilty afterwards. Gandhi said, "I know one way to save you from going to hell. “Find a Muslim child who has lost his parents, take him home, bring him up and educate him so that he grows up as a Muslim in your Hindu family. Then you won't go to hell."   When Mohandas Gandhi was gunned down in 1948, his last gesture was to press his palms together and raise his folded hands to his lips in the Hindu sign of forgiveness. Martin Luther King was a great admirer of Gandhi. When a gang of racial fanatics set fire to King’s house, an Afro-American mob gathered, ready to take revenge.  But he told them, "When you live by the rule ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,' you end up with a nation of blind and toothless people."  Then he led the gathering in prayer for the white brothers who had burned his house. That is what the "Amazing Grace" of forgiveness, the central theme of today’s readings, is all about. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)

# 2: Meeting the President to seek pardon for the worst enemy: During the Revolutionary War, Peter Miller was the pastor of a little Baptist Church in Pennsylvania. (He was also the abbot of the community of mystics at the Ephrata Cloisters whose monks helped the fighting American soldiers with food. The Reverend Peter Miller was a friend of General George Washington and was respected for his many outstanding services to the newly born republic. He also helped the President to translate the Declaration of Independence into several foreign languages so that the Imperial Courts of Europe would be aware of the intentions of the new American government). Michael Wildman, the public prosecutor lived near the church, constantly criticizing and abusing Pastor Miller and his congregation. When Wildman was caught for spying for the British army, President George Washington sentenced him to be hanged for treason. No sooner was the sentence announced than Rev. Peter Miller set out on foot to appeal to General George Washington for his enemy’s life. The president thought that Mr. Wildman was Rev. Miller’s friend and stated that he could not save Miller’s friend because of the gravity of his guilt. Miller said, “Mr. President, Mr. Wildman is not my friend; he is my worst enemy.” “What!” exclaimed Washington, “You have walked sixty miles to save the life of your enemy? That puts the matter in a different light. Pardon is granted.” Pardon in hand, Miller hurried to the place of execution, fifteen miles away. He arrived just as the traitor was being led to the scaffold. Seeing the pastor Miller coming close to the executing officer, the condemned Wildman shouted, “Here is the old Peter Miller. He came to get his revenge by seeing me hanged.” Miler calmly stepped forward and gave him the pardon, signed by General Washington.  Rev. Miller lived by the command Jesus gave us as described in today’s Gospel passage: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Adapted from Msgr. Arthur Tonne &  http://rosicrucian.50webs.com/various/palo-day-washington-cried.htm).

# 3: Two presidents and a truck driver: When President Gerald Ford granted former President Richard Nixon “a free, full and absolute pardon” for his participation and perjury in the “Watergate” scandal, many considered Ford’s decision to be an act of weakness. In 1977, when President Jimmy Carter offered amnesty to those who, during the Vietnamese War, had avoided being conscripted, he was criticized for not enforcing the law. Both men, one a Republican, the other a Democrat, “took the heat”, as it were, because neither was motivated by partisan politics or the pressure of public opinion. Each had chosen to go beyond the limits of strict justice in order to exercise a mercy that was dictated, not by law, but by a conscience formed on Gospel principles. During the race riots in Los Angeles, in the aftermath of the Rodney King incident, a truck driver named Reginald Denny was pulled from his vehicle and severely beaten with a brick. When the case went to trial in 1993, Denny stunned the courtroom with his offer of forgiveness to those who had almost killed him. Later Denny said that only by forgiving the perpetrators of the crime against him had he been able to put the event behind him and move on. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)

Introduction: The readings today are linked together by one main theme:  the power of Christian love, when exercised in unconditional forgiveness. The readings also instruct us about our right and wrong choices. The right choices lead us to God, and the wrong ones break our relationship with Him and with one another. The first reading shows us how David made the right choice respecting God’s anointed king by forgiving his offenses, while Saul continued to make the wrong choices, perpetuating his misery with his revenge. In the Responsorial Psalm, Ps 103, the Psalmist reminds us of the mercy of God and His compassion for us “as a Father has compassion on His children.”  In the second reading, St. Paul tells us how the “First Adam” made a wrong choice of disobedience, bringing death into the world, whereas Jesus, the “Second Adam,” made the correct choice of fulfilling his Father’s saving plan. Today’s Gospel (Luke 6:27-38), gives us Jesus' revolutionary moral teaching about correct choices in our human relationships, placing special emphasis on the Golden Rule, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” This Golden Rule, is amplified by a string of particular commands:  "Love your enemies...Do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you and pray for those who maltreat you."  For Jesus, love is a fundamental attitude that seeks another’s good.  Jesus orders us to love our enemies and to be merciful as God our Father is merciful. Jesus challenges us to do for others what God does for us. “Be compassionate, as your Father is compassionate." He concludes by instructing us to stop judging and start forgiving.

The first reading (1 Sm 26: 2: 7-9, 12-13, 22-23) explained: This reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, gives us a vivid example of self-control, forgiveness, and mercy.   The ancient Israelites were governed first by Moses, then by a long line of judges. Since they noticed the progress made by their Gentile neighbors who had kings, the Israelites finally prevailed on their last Judge, Samuel to ask God for a king for them. (1 Samuel: 8). The king was Saul. In Saul's army, the youth David won a famous victory over Goliath, and thereby gained the admiration of the people and the envy of King Saul. Saul and his "three thousand picked men" went in search of David to kill him. Yet, David and Abishai were able to steal into Saul's camp and stand over the sleeping king. But David turned down Abishai's offer to "nail Saul to the ground with one thrust of the spear.” ”Do not harm him," David commanded. Then taking Saul's spear and water jug, he went to an opposite hill and yelled across to Abner, Saul's lieutenant:  "Here is the king's spear.... Today, though Yahweh delivered him into my grasp, I would not harm Yahweh's anointed." David’s sense of justice, spirit of forgiveness, and respect for Divine authority helped him to go beyond the retaliation which others expected him to show. David is an image of Christ and an example to us. If he can forgive his mortal enemy, so can, and so should, we.

The second reading (I Cor. 15:45-49) explained:  Here we have Saint Paul's doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus, contrasting Christ, "the last Adam," with Adam, the "first Adam."   He reminds the Corinthian community that everyone shares in the sinful nature of the "first Adam." But he encourages his followers to remember that by Baptism they also share in the spiritual nature of Jesus -- the "last Adam."   Hence, we Christians are expected to go beyond our earthly, natural desire to seek revenge and retaliation. Instead, when we are injured, we are to offer the Christian response of forgiveness and mercy, whether our culture accepts or rejects it. If, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we do so, we share in the life of the risen Christ, both here and now, and after our death.

Gospel exegesis: The Gospel passage contains four commands of Jesus: love, forgive, do good, and pray. They specify the kind of love that the Christian follower is expected to show toward an enemy. The ‘enemy’ is one who injures hates or rejects the Christian. 1) Love your enemies: This command proposes a course of action that is contrary to human nature. Jesus invites those who follow him to repudiate their natural inclinations and instead follow his example and the example of the heavenly Father. He recommends, not merely a warm affection (philia), such as one might have for one’s family, or a passionate devotion (eros), such as one might expect between spouses, but a gracious, active interest (agape), in the welfare of precisely those persons who are antagonistic to us. Agape is the love that cares deeply for others simply because they are created in God’s image, and wishes them well because that is what God wishes. Jesus not only commanded us to love our enemies, he also gave us the most vivid and awesome example of this type of love in action.   While hanging on the cross, he prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

2) Offer your other cheek to the one who strikes you.   This injunction and that in v. 30, cut through the old principle of retaliation (Ex 21:24; Lev 24:20; Dt 19:21-30). Jesus is not saying that we should permit the destruction of the innocent and   defenseless or allow ourselves to be abused or killed! The Catechism is very clear on this point: “Self-defense is morally legitimate, as long as it’s proportional to the attack. Let us remember that the commandment is ‘Love your neighbor AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF’...Love toward oneself remains a fundamental principle of morality. Therefore it is legitimate to insist on respect for one’s own right to life” (CCC 2264). What are the challenges Jesus gives us in this command to "turn the other cheek”?   First, he challenges us to forgive others totally and completely, which means letting go of any and every grudge. He also challenges us not to seek vengeance.  In addition, he wants us to be patient with the shortcomings of others and to love everyone, even our enemies. (CCC-2264). So the bottom line is this: It’s morally wrong not to defend the innocent, when we have a responsibility to do so; it’s morally legitimate to defend ourselves from an unjust aggressor; but it can be virtuous to endure unjust sufferings and even martyrdom for the sake of Jesus Christ and his Gospel.

3) “Forgive and you will be forgiven. Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” This message might have sounded very strange to the Jews, who were familiar with a God who was merciful to his own people and vengeful to their enemies, as pictured in Psalms 18, 72 and 92. But Jesus repeats his teaching on forgiveness, both in the prayer he taught his disciples “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” (Mt 68:12; Lk 11:4), and in his final commandment to his apostles, “Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another” (Jn 15:12). Another good reason for us to forgive our enemies is, “(so that everyone will know that we are disciples of the Most High” (Jn 13:34-35). That is, Christianforgiveness can be a form of evangelization. Jesus does not advise his followers to overlook evils, wars, economic disparity, and exploitation of the vulnerable. Instead, we are called to forgive, to be merciful and not to retaliate.  But we cannot achieve this level of love and forgiveness by ourselves. We need the power of God working through us by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

4) The Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Christian ethics consists not in merely refraining from evil, but in actively doing good, not only to those who are friends, but to those who hate us or do evil against us.  In other words, Jesus expects us to rise above our human instincts and imitate the goodness and generosity of God.  The observance of the golden rule makes us like God whose love and mercy embrace saints and sinners alike. At the same time the Golden Rule does not require that we allow others to take advantage of us.  

Life Messages: 1) Invitation to grace-filled behavior: What makes Christianity distinct from any other religion is the quality known as grace,i.e., God’s own life working in us, so that we are able to treat others, not as they deserve but with love, kindness and mercy. God is good to the unjust as well as to the just.  Hence our love for others, even those who are ungrateful and selfish towards us, must be marked by the same kindness and mercy which God has shown to us.  When we pray for those who do us wrong, we break the power of hate in ourselves and in others and release the power of love.  How can we possibly love those who cause us harm?  God gives the necessary power and grace to those who believe and accept the gift of the Holy Spirit.  His love conquers our hurts, fears, prejudices and grief.  Only the cross of Jesus Christ can free us from the tyranny of malice, hatred, revenge, and resentment, and give us the courage to return good for evil. 

2) Accept the challenges of day-to-day life. Jesus challenges our willingness to endure unjust suffering for his sake and the sake of his Gospel. For example, we must often endure the suffering that comes when a co-worker calls us "a religious fanatic" because we believe in the Ten Commandments; the pain that comes when family members refuse to associate with us because we take our Faith seriously and refuse to compromise our beliefs; the suffering that comes to a practicing Christian youth who is ostracized by his friends because he won’t do drugs or engage in promiscuous sexual activity. These are examples of the "little martyrdoms" that Jesus challenges us to embrace every day in his name! (CCC 2264)

3) Pray for the strength to forgive. At every Mass we pray the “Our Father,” asking God to forgive us as we forgive others. Our challenge is to overcome our natural inclination to hate. To meet that challenge we need to ask God for the strength to forgive each other. Each of us needs to ask: do I have anyone in my life I call an enemy?  Is there anyone who actually hates me? Are there people who would really curse me?  Is there anyone in my life who mistreats me-–a boss, a teacher, a parent, a co-worker, a family member, a former spouse?   These things hurt us, and they are often difficult to forgive.  However, we must forgive, because only forgiveness truly heals us. If we remember how God has forgiven us, it will help us forgive others.   For those who have hurt us, Jesus tells us our response should be love: “Forgive and you will be forgiven.” Let us start forgiving right now by curbing the sharp tongue of criticism, suppressing the revenge instinct and tolerating the irritating behavior of a neighbor.

4) Let us try to live our lives in accordance with “the Golden Rule."  Let us examine our conscience. Is generosity central to our lives, or do we often choose selfishness instead? Are we willing to trust in God’s providence, or do we place our Faith in ourselves? Do we really accept and embrace our responsibility for one another and for the world we live in, or do we see all things in terms of our own wants and needs? Do we allow emotions such as hatred and jealousy guide our spiritual lives, or do we try to be more like our Lord?

Joke of the week #1: "Forgive Your Enemies" The preacher's Sunday sermon was, "Forgive Your Enemies." He asked, “How many have forgiven their enemies?" About half held up their hands. He then repeated the question.  This time about eighty percent held up their hands. He then repeated his question a third time. The entire congregation held up their hands except one elderly lady. "Mrs. Jones," the preacher asked, "aren't you willing to forgive your enemies?" "I don't have any" she replied.  "That is very unusual”, the preacher said. "How old are you?" "Ninety-three.” "Mrs. Jones, please come to the front and tell the congregation how a person cannot have an enemy in the world." The little sweetheart of a lady tottered down the aisle and said: "It's easy; I just outlived all those rascals."

# 2: The preacher and the doctor:  There’s a story told of a husband and wife both of whom were doctors - one a Doctor of Theology and the other a Doctor of Medicine. When their doorbell was rung and the maid answered, the inquirer would often ask for "the doctor". The maid’s interesting reply was: "Do you want the one who preaches or the one who practices?"   

#: Irish prayer: There is an old Irish blessing that goes like this, “May God bless those who love us. And those who do not love us, may He turn their hearts. And if He does not turn their hearts, may He turn their ankles so we may know them by their limping.”

Prepared by: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604.

Synopsis of OT X Sunday homily (June 5) on Luke 7: 11-17 (L/16)

Introduction:  The central theme of today’s readings is that, in a world of broken hearts, God sees and cares for us in our grief. He has compassion on our miseries and gives us His healing touch. Today’s Scripture readings challenge us to become channels of God’s compassionate and healing love and to place our hope in Jesus who gives us resurrection and eternal life.

Scripture lessons: The first reading, taken from I Kings 17, shows us how our merciful God uses His prophet Elijah to resuscitate the only the son of the poor widow of Zarephath who had given the prophet accommodation in her house during the famine. In the second reading, taken from the letter to the Galatians, St. Paul declares that the Good News of God’s love, mercy and salvation which he preaches has been directly revealed to him by God, Who had chosen him for ministry from his mother’s womb.  Today’s Gospel story reveals to us the compassionate heart of God in Jesus.  Meeting a funeral procession coming out of the village of Nain, Jesus was visibly moved at the sight of the weeping widow, going out with the town to bury her only son. Perhaps he could foresee his own mother in the same position at the foot of his cross. So Jesus stopped the funeral procession, touched the bier, consoled the mother and surprised everyone by resuscitating the boy, thus extending God’s love and compassion to the grieving mother.

Life messages: 1) We need to become channels of God’s compassionate and healing love as Jesus was: The Gospel reminds us to have the same love and compassion for those who suffer that Jesus had. Our deeds of love will transform the broken-hearted and help them to experience God as the Father who has come among His people. We need to ask God for the grace to become like Christ for the others in our daily lives. Our society needs saints, and we can each be one in our own environment. As our Lord comforted this woman, let us comfort others.

2) We need to be spiritually alive: This story should help us to look at our own situation and see, first of all, how alive we really are. When we live in mortal sin, we are physically alive and spiritually dead. We receive spiritual revival in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. St. Augustine comments, "Our Mother, the Church, rejoices every day when people are raised again in spirit sacramentally.”

3) We need to offer our broken hearts to Jesus: We need to bring our deepest hurts and broken relationships to Jesus and experience how he reaches out to us and grants us his loving reconciliation. Let us invite Jesus to transform even the most difficult situations in our life. The Lord Jesus still raises the dead.  We trust that promise each time we bring our shattered lives, our broken hearts, our anger, our depression, our deepest hurts to the table of the Lord and, in the priest, hear him say: "This is my body; this is my blood given and shed for you!"

OT X [C] (June 5): I Kgs 17:17-24; Gal 1:11-19; Lk 7: 11-17

Anecdotes: # 1: “And I know, there’ll be no more tears in Heaven.” Many of you are familiar with Eric Clapton, the Grammy Award winning English guitarist, singer and composer. Clapton is one of the most influential musicians of the rock era. He has been honored an unprecedented three times by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On a warm spring day in March of 1991 Eric Clapton received a phone call from his wife, Lori. In a frantic voice she told him that their four-and-a-half-year-old son, Connor, had just accidentally fallen to his death after crawling out of an open window of their 53rd floor Manhattan apartment. Clapton could not believe what he was hearing and rushed over the ten blocks to find paramedic equipment everywhere, and ambulances, and police cars. Only then did he begin to realize with a sinking heart, “Oh my God, it is true.” Out of his suffering, Clapton turned to his music and wrote a very personal song to express his grief . . . his struggle to live with the loss of his son . . . his yearning to know peace in his life again. You may remember the song. It became a popular hit. It is called, “Tears in Heaven,” and its lyrics speak of Clapton’s search for the healing of his shattered heart. These are the words he wrote to his son:

“Would you know my name if I saw you in heaven? Would you hold my hand, if I saw you in heaven? I must be strong to carry on, ’cause I know I don’t belong here in heaven.” The last words of the song are these: “Beyond the door, there’s peace for sure, and I know, there’ll be no more tears in heaven.” (“Tears in Heaven,” Published by Hal Leonard. Cited by Benjamin R. Bishop:video:

# 2: No kissing of Bible for his Presidential inauguration: Did you know that the first president of the United States to refuse to kiss the Bible after his oath at his inauguration was Franklin Pierce, the 14^th President? The reason is rather interesting. When Pierce had been elected, he and Mrs. Pierce and their son, two weeks before the inauguration, were taking a trip to Concord, New Hampshire, and, of course, they were doing it by train. The train had not gone far out of the station, when there was a lurch, a jolt, and the car the Pierces were in, tumbled off the tracks and down an embankment. Neither the president nor his wife was injured in the accident, but their son was killed. Franklin Pierce brooded over this, as would most of us. He asked the question of God that so many of us would have asked. Why would God at this moment of triumph permit this tragedy in their lives? Although a former Brigadier General and a famous lawyer, he  was so upset by the personal tragedy and angry with God  that he refused to kiss the Bible used at the inaugural oath taking ceremony. [People (February 6, 1989), pp. 47-51.] (John Quincy Adams was the only previous President who placed his hand on a Constitutional Law volume instead of a Bible. But it was not because he was angry with God). Today’s Gospel story describes how Jesus transforms the despair and sorrow of a widow by raising her only son from death.

# 3: “That crypt’s got the most lipstick on it.”  Frances Jerz, sixty-five, lost her husband. She told columnist Roger Simon of theChicago Sun-Times that even after three years, she still cries. Mr. Jerz had been a machine operator and was approaching retirement when he succumbed to cancer. Every Sunday Mrs. Jerz gets dressed up like he’s there in the house with her. Her daughter drives her to the cemetery. She touches the stone and she feels like he’s close to her. “That crypt’s got the most lipstick on it,” she says. “I kiss it every time I’m there.” [James C. Hefley, Life Changes (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1984), p. 97.] Some of you can relate to her pain. Some people have a terrible time dealing with the loss of a spouse. Life comes to a grinding halt. That's what happened to the widow in today’s Gospel who lost her only son in death.

Introduction:  The central theme of today’s readings is that, in a world of broken hearts, God sees and cares for us in our grief. He shows compassion on our miseries and gives us His healing touch. Today’s Scripture readings challenge us to become channels of God’s compassionate, healing love and to place our hope in Jesus who gives us resurrection and eternal life. The first reading, taken from I Kings 17, shows us how our merciful God uses His prophet Elijah to resuscitate the only the son of the poor widow of Zarephath who had given the prophet accommodation in her house during a famine. In the second reading, taken from the letter to the Galatians, St. Paul declares that the Good News of God’s love, mercy and salvation which he preaches has been directly revealed to him by God, Who had chosen him for ministry from his mother’s womb Today’s Gospelstory reveals to us the compassionate heart of God in Jesus.  Meeting a funeral procession coming out of the village of Nain, Jesus was visibly moved at the sight of the weeping widow going with the town to bury her only son. Perhaps he could foresee his own mother in the same position at the foot of his cross. In addition, Jesus knew that the widows were one of the most destitute, dependent, and vulnerable classes of Israelite society, totally dependent for support on the mercy of others, of the local synagogues and of the Temple in Jerusalem. So Jesus stopped the funeral procession, touched the bier, consoled the mother and surprised every one by resuscitating the boy, thus extending God’s love and compassion to the bereaved mother.

The first reading:  In the story from I Kings, the prophet Elijah is a lodger in the upper room of the house of a widow during the great famine. This widow had been very kind to Elijah. But tragically her only son became very ill and stopped breathing. In utter desperation and anger the poor widow struck out at Elijah, as if somehow this were his fault.   Grief often gives rise to misplaced anger, and hurting people hurt other people.  This woman was hurting, and so she struck out at Elijah. Elijah realized that it was his turn to help her in her tragedy. He took the boy from her arms, carried him to his own bedroom, and laid him on the bed. Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” And the writer of I Kings tells us, “The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

The second reading: In Galatia, Paul encountered conflicts caused by hostile elements, people whose misguided efforts threatened to stifle the Church’s growth among the Gentiles. St. Paul had to clarify both his authority to preach and the source of his teaching to his opponents. Here in his letter to the Galatians, he declares that the Good News of God’s love, mercy and salvation which he has been preaching have been directly revealed to him by God who chose him for this ministry from his mother’s womb.

Exegesis: The context: Today's Gospel presents one of the three accounts in the Gospel of Jesus’ raising of a dead person to life. The other stories are those of Lazarus and of Jairus, the synagogue leader’s daughter. Today's story is found only in Luke. Nain is a village six miles SE of Nazareth, and it is mentioned nowhere else in the Bible.

A great, irreparable loss ruining the life a widow: Widows formed one of the most destitute, dependent, and vulnerable classes of Israelite society. To be a widow was to be completely dependent upon others for the provision of shelter and daily sustenance. Under the Israelite theocracy, it was through the husband that wife received the inheritance of land, financial security and physical sustenance. Unlike our society in which the modern woman has the freedom to work and to care for herself, the Israelite woman could not provide for herself. As a result, the worst thing that could happen to a woman was for her to lose her husband. Then she was left in the most vulnerable and destitute of conditions. As a result, the Old Covenant law protected widows and made provision for them. For example, in Deuteronomy 24, there are regulations that prevent the Israelites from harvesting their fields more than once. Why? So that whatever remained of the harvest after the first pass would then be given to the destitute of society, which included the widows. The first harvest was for the land-owner. The remaining harvest was given to the poor. Even then, the widow was left completely dependent upon the graciousness of the landowners and their obedience to the Mosaic Law.

First century Jewish burial customs: Among the Jews, burial was required before sunset on the day a person died. The Jewish law severely restricted who could touch a dead body. Basically, only those who prepared the body for burial ever touched a corpse, for to do so made a Jew religiously unclean and temporarily disqualified from participation in religious services. A high priest was not allowed to do so much as to enter the room with a dead body, even if it were the body of one of his parents. On the practical side, this was probably a good public health measure to limit the spread of infectious diseases. On the cultural side, it had been ingrained into the minds of the people for generations. No one, especially very religious people, touched dead bodies unless they absolutely had to.

Jesus' touch of human kindness: The Scriptures make clear that God takes no pleasure in the death of anyone (see Ezekiel 33:11); God desires life, not death. The story of Naomi in the book of Ruth reminds us of what happens when sons die. After losing both her husband and her two sons, Naomi laments, "Call me no longer Naomi (that is, pleasant), call me Mara (that is,bitter)." In the story of the widow of Zarephath (I Kings 17:8-16), the widow announces, "Just now, I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die" (1 Kings 17: 12), the famine having made even the meager existence they had had impossible. Widows and orphans were a particular concern of the prophets. Jesus stands in that prophetic tradition. The scene at Nain is particularly sad because the mother in this story, who had already lost her husband, has now lost her only son and her only means of support. Jesus was visibly moved by the sight of the weeping widow, perhaps because he could foresee his own mother in the same position at the foot of his cross. His compassionate heart prompted him to console the widow saying: "Do not weep." Then Luke reports, “He touched the bier and when the bearers stood still, he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, arise.’ And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother,” and participated in her indescribable joy.

Revelation of Jesus’ Divinity and humanity: Jesus’ physical touch not only restored life but brought freedom and wholeness to soul as well as body. Christ comes to restore what was lost. He, in fact, acts to remove the cause of pain and sorrow, “for I, the LORD, am your Healer” (Exodus 15:26).  In reading this fragment of the Gospel about the resuscitation of that young man of Nain, we could emphasize Jesus' Divinity alone by saying that only God could have brought back his life to this young man. But here we see Jesus’ humanity as well. We don’t see Jesus in the Gospel episode as a remote Divine Being, but as somebody close to us, sharing our loss and sorrow. Jesus’ raising of the widow’s son was also a sign of the spiritual resurrection offered to all people. Jesus is showing concern about the need for us to be spiritually alive here and now.

The reaction of the people around was one of awe and admiration. "A great prophet has risen among us and God has visited his people." They had no doubts about the origin of what they had seen taking place; it was the work of God. Not surprisingly, the story spread like wildfire all through Judea and beyond.

Old Testament parallel cases: There were instances in the Old Testament of people being raised from death: by Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-24), and Elisha (2 Kings 4:32-37). This miracle of Jesus took place near the spot where the prophet Elisha had brought another mother's son back to life again (see 2 Kings 4:18-37). These miracles were signs of the power of God working through His prophets.  In the case of the widow’s son in today’s Gospel, the miracle showed the people that Jesus, like Elijah and Elisha, was, at the least, a great prophet.

Life messages: 1) We need to become channels of God’s compassionate and healing love as Jesus was: The event also reminds us to have the same love and compassion for those who suffer that Jesus had. Our deeds of love will transform the broken-hearted and help them to experience God as the Father who has come among His people. We must ask God for the grace to be like Christ for the others in our daily lives. Those who saw St. Francis of Assisi, for instance, were also seeing Jesus in him. Saints are those who carry Jesus in their words and deeds, imitating his way of doing things and his goodness. Our society need saints, and we can each be one in our own environment. Those who hurt also need comfort, and again, it is our responsibility to offer that comfort. As our Lord comforted this woman, let us comfort others (Galatians 6:2, Romans 12:15).

2) We need to be spiritually alive: This story should help us to look at our own situation and see, first of all, how alive we really are. When we live in mortal sin we are physically alive and spiritually dead. We need the spiritual revival offered to us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. St. Augustine comments,   "Our Mother, the Church, rejoices every day when people are raised again in spirit sacramentally.”

3) We need to offer our broken hearts to Jesus: We need to bring our deepest hurts and broken relationships to Jesus and experience how he reaches out to us to grant us his loving reconciliation. Let us invite Jesus to transform the most difficult situations in our life. The Lord Jesus still raises the dead.  We trust that promise each time we bring our shattered lives, our broken hearts, our anger, our depression, our deepest hurts to the table of the Lord and hear, in the voice of the priest, His sure and certain words: "This is my Body and this is my Blood given and shed for you!"

Joke of the week

1)      Life after death: The boss asked one of the employees whether he believed in life after death. “Yes, Sir, the employee replied. “Well, then that makes everything fine,” the boss said “After you left yesterday to go to your grandmother’s funeral, she stopped in here in the office to see you.”

2)      How to get to Heaven from Ireland: The Sunday school teacher was testing children in her Dublin Sunday  School class to see if they understood the  concept of getting to Heaven. I asked them, "If I sold my house and my car, had a big jumble sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into heaven?" "NO!" the children answered. "If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the garden, and kept everything tidy, would that get me into heaven?" Again, the answer was 'No!'  By now I was starting to smile. "Well, then, if I were kind to animals and gave sweeties to all the children, and loved my husband, would that get me into heaven?" Again, they all answered 'No!' I was just bursting with pride for them. I continued, "Then how can I get into Heaven?" A six-year old boy shouted from the back. “First, you have to die!”

3)      Nearness of death: There was a man who went in for a physical and got a call from the doctor a couple of days later. The doctor said that he had bad news and worse news. "Give me the bad" the man asked. "Your tests showed that you had 48 hours to live." replied the doctor. "That’s the bad news! That’s the worst thing I have ever heard! How can there be worse news that that?" The man asked. The doctor paused for a moment then replied, "Well, I’ve been trying to reach you for 2 days now.”

4)      What they'll say when you're dead: Three highly decorated police officers die in a wild shoot out with narcotics dealers and go to Heaven. God greets them and asks, "When you are laid out in your casket, and your fellow officers and family are mourning you, what would you like to hear them say about you?" The first cop says, "I would like to hear them say, that I was the bravest cop on the force." The second police officer says, "I would like to hear that I was a terrific cop who died in the line of duty." The last cop replies, "I would like to hear them say ... 'Look, he's moving!"

Synopsis: OT XI [C] (June 12) Sunday Homily Lk 7: 36 -- 8:3 (L/16)

Introduction: Today’s readings give us an invitation to repent, do penance and renew our lives instead of carrying the heavy baggage of our sins. Our God is a God Who always tries, not to punish, but to rehabilitate sinners, so that we may be made whole and experience inner peace and harmony. Today’s liturgy celebrates the fact of God’s forgiveness.

Scripture lessons: In the first reading, David’s sincere repentance for his sins of murder, adultery and deceit is met by God’s gracious and loving pardon. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 51), has been regarded as David’s prayer of repentance. It includes an acknowledgment that the injustice done against another is a sin against God Himself: “having sinned against none other than You.” St. Paul, in the second reading, reminds us that it is by Faith in Jesus that we are saved. He says that it is the realization that Christ died for us and lives in us that should bring us to true repentance, leading to renewed life in Christ. Paul suggests that the experience of forgiveness is made available to all sinners through the saving cross of Jesus. Presenting the true conversion and repentance of a public sinner, today’s Gospel invites us to real repentance. Jesus challenges us through this Gospel episode to have a forgiving attitude to our neighbor and a deep awareness of our own personal need for God’s forgiveness.

Life messages: # 1: We need to accept the mercy of God: We are challenged to accept or reject the mercy of God. We often share Simon’s mentality, displaying an attitude of lovelessness and harshness.   Let us remember that Simon’s self-sufficiency prevented him from acknowledging his need for the grace of God.  Do we invite Jesus into our lives in the hope of gaining prestige? Or do we love him because he is the one and only Savior who has died for our sins?

# 2: We need to be grateful to our forgiving God: As the repentant sinner showed her gratitude to Jesus by anointing his feet with tears and precious ointment, we too should show gratitude to God for unconditionally and repeatedly pardoning our sins. This is possible only if we try our best to keep the promises we make in our act of contrition in confession "to sin no more, and to avoid the near occasions of sin.” Our sincere attempts to avoid the occasions of sin will be proof of our sincere repentanceand the expression of our gratitude to the merciful God who has forgiven our sins.

# 3: We need to cultivate a forgiving attitude towards our neighbor: Although it is not easy, we must learn to forgive those who hurt us if we want to be able to receive the daily forgiveness we need from a merciful God. We start forgiving when we try our best to patch up quarrels, misunderstandings and disagreements and pray sincerely for the well-being of our offenders.

OT XI (June 12): II Sm 12:7-10, 13; Gal 2:16, 19-21; Lk 7:36 -- 8: 3

Anecdotes: 1) "If Jackie Kennedy can do it, so can I." William Miller, in The Joy of Feeling Good, relates the story of a woman who went to a psychiatrist because she was severely depressed. As her therapist began to probe her emotions, he discovered she had never worked through the death of her husband many years before. Her husband had died one week after President Kennedy was assassinated. This woman had watched with admiration how well Mrs. Kennedy handled the shock and trauma of her husband's death, and when her own husband died, she made up her mind to be just as composed, calm, and brave, saying to herself, "If Jackie Kennedy can do it, so can I." She did not realize that Jackie Kennedy on national television was not Jackie Kennedy behind the scenes, sharing her heartbreak with her family and friends. So that woman's grief remained repressed because she never let herself express what she was really feeling. (1) Have you ever known what it is to have a breaking heart? Have you ever let go and let the tears fall without regard for what others might think? Luke tells us about a woman who did just that. He tells us about a woman at Jesus’ feet at a banquet, whose heart was breaking in two.

2) “And that's the way it is with us." In his book, Healing for Damaged Emotions, David Seamonds deals with people who have scars that nobody else can see. He uses the analogy of those beautiful giant sequoia and redwood trees in the far western part of our country: "In most of the parks," says Seamonds, "the naturalists can show you a cross section of a great tree they have cut, and point out that the rings of the tree reveal the developmental history, year by year. Here's a ring that represents a year when there was a terrible drought. Here are a couple of rings from years when there was too much rain. Here's where the tree was struck by lightning. Here are some normal years of growth. This ring shows a forest fire that almost destroyed the tree. Here's another of savage blight and disease. All of this lies embedded in the heart of the tree, representing the autobiography of its growth. "And that's the way it is with us," Seamonds continues. "Just a few minutes beneath the protective bark, the concealing, protective mask, are the recorded rings of our lives.  "In the rings of our thoughts and emotions, the record is there; the memories are recorded, and all are alive. And they directly and deeply affect our concepts, our feelings, our relationships. They affect the way we look at life and God, at others and ourselves." (2) If we could look into the heart of this woman described in today’s Gospel, we might not be so harsh in our judgment of her. What brought her to such a wretched position in life? Was she abused as a child?

3) "Cleo really likes you, dear, and she is an excellent judge of character. A certain young woman was nervous about meeting her boyfriend's parents for the first time. As she checked out her appearance one last time, she noticed that her shoes looked dingy. So she gave them a fast swipe with the paper towel she had used to blot the bacon she had had for breakfast. Arriving at the impressive home, she was greeted by the parents and their much-beloved, but rotten-tempered, poodle. The dog got a whiff of the bacon grease on the young woman's shoes and followed her around all evening. At the end of the evening, the pleased parents remarked, "Cleo really likes you, dear, and she is an excellent judge of character. We are delighted to welcome you into our little family." It seems that perhaps Cleo was a better judge of bacon grease than she was a judge of character. The Pharisees who invited Jesus for a banquet believed that Jesus wasn't a very good judge of character when he allowed a sinful woman to kiss his feet.

Introduction: Today’s readings give us an invitation to repent, do penance and renew our lives instead of carrying the heavy baggage of our sins. Our God is a God Who always tries, not to punish, but to rehabilitate sinners, so that we may be made whole and experience inner peace and harmony. Today’s liturgy celebrates the fact of God’s forgiveness. In the first reading, David’s sincere repentance for his sins of murder, adultery and deceit is met by God’s gracious and loving pardon. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 51), has been regarded as David’s prayer of repentance. It includes an acknowledgment that the injustice done against another is a sin against God himself: “having sinned against none other than You." St. Paul, in the second reading, reminds us that it is by faith in Jesus that we are saved. He says that it is the realization that Christ died for us and lives in us that should bring us to true repentance, leading to renewed life in Christ. Paul suggests that the experience of forgiveness is made available to all sinners through the saving cross of Jesus. Presenting the true repentance and conversion of a public sinner, today’s Gospel invites us to real repentance.

 First reading: 2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13: Today’s passage gives the concluding part of the story of David and Bathsheba. In spite of his possession of Saul’s harem and several wives of his own, David became enamored of the beautiful Bathsheba, the wife ofUriah, one of his lieutenants, and committed adultery with her. In order to conceal the deed and save both himself andBathsheba from shame, David plotted against his loyal soldier Uriah, sending him into the front line of battle during Israel’s second campaign against the Ammonites.   Ordering him abandoned there, David caused Uriah’s death. Then David took the dead man’s widow for his own, and soon the child of their illicit union was born. God sent Nathan the prophet with the story of the little lamb that was the only possession of a poor man.  Nathan invited David to repentance and penance for his sins. Since David did not deny Nathan’s accusation or use his power to silence the prophet, God exempted him from the death penalty as prescribed in Exodus 21:37. But his sins did not go unpunished. Bathsheba’s son met with a premature death and later David’s sons Amnon (2 Samuel 13:29), Absalom (2 Samuel 18:14-15) and Adonias (I Kings 2:25) would also perish by the sword, thus fulfilling Nathan’s prophecy: “the sword shall never depart from your house.”

The second reading: Gal 2:16, 19-21: Writing to the Galatians, St. Paul asserts, "What makes a person right with God is not obedience to the Law but Faith in Jesus Christ." It is this Faith in the mercy of God and trust in Christ’s forgiveness which prompted the sinful woman to throw herself at Jesus’ feet and surrender herself entirely.   Her action proves that Faith is primarily an act of love and total trust. That is why St. Paul argues that it is trust in God through Jesus Christ that transforms our lives. When Paul said that a person is not justified by the works of the Law, he was referring to the Mosaic Law and all its ceremonies, the different kinds of animal sacrifices and offerings for the forgiveness of sins. With the arrival of the Messiah, the Mosaic Law had become obsolete. When Paul refers to justification by Faith, he is making reference to the necessary attitude of the person concerned. That attitude includes the acceptance of the Divine revelation made known through Christ and the individual’s necessary response to that revelation – a complete dedication of his/her personal life to Christ. Because the Christian has been crucified with Christ, it is no longer he who lives, but it is Christ who lives in him. This new status of justification has not been achieved because of the person’s good works; it was only made possible through the saving work of Christ.  Through Faith and the Sacrament of Baptism, [Rom. 6:3] the Christian has been identified with the phases of Christ's passion, death, and Resurrection. And so he can "live for God". There is no need for Law when our lives are totally directed by love. As long as there is love, the real intentions of the law will be observed even if one violates the letter of a law. Such a person can say with Paul: "I live. No, it is not I, but Christ lives in me."

Exegesis: The host: Although all four Gospels include accounts of an anointing of Jesus by a woman (see Matt 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8), Luke’s account is so different that it suggests this is  a different incident.  Why did a Pharisee like Simon invite Jesus to his house?  It could be that Simon had invited Jesus with the deliberate intention of enticing him into some word or action which could then be made the basis of a charge against him.  More likely, Simon was a collector of celebrities and with a half-patronizing contempt had invited the young Galilean to have a meal with him.  That would best explain the strange combination of respect along with the omission of the usual courtesies. Simon was a man who tried to patronize Jesus.

Courtesies omitted: Jewish good manners demanded that when an invited guest entered such a house of banquet, three things were always done. a) The host placed his hand on the guest's shoulder and gave him the kiss of peace. That was a mark of respect, which was never omitted in the case of a distinguished Rabbi. b) Since the roads were only dust tracks, and shoes were merely soles held in place by straps across the foot, cool water was poured over the guest's feet to cleanse and comfort them. c) Either a pinch of sweet-smelling incense was burned or a drop of attar of roses was placed on the guest's head.

The uninvited guest: According to social customs of the ancient Near Eastern world, dining rooms -- especially those of the rich and famous -- were left open to the public.  Uninvited guests and curious onlookers could pass in and out of the room at will.  This explains how the public sinner got inside.  What shocked Simon and surprised other eminent guests was the uninvited entry of a public prostitute.  She was carrying an alabaster flask of concentrated, costly perfumed ointment, her hair was unbound and she chose to make what was considered an excessive show of repentance and love. The woman thought she would offer the precious perfume to Jesus and ask for the forgiveness of her grave sins in public. Luke says that “she stood behind the reclining Jesus at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.”

A parable of criticism and teaching: The rabbinical teaching said prostitutes should be kept at a distance of two yards. While Simon silently condemned Jesus for not divining the character of the woman, Jesus proved himself to be a prophet by reading the secret thoughts of Simon. Jesus then presented the parable of the two debtors to Simon, asking him, which person loved the merciful creditor more:  the one who owed five hundred denarii or the one who only owed fifty. Through this parable Jesus defended and justified the good intentions of the woman who had publicly demonstrated her true repentance. He also criticized the rude and inhospitable behavior of his host who had prided himself on his strict observance of the Mosaic Law. Thus Jesus demonstrates correct understanding of forgiveness and justification. The verse "She has shown great love" has become a classic text for showing that perfect charity has the power of forgiving sins: Jesus first loved the woman and she responded to his love by loving him back in this full surrender. That allowed her to receive his forgiveness for her sins. Her love for Jesus had not “earned” her forgiveness: Jesus’ pronouncement, “Your sins are forgiven; your faith has saved you” (v. 48), is a confirmation of what occurred, i.e., the divine initiative, reaching out to bestow forgiveness or justification and the loving penitent receiving it with joy.  In the final verses of today’s reading (8:1-3), Luke reemphasizes Jesus’ special predilection for those who understand their need for justification, for these alone can receive His ever-offered mercy.

Life messages: # 1: We need to accept the mercy of God: We are challenged to accept or reject the mercy of God. We often share Simon’s mentality, displaying an attitude of lovelessness and harshness.   Let us remember that Simon’s self-sufficiency prevented him from acknowledging his need for the grace of God.  Do we invite Jesus into our lives in the hope of gaining prestige? Or do we love him because he is the one and only Savior who has died for our sins?

# 2: We need to be grateful to our forgiving God: As the repentant sinner showed her gratitude to Jesus by anointing his feet with tears and precious ointment, we, too, should show gratitude to God for unconditionally and repeatedly pardoning our sins. This is possible only if we try our best to keep the promises we make in our act of contrition in confession "to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin.” Our sincere attempts to avoid the occasions of sin will be proof of our sincere repentanceand the expression of our gratitude to the merciful God who has forgiven our sins.

# 3: We need to cultivate a forgiving attitude towards our neighbor: Although it is not easy, we must learn to forgive those who hurt us if we want to be able to receive the daily forgiveness we need from a merciful God. We start forgiving when we try our best to patch up quarrels, misunderstandings and disagreements and pray for the well-being of our offenders.

Protestant Teen Qn

Synopsis: OT XII (June 19) Sunday Homily on Luke 9: 18-24 (L-16)

Introduction: Today’s Gospel explains the basis of our Faith as the acceptance of Jesus as the Christ, our Lord and Savior. It also tells us that Christ Jesus became our Savior by his suffering, death and Resurrection. Finally, it outlines the three requirements of Christian discipleship, namely, denying oneself, taking up one’s cross and following Jesus.

Scripture lessons:  Jesus saw aspects of his own life and mission foreshadowed in Zechariah’s prophecy given in the first reading and in Isaiah’s Servant Songs.  Zechariah’s pierced one in the first reading, in the light of today’s Gospel, invites us to identify ourselves with our suffering Savior, Jesus during the moments of our pains and suffering. In the second reading,Paul teaches us that through faith in Jesus we become the children of God. Hence, we have to live in accordance with Jesus' teachings, tearing down barriers of gender, race and class. Paul advises us to “put on Christ," which means that we should allow Christ to begin to work in us as our Messiah, our personal Lord and Savior, healing us of our hatred, prejudice, selfishness and whatever else blocks “God’s reign” within and among us. Today’s Gospel consists of two sections: 1) the Messianic confession of Peter, acknowledging Jesus as “Christ (Messiah) the Son of the living God,” and 2) Jesus’ prediction of his Passion, death and Resurrection, followed by his clear teaching on the three requirements of Christian discipleship:“Whoever wishes to come after Me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.”

Life Messages: 1) Jesus must enter in to our living experience, loving us, forgiving us, helping us and transforming our lives and outlook. The knowledge of Jesus as Lord and personal Savior should become a living, personal experience for each Christian. This takes place when we listen to him through the daily, meditative reading of the Bible, talk to him through daily, personal and family prayers, offer him our lives on the altar in the Holy Mass, are reconciled with him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and recognize and respond to Him in our brothers and sisters.  In the Eucharistic celebration today, we are celebrating and experiencing in our lives the death and Resurrection of Jesus -- the Christ, the Messiah, our Lord and our personal Savior.

2) We need to surrender our life to Jesus whom we experience as our Lord and Savior: Next, we surrender our lives to Jesus by rendering humble and loving service to others, with the strong conviction that Jesus is present in every person. Finally, we begin to praise and thank God in all the events of our lives, both good and bad, realizing that God’s loving hand is behind every event of our lives.

3) We need to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Jesus. Self-denial requires that we evict selfish thoughts and evil desires and tendencies from our hearts, enthrone God in our hearts and share Him with others. We carry our crosses the Christian way when we accept them from God gracefully and share our health, wealth, time and talents with others even when it costs us a struggle.

OT XII [C] Zec 12:10-11, 13: 1; Gal 3:26-29; Lk 9:18-24 (L-16)

Anecdotes: #1: “Who is Jesus?” In his teens, C.S. Lewis was a professed agnostic. He was influenced in his conversion to Christianity by G.K. Chesterton’s book, The Everlasting Man, and by two of his Christian friends. After his conversion, he wrote a number of books defending Christianity. During the Second World War in his famous BBC radio talk, Mere Christianity, he said, “I am trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who is merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic, on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.” If we accept Jesus as a moral teacher, then we must necessarily accept Him as God, for great moral teachers do not tell lies. (John Rose in John’s Sunday Homilies)

# 2: “Who do you say that I am?” On Sunday morning a man showed up at Church with both of his ears terribly blistered. So his pastor asked, "What happened to you Jim?" Jim said: "I was lying on the couch watching a ball game on TV while my wife was ironing nearby. I was totally engrossed in the game when she went out, leaving the iron near the phone. The phone rang, and keeping my eyes on the TV, I grabbed the hot iron and put it to my ear." "How dreadful," gasped the pastor. "But how did the other ear get burned?" "Well, you see, I'd no sooner hung up, the guy called back!" He just didn't get it. Lots of folks never get it and never understand how life really works, even at the simplest levels. That's why Jesus is pressing his followers — and us with a challenging question in today’s Gospel: “Who do you say that I am?” (Msgr. Dennis Clarke)

# 3: “Suppose Jesus were to come here." Without the 19th century essayist Charles Lamb, William Shakespeare would be “missing in action.” Mr. Lamb's essays snatched the 17th century playwright from undeserved obscurity after he had been famous for Andy Warhol's fifteen minutes. One night, Lamb and his guests were chatting about the Bard over Spanish port and Cuban cigars. "Supposing," one asked Lamb, "Shakespeare were to stroll into our dining room at this moment." The essayist replied, "We would raise a glass of port to the great man." "Supposing," asked another, "Jesus were to come here." Lamb answered, "We would all get down on our knees.” There is the essential difference between the Man from Nazareth and all other great people you can think of. The Christ is God, and all others, no matter what their deeds, are but fools who strut on the stage for a brief time and then exit. (Fr. Gilhooly).

Introduction: Today’s Gospel explains the basis of our Faith as the acceptance of Jesus as the Christ, our Lord and our Savior. It also tells us that Christ Jesus became our Savior by his suffering, death and Resurrection. Finally, it outlines the three requirements for Christian discipleship, namely, denying oneself, taking up one’s cross and following Jesus.  The first reading gives us Zechariah’s prophecy about the suffering and death of the Messiah:   "They will look on Him whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born." The challenge given by Paul in today’s second reading is to live in accordance with Jesus' teachings, tearing down unjust barriers of gender, race and class and making social justice a part of the Church’s vision. In defending his teaching that Christ alone is the source of salvation, Paul appeals to several images in this reading. As clothing both envelops the whole body and expresses our identity to others, so Christ embraces our total reality, and renders differences among us insignificant. "Putting on Christ" means allowing him to begin to work in us as our Messiah, our personal Lord and Savior.   This deep and vitalizing work of grace heals us of our hatred, prejudice, selfishness and whatever else blocks “God’s reign” within and among us.

The first reading: Zechariah’s prophecy refers to an obscure historical event which occurred several centuries before Christ.  It was not originally a direct prediction of Jesus’ Passion. But the passage gives insight into the meaning of redemptive suffering and its essential role in God’s salvific plan.  The evangelist John considered the passage, "They will look on Him whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him…."as fulfilled in the suffering and death of the Messiah. However, Zechariah’s description of the pierced one could have been applied to any one of several people who were martyred and mourned. Reginald Fuller in Preaching the New Lectionary suggests that Christians, who associate Zechariah’s figure with Jesus and his redemptive death for sinners, might understand the mourning described here as the remorse which will, at the last judgment, overtake all those who have rejected Christ on earth. Zechariah’s pierced one, in the light of today’s Gospel, invites us to identify ourselves with our suffering Savior, Jesus during the moments of our pain and suffering.

The second reading: Writing to the Galatians, St. Paul teaches them and us that through Faith in Jesus we become the children of God. Hence, we have to live in accord with Jesus' teachings, tearing down unjust barriers of gender, race and class and making social justice a part of the Church’s vision. As clothing covers parts of the body and expresses our identity to others, so Christ covers us and renders differences among us insignificant. "Putting on Christ" means allowing him to begin to work in us as our Messiah, personal Lord and Savior.   This deep and vitalizing work of grace heals us of our hatred, prejudice, selfishness and whatever else blocks “God’s reign” within and among us.

Exegesis: Two pertinent questions: In Luke’s Gospel, it was immediately after a prayer session with his disciples that Jesus asked two questions about his perceived identity. But in the accounts of Matthew and Mark the incident occurred at Caesarea Philippi, presently called Banias, twenty-five miles northeast of the Sea of Galilee. This city was founded by King Philip, the son of Herod the Great, to perpetuate his own memory and to honor the Roman emperor Caesar. It was situated on a beautiful terrace about 1150 feet above sea level on the southwest slope of Mount Hermon overlooking the Jordan valley. The city was a great pilgrimage center for pagans because it held temples for the Syrian gods Bal and Pan, one for the Roman God Jupiter and a marble temple for the emperor Caesar. Jesus realized that if his disciples did not know who he really was, then his entire ministry, suffering and death would be useless. Hence, he decided to ask a question in two parts.

The first question: “Who do the crowds say I am?” Their answer was, “Some say that you are John the Baptist, others say that you are Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” John the Baptist was so great a figure that many Jews, and Herod their king, thought that John’s spirit had entered the body of Jesus. Elijah, the greatest of the prophets was believed to be the forerunner of the Messiah.  ("Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes" –Mal 4:5). The phrase "one of the prophets"  suggested that Jesus had a ministry like that of the former prophets. When the people identified Jesus with Elijah and with Jeremiah they were, according to their lights, paying him a great compliment and setting him in a high place because Elijah was none other than the expected forerunner of the Anointed One of God.

The second question: “Who do you say I am? For the first time in their relationship Peter, speaking for the other disciples, declared publicly: “You are God’s Messiah.” Peter was the first apostle to recognize Jesus publicly as the Anointed One (also translated Messiah or Christ).  Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah. To say that Jesus was the Christ, the anointed one of God was to say that Jesus was God who became Man to save sinners!  However, Jesus was quick to explain to the disciples that he was not a political Messiah who would reestablish the Davidic kingdom after ousting the Romans.  Instead, he was the Messiah who would redeem mankind by his suffering, death and Resurrection. Like the "pierced one" in the first reading, Jesus accepted suffering as part of his mission and out of fidelity toward the One Whom he called Father.Jesus’ example provides a challenge for us all to accept the mystery of the cross when our turn comes to follow the Jesus by suffering with him.

The three requirements for Christian discipleship: Jesus promptly emphasized the fact that he was not the political, conquering Messiah of Jewish expectations by declaring three stringent requirements to be met by his disciples: ““If anyone wants to come with me he must deny himself, take up his cross every day and follow me.” Christian discipleship demands honesty of a disciple in order for him to practice self-control (“to offer our bodies as a willing sacrifice to God”), willingness to suffer, and readiness to follow Jesus by obeying his commandment of love. A) Self-denial:  Self-denial requires that we evict selfish thoughts, evil desires and tendencies from our hearts and fill them with God. It also requires that we cleanse ourselves of all evil habits, enthrone God in our hearts and share Him with others. B) Carrying our cross with Jesus: The cross always means pain and suffering. Our sufferings become one with Jesus’ sufferings on the cross with their saving power 1) when we accept them as His gift to us and endure them patiently, cheerfully if possible; 2) when we suffer by serving others selflessly, 3) when we give ourselves – our health, wealth, time and talents -- to others even when it costs us a struggle and 4) when we do penance to make reparation for our sins and the sins of the world. C) Following Jesus: As followers of Christ, we should live our lives according to the word of God, by obeying what is commanded by Jesus. Since Mark’s Gospel was written within vivid memory of both the horrors of the Jewish war against Rome and the persecution under Nero, when Christians were used as torches to light Nero’s garden, the readers recognized that Jesus’ predictions about Christian suffering had been tragically fulfilled in their own community.

Losing life, finding life: Christians started experiencing persecution by the Jews and the Romans while Luke wrote his Gospel.  Hence, he emphasizes Jesus’ teaching that a man who is faithful may die for his Faith in Jesus, but in dying he will live. The man who risks everything for Christ finds life.  On the other hand the man who abandons his Faith for safety or security may live, but he is actually dying. History is full of noble souls who risked their lives for the sake of others. If certain scientists had not been prepared to take risks, many a medical cure would not exist.  If mothers were not prepared to take risks, no child would ever be born. If we’re honest with ourselves, we know that there are constant opportunities for us to choose to be true to the Gospel.  But the world is essentially opposed to the Gospel and those who live out its truths.

Life Messages: #1:  What does Jesus mean to us? Founder of a religion like Buddha and Confucius? Revolutionary Jewish reformer? One of the great teachers? Son of God and personal Savior? This can perhaps be broken down into other questions:  "How do I really see Jesus? Is Jesus a living experience for me, walking with me, loving me, forgiving me, helping me and transforming my life and outlook? What difference does Jesus make in my life?  Have I really given my life to him?  Are there areas where I have excluded Him, where my life is not noticeably different from the lives of those who see Jesus as irrelevant? Who do we say that Jesus is through our daily life? Who do we say that He is when we are in the presence of those who don't know him, those who aren't interested in him? What does the way we live and behave say about who Jesus is? Is the joy, the love, the peace that we find in Jesus reflected in the way we live our lives? We are gathered here today in the name of Jesus. We have not come together to celebrate a memorial for a merely good man who died long ago. We are here to celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ, the Messiah, our Lord and personal Savior, in this Eucharistic celebration.

2) We need to experience Jesus as our Lord and Savior and surrender our life to him. The knowledge of Jesus as our Lord and personal Savior should become a living, personal experience for each Christian. With God’s ongoing grace, we learn to perceive Jesus this way by listening to him through the daily, meditative reading of the Bible, by talking to him through daily, personal and family prayers, by offering to him our lives on the altar in the Holy Mass and by being reconciled to him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The next step for us is to surrender our lives to Jesus by rendering humble and loving service to others with the strong conviction that Jesus is present in every person. Our final step is to praise and thank God in all the events of our lives, both good and bad, realizing that God’s loving hand is behind every event of our lives.

# 3:  Are we ready to take up our crosses and follow Jesus? Do we have enough Faith to offer up a genuine sacrifice for Christ's sake? Can a Church in today's self-centered culture ask its people to sacrifice something for the sake of the Gospel? Jesus' challenge to all would-be disciples requires more than a "feel-good" spirituality. A true disciple asks, "Am I willing to sacrifice something for the Kingdom?"  What made it possible for first-century Christians to choose a martyr's death? What has kept generations of Christians from losing Faith and falling apart when confronted by the violence and hatred of this world? How can we realize even the day-to-day sacrifices asked by our Faith when they demand things we don't want to do?  Can we sacrifice some of our time in order to visit a homeless shelter or soup kitchen? Can we sacrifice our job security and refuse to "go along" with a policy that is unjust? Can we sacrifice our need to be in control and let Christ do with us what he will? Can we refuse to let our children watch television programs filled with sex and violence?

Joke of the week:  1) Indulgent self-denial: An overweight executive went on a strict diet after announcing it to his staff in the office.  Then one morning he showed up at the office with a huge coffee-cake. He was roundly scolded by his staff for breaking his diet. But he said, "Wait a minute. I can explain. On my way to work this morning, I saw this coffee cake in the window of a bakery. And I prayed, 'Lord, if you want me to have it, provide a parking space right in front of the bakery.' And sure enough, the eighth time around the block, there it was."

2) What happens when sermons become sleeping pills:  "I hope you didn't take it personally, Father," an embarrassed woman said to her pastor after the Mass, "that my husband walked out during your homily." "I did find it rather disconcerting," the preacher replied. "It's not a reflection on you, Father," she insisted. "Ralph has been walking in his sleep ever since he was a child."

3) The Catholic’s general knowledge about the Bible and the Messiah: A Sunday school teacher was telling the students of how the walls of Jericho came down amazingly by the blowing of trumpets and shouts of the people. Observing that Johnny was day-dreaming, the teacher asked him: “Johnny who knocked down the walls of Jericho?” Johnny started shouting furiously, "I didn't do it, I didn't do it!," and he ran from the class in protest. That evening the teacher met his parents in the park and spoke to Johnny’s mother. She told her the story of what happened in the class and about Johnny’s unreasonable outburst in the class. His mother said, "If my son said he didn't do it, then he didn't do it! I trained him not to tell lies.” The perplexed teacher asked Johnny’s mother if she could speak to the boy's father. When she explained the incident to him he said: "Let's not fuss about this. Just tell me how much it will cost to repair the walls and I'll write a check."

O.T. XIII [C] Sunday Homily (one-page summary) L/19 

Introduction: Today’s readings are about God’s call and man’s commitment in answer to that call. They ask for total commitment in total freedom with the spirit of patient love, saying an unconditional “Yes” to Jesus and to the Christian life as a true disciple of Christ.

Scripture lessons: The first reading describes how Elisha committed himself whole-heartedly to answer God’s call to be a prophet, in spite of his initial hesitation when God called him through the prophet Elijah.  The Responsorial Psalm, (Psalm 16), offers us the refrain, “You are my inheritance, O Lord." This Psalm has traditionally been used to exemplify commitment to the ordained ministry or to religious profession. But it more accurately reflects the commitment made by all Christians in their Baptism. The second reading, taken from Paul's letter to the Galatians, reinforces the commitment message of the first reading and the Responsorial Psalm. Paul warns that true freedom is not meant to be a license for self-indulgence, but to be a way to show God, ourselves, and other human beings our commitment to God and to His service. 

The first part of today’s Gospel records Jesus’ teaching on Christian tolerance, given after he had observed the angry response of two of his apostles. James and John were angry and asked if Jesus wanted them to bring down fire from Heaven to destroy the Samaritans who had refused to receive Jesus as a prophet and allow him to travel through their village because Jesus was travelling to Jerusalem.  In the second part of today’s Gospel, Luke introduces three potential disciples who offered lame reasons that made Jesus’ call to ministry “impossible” for them to accept, after Jesus had told them plainly what the commitment required, and the cost involved. They were found unfit and unprepared to follow Jesus as his disciples. We too, are asked to follow Jesus, totally and immediately, without any reservations, both by giving priority to him and to his cause and by surrendering our lives to God in humble and dedicated service to others.

 Life messages: As Christians, we should have the courage of our convictions and so honor our commitments: a) The marriage commitment. The spouses are expected to honor their marriage commitment, that is, to remain in mutual love and respect till their death and to raise their children to be zealous Christians. b) The priestly and religious commitment: Priests, Deacons and religious should honor the commitment they have made to obey their lawful superiors, to keep their vows and to spend their lives serving God’s people faithfully. c) The Christian commitment: As Christians, all of us should honor our Baptismal commitment: to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, to obey his law of love and to bear witness to him through ideal and transparent Christian lives.  

OT XIII [C] : I Kgs 19:16b, 19-21; Gal 5:1, 13-18; Lk 9:51-62

Homily starter anecdotes: # 1: The Cost of Discipleship:  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran theologian, wrote a series of reflections on the Sermon on the Mount entitled, The Cost of Discipleship, in which he maintained that discipleship requires that we make a fundamental decision to follow Jesus and to accept the consequences of that decision. His own religious convictions led him to stand up to the tyranny of Nazi Germany and to participate in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The plot was uncovered, Bonhoeffer was apprehended, and the ultimate “cost” of discipleship was exacted of him: he was hanged by the Nazis on April 9, 1945. While discipleship might force some people to decide between life and death, few of us will be asked to pay that ultimate price. But today’s Gospel challenges us to live in a certain way, imitating the prophetic vocation of Jesus (Dianne Bergant, C. S. A.).

# 2: The price of World-class Status: Some years ago, in an issue of Sports Illustrated, there was an article on Bela Karolyi, a Romanian coach. He was once the coach of the national Romanian team that produced the World Olympic champion gymnast Nadia Comaneci (https://youtu.be/Yi_5xbd5xdE). In 1981 Bela Karolyi defected to the United States with a suitcase, leaving everything else behind including his Mercedes. A few years later he was training more than 300 young people at his Sundance Athletic Club in Houston, Texas. To attain world class status in gymnastics the way Nadia did, an athlete must become a disciple of a master like Bela Karolyi. First, she must sacrifice her own comfort and follow a strenuous training program. Second, she must re-order her priorities, attach supreme importance to gymnastics and subordinate everything else to it. Third, she must make a single-minded commitment to persevere in spite of difficulties and disappointments. The same three elements of discipleship are required of followers in today’s Gospel: letting go of everything, re-ordering priorities and being single-minded. (Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds; quoted by Fr. Botelho). 

# 3: Commitment of Mormon missionaries: Many of us have seen Mormon missionaries riding their bicycles, wearing dark pants, white shirts and ties. Let me tell you more about their lifestyle. They do not see their families during the two years of their mission service. They are allowed to call home only on Christmas and Mother's Day. Their day begins at 6:30 AM with an hour of Bible study and prayer. Then they work until 9:30 PM. They have about an hour to do laundry and study Scripture before lights out. This is their schedule six days per week. No TV or movies or dates for two years. We have seen young men with multi-million dollars pro-basketball contracts put all that on hold until they fulfill their mission obligation. Although I have some serious and fundamental theological differences with the Mormons, I can't deny the commitment of their young missionaries. Perhaps that commitment is a key reason why their numbers are growing so rapidly in the United States. Today’s readings are about God’s call and the commitment expected from us to answer that call.

# 4:  On Christian tolerance: The best commentary on the first part of today’s Gospel is a story about Abraham Lincoln, who was the finest and most spiritual of all the American presidents.  During the Civil War, Lincoln was often criticized for not being severe enough on the soldiers of the South.  On one occasion after a battle, a general from the North asked him, “Why didn’t you destroy the enemy when you had the chance?   President Lincoln answered with words adapted from the today’s Gospel passage: “Do I not destroy my enemy by making him my friend?”   That is exactly what Jesus tells   us in today’s Gospel: destroy our enemies by making them our friends. No doubt the feelings of anger and resentment run deep in many hearts today, and we wouldn’t mind if people who hurt us deeply were punished or suffered from bad luck.  Jesus, however, says: “That is not my Spirit -- let Me heal your heart.”

Introduction: Today’s readings are about God’s call and man’s answering that call with commitment. The first reading describes how Elisha committed himself whole-heartedly, answering God’s call to be a prophet, in spite of his initial hesitation when God called him through the prophet Elijah. The Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 16), offers us the refrain, “You are my inheritance, O Lord." The Psalm has traditionally been used to exemplify commitment to the ordained ministry or to religious profession. But it more accurately reflects the commitment made by all Christians in their Baptism. The second reading, from Paul's Letter to the Galatians, reinforces the commitment message of the first reading and the Responsorial Psalm. In today’s Gospel, Luke introduces some potential disciples who offer a variety of reasons as to why Jesus’ call to ministry is “impossible” for them to accept. By analyzing their excuses and Jesus’ responses to them, each of us is challenged to examine to what extent the alibis we offer to escape responsible ministry in the Church have any merit. We, too, are asked to follow Jesus totally and immediately, without any reservation, by giving up everything we have and surrendering our lives to God in the service of others. 

The first reading: I Kings 19:16b, 19-21, explained:  Elijah was able to preach to kings and overcome the false prophets until Queen, Jezebel became angry with him (1 Kings 18-19.) Then he fled the kingdom and returned to the Lord to resign his commission. But God did not accept his resignation. Instead, He told Elijah to anoint Elisha as his successor and co-worker. In the early history of salvation, the “mission” of being a Prophet was passed on from one prophet to another. Sometimes the prophet had a token or symbol of his ministry. In the case of Elijah, this was a cloak, which he threw over Elisha. [When he was being taken up in the fiery chariot, Elijah would pass that cloak on to Elisha.]  Elisha’s response was, “Please, let my kiss my father and mother goodbye, and I will follow you.” Elijah replied, in effect, “Why are you giving me excuses? I’m not the One calling you!”  Elisha accepted the rebuke, and to show his repentance and total commitment to God’s call, he slaughtered the twelve yoke of oxen he had been using for his plowing, cooked their flesh (using the yoke and harness as fuel), and gave the meat as a meal for those who depended upon him. Elisha then became Elijah's successor. He left everything behind him and committed himself to his prophetic role. In the Church, the ministry of prophecy is not reserved to a few but is a commission for all those who are reborn into Christ. When at Baptism the priest anoints those to be baptized, he announces: "I anoint you as priest, prophet, and king." This is to remind us that our prophetic mission consists in our becoming God's voice in our community and in our society.    We are to be the conscience of the community.  Where we see injustice in our community, in our society, in our families and especially in our own selves, we are compelled by our Baptism to change our own conduct, and if necessary, to raise our voice in God's Name, so that God's word may be made present at every moment.

The second reading: Gal 5:1, 13-18, explained:  In his letter to the Christians in Galatia, Paul reminds all ministers of the Good News that the criterion by which they are to measure themselves is the very Spirit of God. Paul also clarifies that true freedom consists in our being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ and in listening to the voice of God. Paul says: “Do not use your freedom, brothers and sisters, as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, use it to serve one another through love.”  We begin to be free when we begin the process of commitment.  Our freedom is realized only when we give ourselves away in love.  Instead of living a life of self-indulgence, one who follows Jesus accepts a ministry of service that is rooted in loving one’s neighbor as oneself. Christian freedom may be defined like this: “I am my commitment to God.  I will live my commitment, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, until I die.”  Paul seems rather exasperated at having to remind his hearers of the obvious: living the new life of freedom in the Spirit means abandoning the old ways of sin. The "lust of the flesh" should be understood not only in a sexual sense, but as referring to all worldly impulses that are opposed to true love of neighbor. 

Gospel exegesis: Rejection by the Samaritans: Today’s Gospel passage deals with the beginning of Jesus’ journey from the northern towns of Galilee to the southern city of Jerusalem through the land of Samaria.  Jesus encountered obstacles both from prospective disciples, who wanted to postpone their commitment until a more convenient time, and from the Samaritans. The Jews and Samaritans shared a common origin in the twelve tribes of Israel. But they hated each other and refused to intermingle or intermarry because of a long-standing historic conflict between the two nations dating back to the eighth century BC, after the Assyrian conquest of the Jews. Even under Assyrian rule, the Samaritans claimed to have maintained proper worship in their land with Mount Gerizim as the center of their religious life.  They argued that the Jews were the ones who had compromised their religious beliefs during their Babylonian exile. The Jews, on the other hand, with the Temple of Jerusalem as the center of their religious life, accused Samaritans of having lost their religious and racial identity through intermarriage with their pagan neighbors.  They even considered Samaritans as heretical and false worshipers of the God of Israel and detested them far more than they detested the pagans. To get to Jerusalem, Galileans had either to go through Samaria or to take a longer, more difficult route east of the Jordan River.  Jesus chose the shortcut through Samaria. But the Samaritans both refused to honor Jesus as a prophet and violated the sacred duties of hospitality. This infuriated the apostles and two of them, James and John, asked Jesus if he wanted them to command fire to come down from Heaven and consume the Samaritans as Elijah had done in his day (II Kings 1:9-12).  Jesus rebuked them, however, because he was not a destroyer but a Savior with a message of mercy and love. 

The call and excuses: The response of Jesus to the three would-be followers, described in the second part of today’s Gospel, (vv 57-62), exemplifies the wholehearted constancy and sacrificial ministry that the Christian mission requires. We are surprised at Jesus’ sharp response to the first man’s willing discipleship. Undoubtedly, Jesus saw more deeply into the man’s heart than we can. Jesus is simply honest about the demands and the cost of a commitment we might make too lightly and a journey we might undertake too easily. “Let the dead bury their dead”:  This response may sound too harsh. But this man’s father was not dead or sick. He simply wished to stay with his father until his death. Jesus knew that later he would find another reason to delay the call. Jesus did not want another would-be follower to go home and bid farewell to his dear ones. Hence, Jesus rebukes him saying that the plowman must look ahead rather than back. Looking back while plowing causes crooked lines in the field. We see classical cases of initial reluctance and lame excuses in accepting God’s call from Moses (Exodus 3: 1, 4: 10), Gideon (Judges 6: 15), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:6), and Isaiah (Isaiah 6: 5). Hence, we should be slow to condemn those who offer excuses in the service of the Lord; we need to offer them proper motivation, support, and encouragement.  

Life messages: 1) We need to honor our marriage commitment. As in the case of Elisha and the apostles, our commitment becomes our life. But today, more than ever, people make commitments too easily and then break them.  This is the age of the lack of true commitment. The problem today is not that people are living together without being married; the problem is that they do not have the courage to make the commitment of marriage. In recent years, the age of marriage has increased by more than three years in the West, that is, more than 10%. Modern people find many excuses for delaying marriage: “Well, let’s get good jobs and financial security first.”  Another familiar excuse is:  "I want to be free to come and go as I please!” Another excuse for delaying marriage is: “Let’s live together first. We’ll see if we’re compatible!” But the fact is that the longer unmarried couples live together, the more they experience their incompatibility!  

2) We need to pray to solve the crisis in priestly commitment. We all know there is a tremendous shortage of priests and religious men because our young people are unwilling to make commitments to God by committing themselves to life-long celibacy, to a diocese or to the vowed life of a religious community. The argument, “I don’t want to make that commitment because I don’t want to give everything away," shows an incorrect notion of Christian freedom. We begin to be free only when we start the process called commitment, and our freedom is realized only when we give ourselves away in love. Unfortunately, like those three would-be followers, a lot of our youngsters are still confused and ill-prepared for any kind of mission for their lives. As a result, they become adept at evading Christ’s call to discipleship.

3) We are invited to a Christian life of patient love.  The first part of today’s Gospel gives us the greatest passage in the Bible concerning tolerance, which is really patient love, our “bearing with” one another. Quick anger over little incidents flares up all the time – between parents and children, in the workplaces between co-workers and in the neighborhood between neighbors. Very often the anger explodes over nothing. The Spirit of Jesus is opposed to such feelings. Although Elijah called down the fires of God from Heaven to wipe out the four hundred prophets of Baal, Jesus refused to have fire cast on the Samaritans who refused him entry. Hence, let us have this beautiful prayer in our hearts and on our lips: “Create in me a clean heart. O God and put a new and a right spirit within me.  Restore to me the joy of loving.”  

4) We need to pray for strength to honor all our commitments. We are here this morning because, in one way or another, we have said to Jesus, “I will follow you.” But the truth of the matter is that most of us don't want to follow Jesus because we want him to follow us. Hence, we are only partially faithful to him. But the Good News is that we are following him as best we can. We will leave this hour of Eucharistic worship and return to the world with all sorts of tough choices and difficult demands. Hence, we need to pray for strength, we need to ask for forgiveness when we fail, and we need to renew our determination to walk with Jesus by being loyal to our spouse and family, earning our living honestly, and living not only peacefully, but lovingly, with our neighbors. 

JOKE OF THE WEEK(Laughing Jesus)

(“Laughter is indeed God’s therapy. Let us then be thankful that, when the Gates of Heaven swing open, mixed with celestial music there is the unmistakable sound of celestial laughter.” (Malcom Muggeridge) Shortly after his election as pope, St. John XXIII was walking in the streets of Rome when a woman passed him and said to her friend, “My God, he’s so fat!” Overhearing her remark, he turned around and replied, “Madame, I trust you understand that the papal conclave is not exactly a beauty contest.”) https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-saints-were-yes-funny_b_2057837  & https://medium.com/@CatholicExtension/the-saint-who-laughed-his-way-to-heaven-da5aaa205681 Committed to the spouse or to the Super Bowl? A young man was very excited because he just won a ticket to the Super Bowl. His excitement lessened as he realized his seat was in the back of the stadium. As he searched the rows ahead of him for a better seat, he saw an empty one right next to the field. He approached the man sitting next to the empty seat and asked if it was taken. The man replied, "No." Amazed the young man asked, "How could someone pass up a seat like this?" The older gentleman responded, "That's my wife's seat. We've been to every Super Bowl together since the day we were married but she has passed away." "Oh, how sad," the man said. "I'm sorry to hear that, but couldn't you find a friend or relative to come with you?"
"No," the man said, "They're all at the funeral."

Prepared by: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604.

Synopsis of XIV Sunday (July 3) Homily on Luke 10: 1-12, 17-20 (L/16)

Introduction: Today’s Scriptures remind us that announcing the Good News of the Kingdom by words, deeds and life is not the task of only a few. Rather, it is a task for all baptized Christians.

Scripture lessons: In the first reading, Isaiah sees the city of Jerusalem as the prototype of the rejoicing Church—the Church who comforts her children, “as a mother comforts her baby son.” He assures his listeners that they live in the certainty of Yahweh’s promises of love, protection, prosperity and salvation. In today’s second reading (Galatians 6: 14-18), Paul clearly teaches that it was Jesus’ death on the cross which brings one salvation and not a Jewish heritage. He reminds us that every Christian is called to be a “new creature,” and that the mission of each member of the Church is to bear witness to the saving power of the cross of Christ through a life of sacrificial, self-giving service. Today’ Gospel, taken from the Gospel of Luke, describes, in Jesus’ commissioning of 72 disciples to preach the Gospel in towns and villages in preparation for his visit, the fulfillment of the prophetic promise made by Isaiah. He gives them “travel tips” for their missionary journey. They must be walking witnesses of God’s providence by relying on the hospitality of others, living very simple lives, preaching the Good News and healing the sick. Today’s Gospel reminds us that the 1.5 billion Christians in the world today have the same mission to preach the Gospel of Christ to the other 4.5 billion non-Christians. Life Messages: 1) We need to continue the preaching mission: Just as Jesus, in today’s Gospel, gave instructions to the seventy-two missionaries, he also gives each one of us a mission to carry out. As faithful Christians, we should attract others to the Faith by leading exemplary lives, just as a rose attracts people by its beauty and fragrance. This is our job and our responsibility. We must not miss the current opportunities to be apostles through our words and deeds in everyday life.

2) We need to avoid giving the counter-witness of practicing the “supermarket Catholicism” of our politicians who publicly proclaim their “Catholicism” and yet support abortion, gay marriage, human cloning and experimentation with human embryos. Nor should we be “armchair Catholics,” “cafeteria Catholics” or “Sunday Catholics” who bear counter-witness to Christ through our lives.

3) Let us start preaching the Gospel in our families by leading exemplary Christian lives, in which spouses love and respect each other, raise their children in the spirit of obedience and service, discipline them with forgiving love and teach them by persistent example to pray, love and help others by sharing their blessings. OT XIV [C] (July 3, 2016): Is 66:10-14c; Gal 6:14-18; Lk 10: 1-12, 17-20

Anecdote # 1: Jesus needs leaders: One leader in the Old Testament who possessed both expressive and instrumental leadership abilities was Josiah (2 Kings 22-23). King Josiah was a great leader. When he came to the throne of Judah at age eight, the nation was essentially pagan. Heathen altars stood on the high hills, and the people offered incense to false gods. The Lord God was forgotten. The Law was lost. The Temple was closed and the Passover was only a distant memory. When King Josiah died 31 years later, the nation had been completely changed! The pagan altars were only piles of rubble. The Covenant with God had been renewed. The Law once again was read and revered. The Temple doors were opened and the priests fulfilled their duties faithfully. The Passover was celebrated and the Lord God, Yahweh, was worshiped. Josiah was a leader who knew how to lead God's people Israel. Today’s Gospel outlines Jesus’ action plan for future leaders in his Church.

Anecdote # 2: One-man army for Christ: The story of St. Philip Neri, who earned the title “Apostle of Rome” in the 16th century, is an example of the missionary zeal demanded by today’s Gospel. Philip came down to Rome in the early 1500s as an immigrant from Florence and a layman. When he arrived, he was horrified by the physical and moral devastation of the city. Rome had been sacked in 1527 by the Germans who had left much of the city in ruins. The Gospel wasn’t being preached, and many priests and cardinals were living in open defiance of Christ’s moral teachings. Philip prayed to God to learn what he might do. He read the letters that St. Francis Xavier had sent back to Europe from India, where he had been converting tens of thousands. Philip thought that God was calling him to follow the great Basque missionary to India, to give his life in proclaiming the Gospel. When he went to his spiritual director and told him what he thought God was asking of him, the wise old priest affirmed his desire to serve and bear witness to Christ. However, he told Philip to focus his attention on re-evangelizing those around him, declaring, “Rome is to be your India!” This was quite a task for one man. But Philip, relying on God’s help, started — first as a layman, then as a priest — to convert Rome, one person at a time. He would cheerfully go to street corners and say, “Friends, when are we going to start to do good?” He developed various entertaining social and religious activities to give the people, especially the young people, better alternatives for their hearts and time than those offered by the debauched culture around them. His impact was enormous, and when he died in 1595, much of Rome had been reconverted. The same God who spoke to Philip almost five hundred years ago challenges each one of us this morning through the Scriptures, “Your parish and your family, your workplace and your parish are your mission field!”

Introduction: Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus sent his disciples out to towns and villages to prepare for his visit, and gave them “travel tips” for their missionary journey. This reminds us that announcing the Good News of the Kingdom is not the task of only a few. Rather, it is a task for all. Following the model of Jesus, the Church rejoices in the triumphs and accomplishments of her children. She constantly nourishes them, directs them, consoles them and gives them strength. In the first reading, Isaiah sees the city of Jerusalem as the prototype of the rejoicing Church—the Church who comforts her children, “as a mother comforts her baby son.” He assures his listeners that they live in the certainty of Yahweh’s promises of love, protection, prosperity and salvation. In the words of the Responsorial Psalm, (Psalm 66), “He has changed the sea into dry land; through the river they passed on foot; therefore, let us rejoice in Him. He rules by His might forever!” In today’s second reading (Galatians 6: 14-18), Paul clearly teaches that it is Jesus’ death on the cross which brings us salvation and not a Jewish heritage. Paul reminds us that every Christian is called to be a “new creature,” and that the mission of each member of the Church is to bear witness to the saving power of the cross of Christ through a life of sacrificial, self-giving service. Today’ Gospel, taken from the Gospel of Luke, describes, in Jesus’ commissioning of 72 disciples to preach the Gospel in towns and villages in preparation for his visit, the fulfillment of the prophetic promise made by Isaiah. The 1.5 billion Christians in the world today have the same mission. We are to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to the other 4.5 billion non-Christians.

First reading: Isaiah 66:10-14: The prophet Isaiah is encouraging the Jews, who are returning to Israel from Babylonian exile, to see their beloved city of God, Jerusalem, alive under its ruins. In poetic and symbolic language, he describes the prosperity and peace which the New Jerusalem will give them. Both the Holy City of Jerusalem and God are presented under the image of a mother. The prophet offers a maternal image of God. The returned exiles will have the experience of a child being fondled by its loving mother. They will be like suckling infants enjoying the comfort and nurture of a mother because the city will give them the experience of Yahweh’s love and care, the Temple of Jerusalem will represent and house God’s presence in their midst and "the Lord's power shall be known to his servants." The prophet calls on his fellow-Jews to rejoice and be glad because Jerusalem will be greater, more peaceful and more prosperous than she ever was before. Today’ Gospel, taken from the Gospel of Luke, describes, in Jesus’ commissioning of 72 disciples to preach the Gospel in towns and villages in preparation for his visit, the fulfillment of the prophetic promise made by Isaiah. The Second Reading, Galatians 6:14-18, gives us the concluding words of Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Shortly after Paul left Galatia, some ultra-conservative Judeo-Christians ("Judaizers”) arrived there from Jerusalem. They taught that, since the historical Jesus was Jewish, circumcised and observant of the Torah, his disciples had to be circumcised as Jews and had to observe the Torah. Responding, Paul wrote a letter to those in Galatia who were disturbed and confused by these new teachings. Paul was angry with the Galatians for their stupidly in accepting the false arguments of the Judaizers. In the letter, Paul argues forcefully that God requires no such thing, and that keeping such a false obligation is nothing to boast about. Astonishingly, Paul boasts about what would otherwise be shameful, the execution of Jesus on the cross. "Crucified to the world" is another strong image, meaning that Paul's relationship with the world is no longer governed by the old Mosaic Law or anything else from the past, but by his relationship with Christ crucified.

Exegesis: Travel tips for the seventy-two walking witnesses on their first mission trip: While all the synoptic Gospels mention a mission of the Twelve, only Luke adds a second mission of the 72. Just as Moses selected the seventy-two elders to guide and govern his people, so Luke presents Jesus as the “new Moses” in today’s Gospel. Jesus sends out his seventy-two disciples to towns and villages to announce his visit, thus giving a symbolic meaning to the number seventy-two. The Jews also believed that there were seventy-two nations in the whole world, and they had seventy-two members in the Sanhedrin, the supreme council of the Jews. In the Book of Genesis, seventy descendants of Jacob moved with him from Israel to Egypt to begin a new life. In the Book of Exodus, seventy elders go up the Mountain of God along with Moses to learn about the new Covenant with YHWH. Each of us, by the very fact that we have heard the Lord's call, is likewise sent on a mission. Hence, announcing the Good News of the kingdom is not something optional for a Christian. The disciples received instructions as to how they were to carry out their mission. For example, they were to "carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals." There is also an ominous warning that they are sent as “lambs among wolves.” Their guidelines were simple: go where they were received (verses 5-6); remain in one place (verse 7) and eat what was set before them (verse 8). This would help them avoid the appearance of being mercenary. The basic idea behind Jesus’ instruction is that his disciples were sent as walking witnesses, and, hence, they were not to depend on anything or anybody except on the Holy Spirit of God and on Divine providence.

1) "Ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to the harvest.” The mission of the seventy-two disciples was not a human project, and, hence, they needed strength from God to do the work. In proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, we, too, participate in God’s work. It is the Lord Who is working in and through us. He gives us the power to announce His presence with our lives. Therefore, constant contact with the Lord of the harvest is necessary. This means that we must be men and women of prayer -- not only for an hour a week at Mass but on a daily basis.

2) "Do not carry a walking staff or traveling bag; wear no sandals." In Jesus’ day, travelers carried a stick as a defense against snakes and wild animals, and used sandals as an aid in traveling along dusty roads and rocky byways. Likewise, a change of clothing as well as food and drink were thought necessary—but Jesus forbade all these. His command was that the disciples should give up even these necessities so as to be both a living act of Faith in God and “walking signs” to those who saw them. The disciples were only armed with their Faith and the name of Jesus. They needed nothing more. Their detachment from material goods would enable them to uphold the absolute priority of preaching the Good News. They did not need a staff or provisions because God would take care of them through the people to whom they were to preach. The spirit of detachment would also help them to trust more deeply in Divine Providence and would oblige them to rely humbly on the hospitality of those who were receptive to the Gospel. Their life-style should help proclaim their message: "The reign of God is at hand." In other words, "God is among you as Jesus of Nazareth, working with power."

3) "Greet no one along the way." (See also 2 Kings 4:29). This instruction implies that the mission was so urgent that nothing should divert the disciples from it. Likewise, the disciples were told to travel in pairs (perhaps for mutual support), suggesting that the work of evangelization should be a collective one.

4) Acceptance and rejection: One of the reasons we prefer to delegate our Lord's evangelistic work to priests, religious and missionaries is that we fear rejection. When by our words and lifestyles we tell others about Jesus, we sometimes find ourselves labeled as “religious fanatics," “Bible-thumpers,” or perhaps, simply as “old-fashioned.” Many times we take the rejection personally. So Jesus consoles us: "Let your peace come back to you.” This means, “Don’t take it personally. You have done your part, so don’t worry about the outcome.” He goes on, telling them, “Rejoice because your names are written in Heaven” in the Book of Life! It is not up to us to force anyone to accept Jesus. Our mission is to prepare the way. If a person's heart is open, the Lord will enter in.

5) Preach that the Kingdom of God is at hand. The Kingdom of God comes into being wherever God reigns, and wherever His will is done. The Kingdom of God is present in the people through whom God acts. “Hence the early Church equated Christ with the Kingdom of God because God reigns in Christ, God’s will is done in Christ and God acts through Christ” (Lumen Gentium, #5). Thus, to proclaim the Kingdom of God is the same as to proclaim Christ. In fact, the Church from its beginning, by proclaiming the Good News of Christ, was being faithful to his mandate to proclaim the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God has come upon us if God reigns in our hearts, if we do God's will and if God acts through us.

Life Messages: 1) We need to continue the preaching mission: Just as Jesus in today’s Gospel gives instructions to the seventy-two missionaries, he also gives each one of us a mission to carry out. There were just a handful of followers in Jesus’ day to preach the Good News, but today there are over one billion Roman Catholics and about a half billion other Christians (in 30,000 denominations!) who accept Jesus as “Lord” and “Savior.” So there are 1.5 billion missionaries in a world of six billion people. A recent survey asked the question, “Why do adults join the Catholic Church in spite of the scandals publicized in the media?” Seventy-five percent of the new adult converts to the Catholic Church reported that they were attracted by a personal invitation from a Catholic who had a lively relationship with Christ and his Church. As faithful Catholics, we will attract others to the Catholic Church—just as a rose attracts people by its beauty and fragrance. It’s our job. It’s our responsibility. We must not miss the current opportunities to be apostles in everyday life by our words and deeds.

2) We need to avoid giving counter-witness: The Church is founded on the rock of Peter, a humble, uneducated fisherman who died for the Lord he loved. Compare his Faith and heroic witnessing with the “supermarket Catholicism” of our politicians who publicly proclaim their “Catholicism,” yet support abortion, gay marriage, human cloning and experimentation with human embryos. We should not be “Catholics for a Free Choice” who oppose anything proposed by the Church, including the most basic right to life. Nor should we be armchair Catholics, spiritual weekend warriors, “cafeteria Catholics” or “barely-make-it-to-Mass” members of the Church, who bear counter-witness to Christ. Instead of giving counter-witness, let us become heralds of the Kingdom in our own homes by treating each other with profound respect. When spouses respect each other and, thus, teach their children to do the same, our neighbors will experience the Kingdom in our families, because the Kingdom of God is God’s rule in our hearts enabling us to do His will.

3) The modern world needs the heroic witnessing of martyrs. The early writers of the Church never called the first Christians “martyrs,” in the modern sense of the word, but rather gave that name to those who died “giving witness” (martyrein) to Christ. The most important element wasn’t their deaths; it was their fidelity to their faith until the last moment of their lives. Martyrs are not people to be relegated to the distant past. Recent history abounds with examples of martyrdom: civil war in Spain, religious persecution in Poland, Mexico, Vietnam, Russia, China, and Africa. The names of Edith Stein (Germany), Maximilian Kolbe (Poland), Miguel Pro (Mexico), and Pedro Poveda (Spain) are only the beginning of a long list of innocent victims, witnesses for their faith. Even today, religious freedom is still denied in various countries and, in fact, several Muslim nations forbid the celebration of the Sacraments. In our day, there are also “moral martyrs” who, although they are never physically killed, die an ignominious death, persecuted in the press, defamed in the media and falsely accused of faults they never committed. As successors of the seventy-two disciples, we are called upon to do Christ’s work with the courage of these martyrs’ convictions.

JOKES OF THE WEEK (on the preaching mission).

# 1 The definition of a good sermon: It should have a good beginning and a good ending and they should be as close together as possible. (George Burns). A rule of thumb for preachers: If after ten minutes you haven't struck oil, stop boring! A pastor was greeting folks at the door after the service. A woman said, "Father, that was a very good sermon." The pastor says, "Oh, I have to give the credit to the Holy Spirit." "It wasn't THAT good!" she says. A priest, whose sermons were very long and boring, announced in the Church on a Sunday that he had been transferred to another Church and that it was Jesus' wish that he leave that week. The congregation in the Church got up and sang: "What a Friend we have in Jesus!"

# 2: Boring preacher: A man was walking a pit bull down the road. The dog got away, ran up to a preacher and bit him on the knee. Then the dog went across the street and bit a beautiful young woman. The owner was brought before a judge who asked, "Why did your dog bite the preacher?" The man answered, "I don't know! He's never done anything like that before." Then the judge asked, "Well why did he bite the young woman?" The owner replied, "Oh that's easy to answer! Probably he wanted to get the taste of that boring preacher out of his mouth!"

# 3: Place of amusement: A pastor who was well known for the jokes he told during his sermons asked Park Benjamin, a famous humorist, why he never came to hear him preach. Benjamin replied, "Why, Sir, the fact is, I have conscientious scruples against going to places of amusement on Sunday."

# 4: Abraham Lincoln put it rather strongly but effectively, when he said: "I do not care for cut-and-dried sermons. When I hear a man preach I like to see him act as if he were fighting a bumblebee. “

O.T. XIV Sunday ) Homily (one-page summary) (LP)edtd

Introduction: Today’s Scriptures are about announcing the Good News. They remind us that announcing the Good News of the Kingdom by words, deeds and life is not the task of only a few. Rather, it is a task for all baptized Christians.

Scripture lessons: In the first reading, Isaiah announces the good news to the returned Babylonian exiles that the ruined and desolate Jerusalem will take care of them “as a mother comforts her baby son.” Isiah assures the returned Jews that they will live in the certainty of Yahweh’s promises of love, protection, prosperity and salvation.  In today’s second reading (Galatians 6: 14-18), Paul removes the confusion created in the new gentile Christians of Galatia by the Judaizers,  by clearly conveying the good news that it is Jesus’ death on the cross which brings one’s salvation and not Jewish heritage  or practice of Torah laws. He reminds us that the mission of each member of the Church is to bear witness to the saving power of the cross of Christ through a life of sacrificial, self-giving service. Today’ Gospel, taken from the Gospel of Luke, describes, in Jesus’ commissioning of 72 disciples to preach the Gospel or the good news of God’s love and salvation in towns and villages in preparation for his visit, the fulfillment of the prophetic promise made by Isaiah. He gives them “travel tips” for their missionary journey. They must be walking witnesses of God’s providence by relying on the hospitality of others, living very simple lives, preaching the Good News and healing the sick.  Today’s Gospel reminds us that the 1.5 billion Christians in the world today have the same mission to preach the Gospel of Christ to the other 4.5 billion non-Christians.

Life Messages: 1) We need to continue the preaching mission: Just as Jesus, in today’s Gospel, gave instructions to the seventy-two missionaries, he also gives each one of us a mission to carry out. As faithful Christians, we should attract others to the Faith by leading exemplary lives, just as a rose attracts people by its beauty and fragrance. This is our job and our responsibility. We must not miss the current opportunities to be apostles through our words and deeds in everyday life. 

2)  We need to avoid giving the counter-witness of practicing the “supermarket Catholicism” of our politicians who publicly proclaim their “Catholicism” and yet support abortion, gay marriage, human cloning and experimentation with human embryos. Nor should we be “armchair Catholics,” “cafeteria Catholics” or “Sunday Catholics” who bear counter-witness to Christ through our lives. 

3) Let us start preaching the Gospel in our families by leading exemplary Christian lives, in which spouses love and respect each other, raise their children in the spirit of obedience and service, discipline them with forgiving love and teach them by persistent example to pray, love and help others by sharing their blessings. 

OT XIV [C] :  Is 66:10-14c; Gal 6:14-18; Lk 10: 1-12, 17-20

Homily starter anecdote # 1: Jesus needs leaders: One leader in the Old Testament who possessed both expressive and instrumental leadership abilities was Josiah (2 Kings 22-23). King Josiah was a great leader. When he came to the throne of Judah at age eight, the nation was essentially pagan. Heathen altars stood on the high hills, and the people offered incense to false gods. The Lord God was forgotten. The Law was lost. The Temple was closed, and the Passover was only a distant memory. When King Josiah died 31 years later, the nation had been completely changed! The pagan altars were only piles of rubble. The Covenant with God had been renewed. The Law once again was read and revered. The Temple doors were opened, and the priests fulfilled their duties faithfully. The Passover was celebrated and the Lord God, Yahweh, was worshiped. Josiah was a leader who knew how to lead God's people Israel. Today’s Gospel outlines Jesus’ action plan for future leaders in his Church. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
Anecdote # 2: One-man army for Christ: The story of St. Philip Neri, who earned the title “Apostle of Rome” in the 16th century, is an example of the missionary zeal demanded by today’s Gospel. Philip came down to Rome in the early 1500s as an immigrant from Florence and a layman. When he arrived, he was horrified by the physical and moral devastation of the city. Rome had been sacked in 1527 by the Germans who had left much of the city in ruins. The Gospel wasn’t being preached, and many priests and cardinals were living in open defiance of Christ’s moral teachings. Philip prayed to God to learn what he might do. He read the letters that St. Francis Xavier had sent back to Europe from
India, where he had been converting tens of thousands. Philip thought that God was calling him to follow the great Basque missionary to India, to give his life in proclaiming the Gospel. When he went to his spiritual director and told him what he thought God was asking of him, the wise old priest affirmed his desire to serve and bear witness to Christ. However, he told Philip to focus his attention on re-evangelizing those around him, declaring, “Rome is to be your India!” This was quite a task for one man. But Philip, relying on God’s help, started — first as a layman, then as a priest — to convert Rome, one person at a time. He would cheerfully go to street corners and say, “Friends, when are we going to start to do good?” He developed various entertaining social and religious activities to give the people, especially the young people, better alternatives for their hearts and time than those offered by the debauched culture around them. His impact was enormous, and when he died in 1595, much of Rome had been reconverted. The same God who spoke to Philip almost five hundred years ago challenges each one of us this morning through the Scriptures, “Your parish and your family, your workplace and your parish are your mission field!” (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)

Introduction: Today’s Scriptures are about announcing the good news. They remind us that announcing the Good News of the Kingdom by words, deeds and life is not the task of only a few. Rather, it is a task for all baptized Christians.
Scripture lessons: In the first reading, Isaiah announces the good news to the returned Babylonian exiles that the ruined and desolate Jerusalem will take care of them “as a mother comforts her baby son.” Isiah assures the returned Jews that they will live in the certainty of Yahweh’s promises of love, protection, prosperity and salvation.  In today’s second reading (Galatians 6: 14-18), Paul removes the confusion created in the new gentile Christians of Galatia by the judaizers,  by clearly conveying the good news that it is Jesus’ death on the cross which brings one’s salvation and not Jewish heritage  or practice of Torah laws. He reminds us that the mission of each member of the Church is to bear witness to the saving power of the cross of Christ through a life of sacrificial, self-giving service. Today’ Gospel, taken from the Gospel of Luke, describes, in Jesus’ commissioning of 72 disciples to preach the Gospel or the good news of God’s love and salvation in towns and villages in preparation for his visit, the fulfillment of the prophetic promise made by Isaiah. He gives them “travel tips” for their missionary journey. They must be walking witnesses of God’s providence by relying on the hospitality of others, living very simple lives, preaching the Good News and healing the sick.  Today’s Gospel reminds us that the 1.5 billion Christians in the world today have the same mission to preach the Gospel of Christ to the other 4.5 billion non-Christians.

First reading: Isaiah 66:10-14 explained: The prophet Isaiah is encouraging the Jews, who are returning to Israel from Babylonian exile, to see their beloved city of God, Jerusalem, alive under its ruins.  In poetic and symbolic language, he describes the prosperity and peace which the New Jerusalem will give them. Both the Holy City of Jerusalem and God are presented under the image of a mother. The prophet offers a maternal image of God. The returned exiles will have the experience of a child being fondled by its loving mother. They will be like suckling infants enjoying the comfort and nurture of a mother because the  city will give them the experience of Yahweh’s love and care, the Temple of Jerusalem will represent and house God’s presence in their midst and "the Lord's power shall be known to his servants." The prophet calls on his fellow-Jews to rejoice and be glad because Jerusalem will be greater, more peaceful and more prosperous than she ever was before. Today’ Gospel, taken from the Gospel of Luke, describes, in Jesus’ commissioning of 72 disciples to preach the Gospel in towns and villages in preparation for his visit, the fulfillment of the prophetic promise made by Isaiah. 

The Second Reading, Galatians 6:14-18 explained. It gives us the concluding words of Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Shortly after Paul left Galatia, some ultra-conservative Judeo-Christians ("Judaizers”) arrived there from Jerusalem. They taught that, since the historical Jesus was Jewish, circumcised and observant of the Torah, his disciples had to be circumcised as Jews and had to observe the Torah. Responding, Paul wrote a letter to those in Galatia who were disturbed and confused by these new teachings. Paul was angry with the Galatians for their stupidly in accepting the false arguments of the Judaizers.  In the letter, Paul argues forcefully that God requires no such thing, and that keeping such a false obligation is nothing to boast about.  Astonishingly, Paul boasts about what would otherwise be shameful, the execution of Jesus on the cross. "Crucified to the world" is another strong image, meaning that Paul's relationship with the world is no longer governed by the old Mosaic Law or anything else from the past, but by his relationship with Christ crucified.

Gospel exegesis: Travel tips for the seventy-two walking witnesses on their first mission trip: While all the synoptic Gospels mention a mission of the Twelve, only Luke adds a second mission of the 72.  Just as Moses selected the seventy-two elders to guide and govern his people, so Luke presents Jesus as the “new Moses” in today’s Gospel. Jesus sends out his seventy-two disciples to towns and villages to announce his visit, thus giving a symbolic meaning to the number seventy-two. The Jews also believed that there were seventy-two nations in the whole world, and they had seventy-two members in the Sanhedrin, the supreme council of the Jews. In the Book of Genesis, seventy descendants of Jacob moved with him from Israel to Egypt to begin a new life.  In the Book of Exodus, seventy elders go up the Mountain of God along with Moses to learn about the new Covenant with YHWH. Each of us, by the very fact that we have heard the Lord's call, is likewise sent on a mission. Hence, announcing the Good News of the
kingdom is not something optional for a Christian. The disciples received instructions as to how they were to carry out their mission. For example, they were to "carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals." There is also an ominous warning that they are sent as “lambs among wolves.” Their guidelines were simple: go where they were received (verses 5-6); remain in one place (verse 7) and eat what was set before them (verse 8). This would help them avoid the appearance of being mercenary.  The basic idea behind Jesus’ instruction is that his disciples were sent as walking witnesses, and, hence, they were not to
depend on anything or anybody except on the Holy Spirit of God and on Divine providence.

1) "Ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to the harvest.” The mission of the seventy-two disciples was not a human project, and, hence, they needed strength from God to do the work.   In proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, we, too, participate in God’s work. It is the Lord Who is working in and through us. He gives us the power to announce His presence with our lives. Therefore, constant contact with the Lord of the harvest is necessary.   This means that we must be men and women of prayer -- not only for an hour a week at Mass but on a daily basis.

2) "Do not carry a walking staff or traveling bag; wear no sandals." In Jesus’ day, travelers carried a stick as a defense against snakes and wild animals, and used sandals as an aid in traveling along dusty roads and rocky byways.  Likewise, a change of clothing as well as food and drink were thought necessary—but Jesus forbade all these. His command was that the disciples should give up even these
necessities so as to be both a living act of Faith in God and “walking signs” to those who saw them.  The disciples were only armed with their Faith and the name of Jesus. They needed nothing more. Their detachment from material goods would enable them to uphold the absolute priority of preaching the Good News. They did not need a staff or provisions because God would take care of them through the people to whom they were to preach. The spirit of detachment would also help them to trust more deeply in Divine Providence and would oblige them to rely humbly on the hospitality of those who were receptive to the Gospel. Their life-style should help proclaim their message: "The reign of God is at hand." In other words, "God is among you as Jesus of Nazareth, working with power."

3) "Greet no one along the way." (See also 2 Kings 4:29). This instruction implies that the mission was so urgent that nothing should divert the disciples from it.  Likewise, the disciples were told to travel in pairs (perhaps for mutual support), suggesting that the work of evangelization should be a collective one. 

4) Acceptance and rejection: One of the reasons we prefer to delegate our Lord's evangelistic work to priests, religious and missionaries is that we fear rejection. When by our words and lifestyles we tell others about Jesus, we sometimes find ourselves labeled as “religious fanatics," “Bible-thumpers,” or perhaps, simply as “old-fashioned.” Many times we take the rejection personally.  So Jesus consoles us: "Let your peace come back to you.”  This means, “Don’t take it personally.  You have done your part, so don’t worry about the outcome.” He goes on, telling them, “Rejoice because your names are written in Heaven” in the Book of Life!  It is not up to us to force anyone to accept Jesus. Our mission is to prepare the way. If a person's heart is open, the Lord will enter in.

5) Preach that the Kingdom of God is at hand. The Kingdom of God comes into being wherever God reigns, and wherever His will is done. The Kingdom of God is present in the people through whom God acts. “Hence the early Church equated Christ with the Kingdom of God because God reigns in Christ, God’s will is done in Christ and God acts through Christ” (Lumen Gentium, #5). Thus, to proclaim the Kingdom of God is the same as to proclaim Christ. In fact, the Church from its beginning, by proclaiming the Good News of Christ, was being faithful to his mandate to proclaim the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God has come upon us if God reigns in our hearts, if we do God's will and if God acts through us.

Life Messages: 1) We need to continue the preaching mission: Just as Jesus in today’s Gospel gives instructions to the seventy-two missionaries, he also gives each one of us a mission to carry out. There were just a handful of followers in Jesus’ day to preach the Good News, but today there are over one billion Roman Catholics and about a half billion other Christians (in 30,000 denominations!) who accept Jesus as “Lord” and “Savior.” So there are 1.5 billion missionaries in a world of six billion people.  A recent survey asked the question, “Why do adults join the Catholic Church in spite of the scandals publicized in the media?”  Seventy-five percent of the new adult converts to the Catholic Church reported that they were attracted by a personal invitation from a Catholic who had a lively relationship with Christ and his Church.  As faithful Catholics, we will attract others to the Catholic Church—just as a rose attracts people by its beauty and fragrance. It’s our job.  It’s our responsibility. We must not miss the current opportunities to be apostles in everyday life by our words and deeds.

2)  We need to avoid giving counter-witness:  The Church is founded on the rock of Peter, a humble, uneducated fisherman who died for the Lord he loved. Compare his Faith and heroic witnessing with the “supermarket Catholicism” of our politicians who publicly proclaim their “Catholicism,” yet support abortion, gay marriage, human cloning and experimentation with human embryos. We should not be “Catholics for a Free Choice” who oppose anything proposed by the Church, including the most basic right to life. Nor should we be armchair
Catholics, spiritual weekend warriors, “cafeteria Catholics” or “barely-make-it-to-Mass” members of the Church, who bear counter-witness to Christ. Instead of giving counter-witness, let us become heralds of the Kingdom in our own homes by treating each other with profound respect. When spouses respect each other and, thus, teach their children to do the same, our neighbors will experience the Kingdom in our families, because the Kingdom of God is God’s rule in our hearts enabling us to do His will.

3) The modern world needs the heroic witnessing of martyrs. The early writers of the Church never called the first Christians “martyrs,” in the modern sense of the word, but rather gave that name to those who died “giving witness” (martyrein) to Christ. The most important element wasn’t their deaths; it was their fidelity to their faith until the last moment of their lives. Martyrs are not people to be relegated to the distant past. Recent history abounds with examples of martyrdom: civil war in Spain, religious persecution in Poland, Mexico, Vietnam, Russia, China, and Africa. The names of Edith Stein (Germany), Maximilian
Kolbe (Poland), Miguel Pro (Mexico), and Pedro Poveda (Spain) are only the beginning of a long list of innocent victims, witnesses for their faith. Even today, religious freedom is still denied in various countries and, in fact, several Muslim nations forbid the celebration of the Sacraments. In our day, there are also “moral martyrs” who, although they are never physically killed, die an ignominious death, persecuted in the press, defamed in the media and falsely accused of faults they never committed. As successors of the seventy-two disciples, we are called upon to do Christ’s work with the courage of these martyrs’ convictions.

JOKES OF THE WEEK (on the preaching mission).

# 1 The definition of a good sermon: It should have a good beginning and a good ending and they should be as close together as possible. (George Burns).  A rule of thumb for preachers: If after ten minutes you haven't struck oil, stop boring! A pastor was greeting folks at the door after the service. A woman said, "Father, that was a very good sermon." The pastor says, "Oh, I have to give the credit to the Holy Spirit." "It wasn't THAT good!" she says. A priest, whose sermons were very long and boring, announced in the Church on a Sunday that he had been transferred to another Church and that it was Jesus' wish that he leave that week. The congregation in the Church got up and sang: "What a Friend we have in Jesus!"

# 2: Boring preacher:  A man was walking a pit bull down the road. The dog got away, ran up to a preacher and bit him on the knee. Then the dog went across
the street and bit a beautiful young woman. The owner was brought before a judge who asked, "Why did your dog bite the preacher?" The man answered, "I don't know! He's never done anything like that before." Then the judge asked, "Well why did he bite the young woman?" The owner replied, "Oh that's easy to answer! Probably he wanted to get the taste of that boring preacher out of his mouth!"
# 3: Place of amusement:  A pastor who was well known for the jokes he told during his sermons asked Park Benjamin, a famous humorist, why he never came to hear him preach. Benjamin replied, "Why, Sir, the fact is, I have conscientious scruples against going to places of amusement on
Sunday."

# 4: Abraham Lincoln put it rather strongly but effectively, when he said: "I do not care for cut-and-dried sermons. When I hear a man preach I like to see him act as if he were fighting a bumblebee.

Prepared by: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604.

Synopsis: OT XV Sunday (July 10) Homily on Luke 10:25-37 (L/16)

Introduction: The central theme of today’s Scripture readings is that we gain eternal life by loving God living in our neighbors by becoming good neighbors.

Scripture lessons: The first reading, taken from Deuteronomy, reminds us that God not only gives us His Commandments in Holy Scriptures, but that they are also written in our hearts so that we may obey them and inherit eternal life with God. In the second reading, St. Paul reminds the Colossians, and us, that just as Christ Jesus is the “visible image of the invisible God,” so our neighbors are the visible image of Christ living in our midst.   In today’s Gospel, a scribe asked Jesus a very basic religious question: “What should I do to inherit eternal life?”   In answer to the question, Jesus directed the scribe’s attention to the Sacred Scriptures.  The Scriptural answer is, “love God and express it by loving your neighbor.”   However, to the scribe the word “neighbor” meant another scribe or Pharisee – never a Samaritan or a Gentile. Hence, the scribe insisted on clarification of the word “neighbor.” So Jesus told him the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable clearly indicates that a “neighbor” is anyone who needs help.   Thus, the correct approach is not to ask, “Who is my neighbor?” but rather to ask, “Am I a good neighbor to others?” Jesus, the Heavenly Good Samaritan, gave us a final commandment during the Last Supper, “Love one another as I have loved you,” because the invisible God dwells in every human being.

Life messages: 1) Let us remember that the road from Jerusalem to Jericho passes right through our home, parish, school and work place. We may find our spouse, children or parents lying “wounded” by bitter words or scathing criticism or by other more blatant forms of verbal, emotional or physical abuse. Hence, Jesus invites us to show our love to others, in our own home, in school, in the workplace, and in the neighborhood, as the Good Samaritan did.  2) Let us check to see if we are good neighbors. We are invited to be people of generosity, kindness, and mercy toward all who are suffering. A sincere smile, a cheery greeting, an encouraging word of appreciation, a heartfelt “thank you” can all work wonders for a suffering soul. 3) Let us allow the ‘Good Samaritans’ to touch our lives. Let us be willing to touch, or be touched by, persons we have once despised. For some of us, it may be persons of another color or race; for others, it may mean persons of a different political persuasion.  Let us pray that the Spirit of the Living God may melt us, mold us and use us, so that there will no longer be even one person who is untouchable or outside the boundaries of compassion. 4) Let us accept the invitation to be loving and merciful to our enemies.   This means people we hate, as well as those who hate us.  It is an invitation for people of all times to love their enemies--to love those they have previously hated.

OT XV [C] (July 10) Dt 30:10-14; Col 1:15-20; Lk 10:25-37

Anecdote #1: Einstein’s little neighbor: When Einstein fled Nazi Germany, he came to America and bought a two-story house within walking distance of Princeton University. There he entertained some of the most distinguished people of his day and discussed with them far-ranging issues from physics to human rights. But Einstein had another frequent visitor. She was not, in the world's eyes, an important person like his other guests. Emmy, a ten-year old neighboring girl had heard that a very kind man who knew all about mathematics had moved into her neighborhood. Since she was having trouble with her fourth-grade mathematics, she decided to visit the man down the block and see if he would help with her problems. Einstein was very willing and explained everything to her so that she could understand it. He also told her she was welcome to come anytime she needed help. A few weeks later, one of the neighbors told Emmy's mother that Emmy was seen entering the house of the world-famous physicist. Horrified, she told her daughter that Einstein was a very important man, whose time was very valuable, and shouldn't be bothered with the problems of a little schoolgirl. She then rushed over to Einstein's house, and when Einstein answered the door, she started trying to blurt out an apology for her daughter's intrusion -- for being such a bother. But Einstein cut her off. He said, "She has not been bothering me! When a child finds such joy in learning, then it is my joy to help her learn! Please don't stop Emmy from coming to me with her school problems. She is welcome in this house anytime." -And that's how it is with God! He is our neighbor and He wants us to come to His house anytime! (Fr. John Pichappilly in The Table of the Word; quoted by Fr. Botelho)

# 2: Operation Smile:  I was reading sometime back about Dr. William Magee Jr., a plastic surgeon in Norfolk, Va. In 1981, Dr. Magee traveled to the Philippines to operate on children with cleft lips and other facial deformities. Unfortunately, there were so many children with this deformity, a deformity that can render it impossible for them to speak or eat, that hundreds had to be turned away. This caused Dr. Magee and his wife to found an organization called Operation Smile. Operation Smile sends volunteer doctors to perform reconstructive facial surgery for children worldwide. “It wasn’t a strategic plan,” said Magee. “It was just a matter of emotion and passion to make sure children didn’t have to live this way.” The group, which already has treated 50,000 children worldwide, also trains doctors in other nations to perform the procedure. Magee hopes to use satellite technology in the future, so he can teach a greater number of medical professionals the necessary techniques. (The Associated Press.) Dr. Magee didn’t have to do that. He could have justified himself. “What’s in it for me? There are so many children in my own city whose parents or whose insurance company could pay for this surgery. I’m a busy doctor here. I don’t have to go halfway around the world and minister to indigent children. Not my problem.” I doubt if Dr. Magee even wondered if this act of service would get him into Heaven. He simply saw a need and filled it. He became a Good Samaritan, encouraging fellow surgeons to become Good Samaritans.

# 3: “You owe this debt to any stranger who comes to you in need:” V. P. Menon was a significant political figure in India during its struggle for independence from Britain after World War II. Menon had a splendid reputation for personal charity. His daughter explained the background of this trait after he died. When Menon arrived in Delhi to seek a job in government, all his possessions, including his money and I.D., were stolen at the railroad station. He would have to return home on foot, defeated. In desperation he turned to an elderly Sikh, explained his troubles, and asked for a temporary loan of fifteen rupees to tide him over until he could get a job. The Sikh gave him the money. When Menon asked for his address so that he could repay the man, the Sikh said that Menon owed the debt not to him but to any stranger who came to him in need, as long as he lived. The help came from a stranger and was to be repaid to a stranger. Menon never forgot that debt. His daughter said that the day before Menon died, a beggar came to the family home in Bangalore asking for help to buy new sandals, for his feet were covered with sores. Menon asked his daughter to take fifteen rupees out of his wallet to give to the man. It was Menon's last conscious act. Menon ministered to strangers because a stranger had ministered to him. [Robert A. Fulgham, All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten (New York: Villard Books, 1988).] Why have Christians been historically so charitable, so caring? It is because once we were lying beside the road broken, and bleeding, nail-scarred hands reached down to us and ministered to us in our need. While we were unworthy, Christ the Divine Good Samaritan died for us.

Introduction: A scribe asked Jesus a very basic religious question: “What should I do to inherit eternal life?”   In answer to the question, Jesus directed the Scribe’s attention to the Sacred Scriptures.  The Scriptural answer is “love God and express it by loving your neighbor.”   However, to the scribe, the word “neighbor” meant another scribe or Pharisee – never a Samaritan or a Gentile. Hence, the scribe insisted on a clarification of the word “neighbor.” So Jesus told him the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable clearly indicates that a “neighbor” is anyone who needs help.   Thus, the correct approach is not to ask the question “Who is my neighbor?” but rather to ask, “Am I a good neighbor to others?” The first reading, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, reminds us that God not only gives us His Commandments in Holy Scriptures, but that they are also written in our hearts so that we may obey them and inherit eternal life with God. In the second reading, St. Paul reminds the Colossians, and us, that just as Christ Jesus is the “visible image of the invisible God,” so our neighbors are the visible image of Christ living in our midst.  Jesus, the Heavenly Good Samaritan, gave us a final commandment during the Last Supper, “Love one another as I have loved you,” because the invisible God dwells in every human being.

The first reading: Deuteronomy 30: 10-14: Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan in the course of a discussion about the Law which occurred in the context of Jesus’ fateful journey toward Jerusalem and his coming death. Jesus dared to ask people to go beyond the Law of Moses, and that is one of the things that got him in so much trouble. To prepare us for that lesson, the Church selects from the Hebrew Scriptures a description of the Law that captures its greatness.  Today’s passage, taken from the book of Deuteronomy, reminds us that God is not beyond human reach. Pagan religions of Moses’ time taught that God was accessible only through the mediation of specially selected persons who made that contact by acquiring secret knowledge and by performing bizarre rituals or by using hallucinogenic drugs. But God reveals to Moses that His Law is not across the sea or up in the sky or locked in a tabernacle. God has written his life-giving and salvific law in the human heart (v. 14; see also Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26-27). This Law is "not in heaven... nor is it beyond the seas," outside our reach. No, "it is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance." Hence, Moses urges the people of Israel to hear the voice of God from the Law and to keep His Commandments. He tells us that God is very near to us – in the neighbors we shall encounter each day this week. When we act as neighbor to them, we act as neighbor to God Himself.

The second reading: Colossians: 1: 15-20: The Christians of Colossae were misled by some false teachers, Gnostics, who saw Jesus as only a man, though just under the angels in rank. They taught that Jesus became Lord and Christ only at his Resurrection. Hence, Paul quotes this early Christian hymn to assure the Colossian Christians of: (1) the primacy of Christ over and above all angels and cosmic powers; (2) the value and necessity of the cross; and (3) the cosmic effects of salvation. This hymn also affirms Christ’s power and position over the four ranks of angels (v. 16: thrones, dominations, principalities and powers) which, according to Hellenistic Judaism, guarded the seven levels of Heaven. It asserts that Jesus is the full revelation of God, and that it is through the person and mission of Jesus that God has reconciled all things in Heaven and on earth to Himself, making peace between us and Him. It is this Jesus who lives in us and in our neighbors.

Exegesis: In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus presents three philosophies of life concerning our relationship with our neighbor:

1) The philosophy of the thieves who robbed the Jewish traveler – Lust: “What is yours is mine; I will take it by force.”   This has been the philosophy of Marxism and other revolutionary movements and of modern terrorist groups. In accepting this philosophy of life, the thieves, like their modern counterparts, terrorized others and exploited them, ignoring human rights and having selfish gain as their chief motive.   In Jesus’ day, the steep, winding, country road from Jerusalem to Jericho was the safe haven for such bandit groups. No wonder, the Jewish traveler was robbed, stripped, beaten and left for dead on the Jericho Road! Some Bible scholars estimate there were at least 12,000 "thieves" in that Judean wilderness surrounding Jerusalem. These thugs roamed the countryside like packs of wild dogs, attacking innocent victims. In our world, many more thieves operate than we might realize. These are the privileged few, the "robber barons" of the modern world. They are the "Enron" executives of every company who just can't be satisfied with being wealthy; they have to have all the marbles. The robber who takes money that does not belong to him is a thief. The rapist who takes sexual pleasure from someone not his spouse is a thief. The adulterer who steals another man's wife is a thief. Corporate executives and CEOs who bilk innocent stockholders of billions of dollars are thieves. God has given us things to use, and God has given us people to love. But when we begin to love things and use people, we become thieves. If our attitude is: "I just make sure I get mine. I don't care about anyone else," we are probably thieves.

2) The philosophy of life of the Jewish priest and the Levite – Legalism: “What is mine is mine; I won’t part with it.” The priests were powerful upper-class authorities governing the Temple cult. The Levites were the priests’ associates, who provided music, incense, sacred bread, Temple curtains and adornments. Their duties also included “kosher meatpacking” and banking. In the parable, the representatives of these classes did not pay any attention to the wounded man because of their utter selfishness. Misplaced zeal for their religious duty gave them a couple of lame excuses:  a)”If the man is dead and we touch him we will be unclean for seven days (Numbers 19:11), and disqualified from Temple service.”  Thus, they saw the wounded man on the road, not as a person needing help, but a possible source of ritual impurity.   b)  “This may be a trap set for us, by hiding bandits.” [This excuse has some validity, as bandits sometimes did use a “wounded” member to decoy a prospective victim into stopping, thus setting himself up for robbery.] The parable's priest and Levite, however, represent people who are always demanding their rights, but never talking about their responsibilities. These two men exercised their legal right to pass this man by, and forgot God in the process. These people don't say, "I do what I want to do," but, "I will only do what I have to do-I won't stick my neck out for anybody." When one does only do what one must do in life, one is not a good neighbor.

3) The philosophy of the Samaritan -- Love: “What is mine is yours as well. I shall share it with you.”   The Samaritan was generous enough to see the wounded Jew as a neighbor.   He ignored the long history of enmity between his people and the Jews. [The Samaritans were a bastard race by Judean standards. They presumably originated from the Israelites who remained behind in their homeland when the Assyrians, following their conquest in 722 BC, deported the leading families of the region. In the years that followed, the Israelites who remained intermarried with the foreign settlers brought in by the Assyrians.  The new hybrid ethnic generation -- "Jewish Assyrians"—continued to regard the Torah as their law but erected their own temple on Mount Gerizim, just outside Shechem (modern Nablus), at a time when there was no Temple in Jerusalem. John Hyracanus, aMaccabaean Jewish ruler, destroyed this Shechem temple during his reign (134-104 BC), and thus created lasting enmity between the Judeans and the Samaritans. No wonder, every morning in his daily prayer a Pharisee would go to the Temple and, out loud, thank God he had not been born a woman, a Gentile, or a Samaritan. Yet, Jesus makes the Samaritan the hero of the story.] The Good Samaritan was taking a real risk, since the robbers who had assaulted the traveler might still be nearby.   Nevertheless, he gave first aid to the wounded Jew, took him to a nearby inn and made arrangements for his food and accommodation by giving the innkeeper two denarii. Two denarii was a lot of money—enough, in fact, to pay for more than three weeks’ board and lodging.  The Samaritan also assured the innkeeper of further payment for any additional medical requirements of the wounded man. What made this Samaritan so special was not the color of his skin, but the compassion in his heart. No law could make the priest or the Levite stop, but love could make the Samaritan stop. Who would we have been that day -- the thief, the priest, the Levite, or the Good Samaritan?" If a person has a need that we can and should meet, that person is our neighbor. Every time we see a person in need, we immediately become a neighbor; we become a minister with a ministry. Columnist Ann Landers once wrote, "Be kind to people. The world needs kindness so much. You never know what sort of battles other people are fighting. Often just a soft word or a warm compliment can be immensely supportive. You can do a great deal of good by just being considerate, by extending a little friendship, going out of your way to do just one nice thing, or saying one good word."  Mark Twain once wrote, "Kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can read."

Life messages: 1) We need to remember that the road from Jerusalem to Jericho passes right through our home, parish, school and work place. The Jericho Road is any place where people are being robbed of their dignity, their material goods or their value as human beings.  It is any place where there is suffering and oppression.  As a matter of fact, the Jericho Road may be our own home, the place where we are taking care of a mother or father, husband or wife, or even our own children.  We may find our spouse, children or parents lying “wounded” by bitter words, scathing criticism or other, more blatant forms of verbal, emotional or physical abuse. Hence, Jesus invites us to have hearts of love.  What God wants more than anything is for us to show our love to others, in our own home and school, in the workplace, and in the neighborhood, as the Good Samaritandid.   Jesus is inviting us to have hearts of mercy for those who are being left hurt or mistreated on any of the “Jericho Roads” of life.

2) Are we good neighbors? A good neighbor does not say, "I do what I want to do," or even, "I do what I have to do," but, "I do what I ought to do." The lawyer’s question—“Who is my neighbor?”—reveals that he was really self-centered.    The parable makes us realize that every human person is our neighbor. How have we been good neighbors this week?  To whom did we behave in a neighborly way?  The parable is a condemnation of our non-involvement as well as an invitation for us to be merciful and kind to those in need, including those in our family, school neighborhood and parish. We are invited to be people of generosity, kindness, and mercy toward all who are suffering. A sincere smile, a cheery greeting, an encouraging word of appreciation, a heartfelt “thank you” can work wonders for a suffering soul. Within every society, there is fear of those who are "different," who differ from us in religion, skin-color, dress or language. The parable invites us to make them neighbors. Why? Because "one’s neighbor is the living image of God the Father, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and placed under the permanent action of the Holy Spirit. One’s neighbor must therefore be loved, even if he or she is an enemy, with the same love with which the Lord loves him or her.” (Pope St. John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 1987).

3) We need to allow the ‘Good Samaritans’ touch our lives. Do you recall the consternation and shock in so many areas years ago when PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shook hands for the whole world to see? People from both Arafat's and Rabin's cultures were shocked by it and condemned that handshake!  Let us be willing to touch and be touched by persons we have once despised. For some of us, these may be persons of another color or race; for others, these may be persons of a different political persuasion.  For still others these may be former enemies who have hurt them, abused them or offended them. Let us pray that the Spirit of the living God may melt us, mold us and use us so that there will no longer be even one person who is untouchable or outside the boundaries of compassion.

4) An invitation to be loving and merciful to our enemies.   "Enemies" include both people we hate, and those who hate us.  The Jews and the Samaritans during the time of Jesus hated each other.    When Jesus told the story of a Samaritan helping a Jew, everyone was probably shocked.  A Samaritan outcast helping a Jew?  Impossible! “Good Samaritan” would have sounded like a bad joke—a contradiction in terms.   The parable was an invitation for Jews to love Samaritans and Samaritans to love Jews.  It is an invitation for people of all times to love their enemies -- to love those they have previously hated.

JOKES OF THE WEEK

1) A little boy returned home from Sunday School, and his mother asked him what lesson the teacher taught. He said, "It was about two preachers who saw a man in a ditch, but they didn't stop because he had already been robbed."

2) A little girl was in a Sunday School class and the teacher was teaching the Good Samaritan story. He said, "Now if you saw a person lying in a ditch, beaten up, lying in his own blood, his teeth knocked out and his scalp hanging from his head, whatwould you do?" The little girl spoke up and said, "I think I would throw up."

3) “Good Samaritan” to neighbor’s cat: Little Tim was in the garden filling a hole when his neighbor peered over the fence. Interested in what the youngster was doing, he politely asked, "What are you up to there, Tim?"   "My goldfish died," replied Tim tearfully, without looking up, "and I've just buried him."   The neighbor said, "That's an awfully big hole for a goldfish, isn't it Tim?"   Tim patted down the last heap of earth, and then replied, "That's because he's still inside your stupid cat."

4) “The Good Samaritan eye.” A man went to see his bank manager to ask for a loan. After he had taken particulars, the bank manager said: “By rights I should refuse your request, but I will give you a sporting chance. Now, one of my eyes is made of glass. If you can tell me which one it is, I will grant you the loan.” The customer looked at the manager intently for a few moments and then said: "It’s your right eye.” “That’s correct, said the bank manager.” “How did you guess?” “Well,” replied the customer. It’s your Good Samaritan eye; I mean the kind and sympathetic one.”

5)  Danger of becoming a Good Samaritan: Shalom Aleichem tells a delightful story about an old Jewish man standing on a crowded bus. The young man standing next to him asked, "What time is it?" The old man refused to reply. The young man moved on. The old man’s friend, sensing something was wrong, asked, "Why were you so discourteous to the young man asking for the time?" The old man answered, "If I have given him the time of day, next he would want to know where I am going. Then we might talk about our interests. If we did that, he might invite himself to my house for dinner. If he did, he would meet my lovely daughter. If he met her, they would both fall in love. I don’t want my daughter marrying someone who can’t afford a watch."

OT XV [C] Sunday Homily

Introduction: The central theme of today’s Scripture readings is that we gain eternal life through loving God living in our neighbors by becoming good neighbors.

Scripture lessons: The first reading, taken from Deuteronomy, reminds us that God not only gives us His Commandments in Holy Scriptures, but that they are also written in our hearts so that we may obey them and inherit eternal life with God. In the second reading, St. Paul reminds the Colossians, and us, that just as Christ Jesus is the “visible image of the invisible God,” so our neighbors are the visible image of Christ living in our midst. In today’s Gospel, a scribe asks Jesus a very basic religious question: “What should I do to inherit eternal life?” In answer to the question, Jesus directs the scribe’s attention to the Sacred Scriptures. The Scriptural answer is, “love God and express it by loving your neighbor.” However, to the scribe the word “neighbor” means another scribe or Pharisee – never a Samaritan or a Gentile. Hence, the scribe insists on clarification of the word “neighbor.” So, Jesus tells him the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable clearly indicates that a “neighbor” is anyone who needs help. Thus, the correct approach is not to ask, “Who is my neighbor?” but rather to ask, “Am I a good neighbor to others?” Jesus, the Heavenly Good Samaritan, gives us a final commandment during the Last Supper, “Love one another as I have loved you,” because the invisible God dwells in every human being.

Life messages: 1) Let us remember that the road from Jerusalem to Jericho passes right through our home, parish, school and workplace. We may find our spouse, children or parents lying “wounded” by bitter words or scathing criticism or by other more blatant forms of verbal, emotional or physical abuse. Hence, Jesus invites us to show our love to others, in our own home, in school, in the workplace, and in the neighborhood, as the Good Samaritan did. 2) Let us check to see if we are good neighbors. We become good neighbors when we are people of generosity, kindness, and mercy toward all who are suffering. Our sincere smile, a cheery greeting, an encouraging word of appreciation, a heartfelt “thank you” can all work wonders for a suffering soul. 3) Let us allow the “Good Samaritans” to touch our lives. Let us be willing to touch, or be touched by, persons we have once despised. For some of us, it may be persons of another color or race; for others, it may mean persons of a different political persuasion. Let us pray that the Spirit of the Living God may melt us, mold us and use us, so that there will no longer be even one person who is untouchable or outside the boundaries of compassion. 4) Let us accept the invitation to be loving and merciful to our enemies. This means people we hate, as well as those who hate us. It is an invitation for people of all times to love their enemies–to love those they have previously hated.

OT XV [C] Dt 30:10-14; Col 1:15-20; Lk 10:25-37

Homily starter anecdotes #1: Einstein’s little neighbor: When Einstein fled Nazi Germany, he came to America and bought a two-storied house within walking distance of Princeton University. There he entertained some of the most distinguished people of his day and discussed with them far-ranging issues from physics to human rights. But Einstein had another frequent visitor. She was not, in the world’s eyes, an important person like his other guests. Emmy, a ten-year old neighbor, had heard that a very kind man who knew all about mathematics had moved into her neighborhood. Since she was having trouble with her fourth-grade mathematics, she decided to visit the man down the block to see if he would help with her problems. Einstein was very willing and explained everything to her so that she could understand it. He also told her she was welcome to come anytime she needed help. A few weeks later, one of the neighbors told Emmy’s mother that Emmy was seen entering the house of the world-famous physicist. Horrified, she told her daughter that Einstein was a very important man, whose time was very valuable, and shouldn’t be bothered with the problems of a little schoolgirl. She then rushed over to Einstein’s house, and when Einstein answered the door, she started trying to blurt out an apology for her daughter’s intrusion — for being such a bother. But Einstein cut her off. He said, “She has not been bothering me! When a child finds such joy in learning, then it is my joy to help her learn! Please don’t stop Emmy from coming to me with her school problems. She is welcome in this house anytime.” -And that’s how it is with God! He is our neighbor, and He wants us to come to His house anytime! (Fr. John Pichappilly in The Table of the Word; quoted by Fr. Botelho)

# 2: Jesus the Good Samaritan; When the Communists came to power in China, not a few Christians were arrested and tried for their faith. One was given the opportunity to reveal why he chose Christianity instead of the religion of his ancestors. I was in a deep pit, he said, sinking in the mire, and helpless to deliver myself. Looking up I saw a shadow at the top, and soon a venerable face looked over the brink and said, “My son, I am Confucius, the father of your country. If you had obeyed my teachings, you would never have been here.” And then he passed on with a significant movement of his finger and a cheerless farewell, adding, “If you ever get out of this, remember to obey my teachings.” But alas! That did not save me. Then Buddha came along, and, looking over the edge of the pit he cried, “My son, just count it all as nothing. Enter into rest. Fold your arms and retire within yourself, and you will find NIRWANA, the peace to which we all are tending.” I cried, “Father Buddha, if you will only help me to get out, I will be glad to do so. I could follow your instructions easily if I were where you are, but how can I rest in this awful place?” But Buddha passed on and left me to my despair.

Then another face appeared. It was the face of a man beaming with kindness and bearing marks of sorrow. He did not linger a moment, but leaped down to my side, threw his arms around me, lifted me out of the mire, brought me to the solid ground above, then he did not even bid me farewell, but took off my filthy garments, put new robes upon me, and bade me follow him, saying, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” That is why I became a Christian. As followers of Christ, we can very easily see ourselves in that injured man because we were once dead, badly beaten up by our sins. But, we have been spotted by – ‘The Good Samaritan par excellence and our ultimate neighbor, beyond all comparison,’ who healed and delivered us from our sins out of his loving mercy and compassion for us. After he healed us, he entrusted us to his inn, which is his Church, for further spiritual caring and nourishment. And, our Samaritan who saved us is none other than Jesus himself, who said that he will be back someday in the future to take us with him to his Kingdom. This is what St. Paul tells the Colossians in today’s Second Reading, which is actually a Christological hymn: “God wanted all things to be reconciled through him and for him, everything in heaven and on earth, when he made peace by his death on the cross.” (Quoted by Fr. Larka)

# 3: Operation Smile: I was reading sometime back about Dr. William Magee Jr., a plastic surgeon in Norfolk, Va. In 1981, Dr. Magee traveled to the Philippines to operate on children with cleft lips and other facial deformities. Unfortunately, there were so many children with this deformity, a deformity that can render it impossible for them to speak or eat, that hundreds had to be turned away. This caused Dr. Magee and his wife to found an organization called Operation Smile. Operation Smile sends volunteer doctors to perform reconstructive facial surgery for children worldwide. “It wasn’t a strategic plan,” said Magee. “It was just a matter of emotion and passion to make sure children didn’t have to live this way.” The group, which has already treated 50,000 children worldwide, also trains doctors in other nations to perform the procedure. Magee hopes to use satellite technology in the future, so he can teach a greater number of medical professionals the necessary techniques. (The Associated Press.) Dr. Magee didn’t have to do that. He could have justified himself. “What’s in it for me? There are so many children in my own city whose parents or whose insurance company could pay for this surgery. I’m a busy doctor here. I don’t have to go halfway around the world and minister to indigent children. Not my problem.” I doubt if Dr. Magee even wondered if this act of service would get him into Heaven. He simply saw a need and filled it. He became a Good Samaritan, encouraging fellow surgeons to become Good Samaritans.

# 4: “You owe this debt to any stranger who comes to you in need:” V. P. Menon was a significant political figure in India during its struggle for independence from Britain after World War II. Menon had a splendid reputation for personal charity. His daughter explained the background of this trait after he died. When Menon arrived in Delhi to seek a job in government, all his possessions, including his money and I.D., were stolen at the railroad station. He would have to return home on foot, defeated. In desperation he turned to an elderly Sikh, explained his troubles, and asked for a temporary loan of fifteen rupees to tide him over until he could get a job. The Sikh gave him the money. When Menon asked for his address so that he could repay the man, the Sikh said that Menon owed the debt not to him but to any stranger who came to him in need, as long as he lived. The help came from a stranger and was to be repaid to a stranger. Menon never forgot that debt. His daughter said that the day before Menon died, a beggar came to the family home in Bangalore asking for help to buy new sandals, for his feet were covered with sores. Menon asked his daughter to take fifteen rupees out of his wallet to give to the man. It was Menon’s last conscious act. Menon ministered to strangers because a stranger had ministered to him. [Robert A. Fulgham, All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten (New York: Villard Books, 1988).] Why have Christians, historically, been so charitable, so caring? It is because once, when we were lying beside the road, broken and bleeding, nail-scarred hands reached down to us and ministered to us in our need. While we were unworthy, Christ the Divine Good Samaritan died for us.

Introduction: A scribe asked Jesus a very basic religious question: “What should I do to inherit eternal life?” In answer to the question, Jesus directed the Scribe’s attention to the Sacred Scriptures. The Scriptural answer is “love God and express it by loving your neighbor.” However, to the scribe, the word “neighbor” meant another scribe or Pharisee – never a Samaritan or a Gentile. Hence, the scribe insisted on a clarification of the word “neighbor.” So Jesus told him the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable clearly indicates that a “neighbor” is anyone who needs help. Thus, the correct approach is not to ask the question “Who is my neighbor?” but rather to ask, “Am I a good neighbor to others?” The first reading, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, reminds us that God not only gives us His Commandments in Holy Scriptures, but that they are also written in our hearts so that we may obey them and inherit eternal life with God. The refrain for today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 69) condenses the lessons of the three readings in a single memorable promise, “Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.” In the second reading, St. Paul reminds the Colossians, and us, that just as Christ Jesus is the “visible image of the invisible God,” so our neighbors are the visible image of Christ living in our midst. Jesus, the Heavenly Good Samaritan, gave us a final commandment during the Last Supper, “Love one another as I have loved you,” because the invisible God dwells in every human being.

The first reading: Deuteronomy 30:10-14 explained: Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan in the course of a discussion about the Law which occurred in the context of Jesus’ fateful journey toward Jerusalem and his coming death. Jesus dared to ask people to go beyond the Law of Moses, and that is one of the things that got him in so much trouble. To prepare us for that lesson, the Church selects from the Hebrew Scriptures a description of the Law that captures its greatness. Today’s passage, taken from the book of Deuteronomy, reminds us that God is not beyond human reach. Pagan religions of Moses’ time taught that God was accessible only through the mediation of specially selected persons who made that contact by acquiring secret knowledge and by performing bizarre rituals or by using hallucinogenic drugs. But God reveals to Moses that His Law is not across the sea or up in the sky — or locked in a tabernacle! God has written his life-giving and salvific law in the human heart (v. 14; see also Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26-27). This Law is “not in heaven… nor is it beyond the seas,” outside our reach. No, “it is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance.” Hence, Moses urges the people of Israel to hear the voice of God from the Law and to keep His Commandments. He tells us that God is very near to us – in the neighbors we shall encounter each day this week. When we act as neighbor to them, we act as neighbor to God Himself.

The second reading: Colossians: 1:15-20 explained: The Christians of Colossae were misled by some false teachers, Gnostics, who saw Jesus as only a man, though just under the angels in rank. They taught that Jesus became Lord and Christ only at his Resurrection. Hence, Paul quotes this early Christian hymn to assure the Colossian Christians of: (1) the primacy of Christ over and above all angels and cosmic powers; (2) the value and necessity of the cross; and (3) the cosmic effects of salvation. This hymn also affirms Christ’s power and position over the four ranks of angels (v. 16: thrones, dominations, principalities and powers) which, according to Hellenistic Judaism, guarded the seven levels of Heaven. It asserts that Jesus is the full revelation of God, and that it is through the person and mission of Jesus that God has reconciled all things in Heaven and on earth to Himself, making peace between us and Him. It is this Jesus who lives in us and in our neighbors.

Gospel exegesis: In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus presents three philosophies of life concerning our relationship with our neighbor:

1) The philosophy of the thieves who robbed the Jewish traveler – Lust: “What is yours is mine; I will take it by force.” This has been the philosophy of Marxism and other revolutionary movements and of modern terrorist groups. In accepting this philosophy of life, the thieves, like their modern counterparts, terrorized others and exploited them, ignoring human rights and having selfish gain as their chief motive. In Jesus’ day, the steep, winding, country road from Jerusalem to Jericho was the safe haven for such bandit groups. No wonder, the Jewish traveler was robbed, stripped, beaten and left for dead on the Jericho Road! Some Bible scholars estimate there were at least 12,000 “thieves” in that Judean wilderness surrounding Jerusalem. These thugs roamed the countryside like packs of wild dogs, attacking innocent victims. In our world, many more thieves operate than we might realize. These are the privileged few, the “robber barons” of the modern world. They are the “Enron” executives of every company who just can’t be satisfied with being wealthy; they have to have all the marbles. The robber who takes money that does not belong to him is a thief. The rapist who takes sexual pleasure from someone not his spouse is a thief. The adulterer who steals another’s spouse is a thief. Corporate executives and CEOs who bilk innocent stockholders of billions of dollars are thieves. God has given us things to use, and God has given us people to love. But when we begin to love things and use people, we become thieves. If our attitude is: “I just make sure I get mine. I don’t care about anyone else,” we are probably thieves.

2) The philosophy of life of the Jewish priest and the Levite – Legalism: “What is mine is mine; I won’t part with it.” The priests were powerful upper-class authorities governing the Temple cult. The Levites were the priests’ associates, who provided music, incense, sacred bread, Temple curtains and adornments. Their duties also included “kosher meatpacking” and banking. In the parable, the representatives of these classes did not pay any attention to the wounded man because of their utter selfishness. Misplaced zeal for their religious duty gave them a couple of lame excuses: a)” If the man is dead and we touch him we will be unclean for seven days (Numbers 19:11), and disqualified from Temple service.” Thus, they saw the wounded man on the road, not as a person needing help, but a possible source of ritual impurity. b) “This may be a trap set for us, by hiding bandits.” [This excuse has some validity, as bandits sometimes did use a “wounded” member to decoy a prospective victim into stopping, thus setting himself up for robbery.] The parable’s priest and Levite, however, represent people who are always demanding their rights, but never talking about their responsibilities. These two men exercised their legal right to pass this man by, and forgot God in the process. These people don’t say, “I do what I want to do,” but, “I will only do what I have to do-I won’t stick my neck out for anybody.” When one only does what one must do in life, one is not a good neighbor.

3) The philosophy of the Samaritan — Love: “What is mine is yours as well. I shall share it with you.” The Samaritan was generous enough to see the wounded Jew as a neighbor. He ignored the long history of enmity between his people and the Jews.

[The Samaritans were a bastard race by Judean standards. They presumably originated from the Israelites who remained behind in their homeland when the Assyrians, following their conquest in 722 BC, deported the leading families of the region. In the years that followed, the Israelites who remained intermarried with the foreign settlers brought in by the Assyrians. The new hybrid ethnic generation — “Jewish Assyrians”—continued to regard the Torah as their law but erected their own temple on Mount Gerizim, just outside Shechem (modern Nablus), at a time when there was no Temple in Jerusalem. The hostility between Jews and Samaritans was worsened by a deep-rooted rivalry concerning their sanctuaries (Mt. Gerizim, Mt. Zion), messianic expectations, and by disputes regarding the interpretation of their sacred texts. John Hyracanus, a Maccabaean Jewish ruler, destroyed this Shechem temple during his reign (134-104 BC), and thus created lasting enmity between the Judeans and the Samaritans. No wonder, every morning in his daily prayer a Pharisee would go to the Temple and, out loud, thank God he had not been born a woman, a Gentile, or a Samaritan. Yet, Jesus makes the Samaritan the hero of the story.]

The Good Samaritan was taking a real risk, since the robbers who had assaulted the traveler might still be nearby. Nevertheless, he gave first aid to the wounded Jew, took him to a nearby inn and made arrangements for his food and accommodation by giving the innkeeper two denarii. Two denarii was a lot of money—enough, in fact, to pay for more than three weeks’ board and lodging. The Samaritan also assured the innkeeper of further payment for any additional medical requirements of the wounded man. What made this Samaritan so special was not the color of his skin, but the compassion in his heart. No law could make the priest or the Levite stop, but love could make the Samaritan stop. Who would we have been that day — the thief, the priest, the Levite, or the Good Samaritan?” If a person has a need that we can and should meet, that person is our neighbor. Every time we see a person in need, we immediately become a neighbor; we become a minister with a ministry. Columnist Ann Landers once wrote, “Be kind to people. The world needs kindness so much. You never know what sort of battles other people are fighting. Often just a soft word or a warm compliment can be immensely supportive. You can do a great deal of good by just being considerate, by extending a little friendship, going out of your way to do just one nice thing, or saying one good word.” Mark Twain once wrote, “Kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can read.”

Life messages: 1) We need to remember that the road from Jerusalem to Jericho passes right through our home, parish, school and workplace. The Jericho Road is any place where people are being robbed of their dignity, their material goods or their value as human beings. It is any place where there is suffering and oppression. As a matter of fact, the Jericho Road may be our own home, the place where we are taking care of a mother or father, husband or wife, or even our own children. We may find our spouse, children or parents lying “wounded” by bitter words, scathing criticism or other, more blatant forms of verbal, emotional or physical abuse. Hence, Jesus invites us to have hearts of love. What God wants more than anything is for us to show our love to others, in our own home and school, in the workplace, and in the neighborhood, as the Good Samaritan did. Jesus is inviting us to have hearts of mercy for those who are being left hurt or mistreated on any of the “Jericho Roads” of life.

2) Are we good neighbors? A good neighbor does not say, “I do what I want to do,” or even, “I do what I have to do,” but, “I do what I ought to do.” The lawyer’s question— “Who is my neighbor?”—reveals that he was really self-centered. The parable makes us realize that every human person is our neighbor. How have we been good neighbors this week? To whom did we behave in a neighborly way? The parable is a condemnation of our non-involvement as well as an invitation for us to be merciful and kind to those in need, including those in our family, school, neighborhood, and parish. We are invited to be people of generosity, kindness, and mercy toward all who are suffering. A sincere smile, a cheery greeting, an encouraging word of appreciation, a heartfelt “thank you” can work wonders for a suffering soul. Within every society, there is fear of those who are “different,” who differ from us in religion, skin-color, dress or language. The parable invites us to make them neighbors. Why? Because “one’s neighbor is the living image of God the Father, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and placed under the permanent action of the Holy Spirit. One’s neighbor must therefore be loved, even if he or she is an enemy, with the same love with which the Lord loves him or her.” (Pope St. John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 1987).

3) We need to allow the “Good Samaritans” touch our lives. Do you recall the consternation and shock in so many areas years ago when PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shook hands for the whole world to see? People from both Arafat’s and Rabin’s cultures were shocked by it and condemned that handshake! Let us be willing to touch and be touched by persons we have once despised. For some of us, these may be persons of another color or race; for others, these may be persons of a different political persuasion. For still others these may be former enemies who have hurt them, abused them or offended them. Let us pray that the Spirit of the living God may melt us, mold us and use us so that there will no longer be even one person who is untouchable or outside the boundaries of our compassion.

4) We are commanded to be loving and merciful to our enemies. “Enemies” include both people we hate, and those who hate us. The Jews and the Samaritans during the time of Jesus hated each other. When Jesus told the story of a Samaritan helping a Jew, everyone was probably shocked. A Samaritan outcast helping a Jew? Impossible! “Good Samaritan” would have sounded like a bad joke—a contradiction in terms. The parable was an invitation for Jews to love Samaritans and Samaritans to love Jews. It is an invitation for people of all times to love their enemies — to love those they have previously hated.

JOKES OF THE WEEK 

1) “Good Samaritan” to neighbor’s cat: Little Tim was in the garden filling a hole when his neighbor peered over the fence. Interested in what the youngster was doing, he politely asked, “What are you up to there, Tim?”   “My goldfish died,” replied Tim tearfully, without looking up, “and I’ve just buried him.”   The neighbor said, “That’s an awfully big hole for a goldfish, isn’t it, Tim?”   Tim patted down the last heap of earth, and then replied, “That’s because he’s still inside your stupid cat.”

2) “The Good Samaritan-eye.” A man went to see his bank manager to ask for a loan. After he had taken particulars, the bank manager said: “By rights I should refuse your request, but I will give you a sporting chance. Now, one of my eyes is made of glass. If you can tell me which one glass is not, I will grant you the loan.” The customer looked at the manager intently for a few moments and then said: “It’s your right eye.” “That’s correct, said the bank manager.” “How did you guess?” “Well,” replied the customer. It’s your Good Samaritan eye; I mean the kind and sympathetic one.”

3) Danger of becoming a Good Samaritan: Shalom Aleichem tells a delightful story about an old Jewish man standing on a crowded bus. The young man standing next to him asked, “What time is it?” The old man refused to reply. The young man moved on. The old man’s friend, sensing something was wrong, asked, “Why were you so discourteous to the young man asking for the time?” The old man answered, “If I have given him the time of day, next he would want to know where I am going. Then we might talk about our interests. If we did that, he might invite himself to my house for dinner. If he did, he would meet my lovely daughter. If he met her, they would both fall in love. I don’t want my daughter marrying someone who can’t afford a watch.”

Prepared by: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604.

Synopsis: OT XVI Sunday (July 17) Homily on Lk 10: 38-42 (L/16)

Introduction: The central themes of today’s readings are the importance of hospitality in Christian life and the necessity of listening to God before acting. The key to the Christian life is setting priorities: Jesus Christ first, then everything else. The only way really to learn that lesson is to spend some time every day, "sitting at the feet of Jesus."

Scripture lessons: Today’s first reading describes how Abraham and Sarah’s hospitality to angels in the guise of strangers was rewarded by God, Who blessed them with a son in their old age. In the second reading, Paul declares that he was commissioned by God to minister to the Church, as the revealer of the mystery of salvation and the preacher of the word in its fullness (v. 25). He invites believers to open their hearts and minds and to show their hospitality to the mystery of Christ which he preaches. He challenges us also to cultivate that quality of hospitality which welcomes all others in Christ. The Gospel passage describes how Martha, a true child of Abraham, wanted to extend the traditional generous hospitality of her people to Jesus, the true Messiah, by preparing an elaborate meal for him, while her sister Mary spent her time in talking to him and listening to him. Presenting Martha as a dynamo of action and Mary as a true listener to the word of God, today’s Gospel invites us to serve others with Martha’s diligence after recharging our spiritual batteries every day by prayer - listening to God and talking to God – as Mary did. We are able to minister truly to the needs of others only after welcoming God’s Word into in our hearts and minds.

Life Messages: 1) We need to recharge our spiritual batteries: We should put aside the work we do for the Lord in serving others and just spend some time being with Him, talking to Him and listening to Him, fully aware of His holy presence in our souls. We may also recharge our spiritual energy by means of our personal and family prayers, our meditative reading of the Bible and our participation in the celebration of the Holy Mass. 2) We need listening Marthas and serving Marys: Martha has become a symbol of action-oriented, responsible people who get the job done. Our world and our parish churches need such dynamic and generous men, women, boys and girls. We need them to sing in the choir, to help in the Church, to teach in the Sunday school, to visit the sick and the shut-ins and to serve in all other ministries of the parish community. 3)  We need to be good listeners, like Mary, at home and in the workplace.  Active and busy as we are, we have to find time every day to listen to God, to our spouse, kids and neighbors. Listening and quiet caring are essential for the success of married life, of family life and of the rearing of children with love, affection and a sense of discipline. Human love begins at home, and it begins with listening

OT XVI [C] (July 17) Gen 18:1-10a; Col 1:24-28; Lk 10:38-42

Anecdote: # 1: Southern Marthas

Synopsis: OT XVI [C] Sunday Homily on Lk 10: 38-42 (L-19)

Introduction: The central themes of today’s readings are the importance of hospitality in Christian life and the necessity of listening to God before acting. The key to the Christian life is setting priorities: Jesus Christ first, then everything else. The only way really to learn that lesson is to spend some time every day, “sitting at the feet of Jesus.”

Scripture lessons: Today’s first reading describes how Abraham and Sarah’s hospitality to angels in the guise of strangers was rewarded by God, who blessed them with a son in their old age. In the second reading, Paul declares that he was commissioned by God to minister to the Church, as the revealer of the mystery of salvation and the preacher of the word in its fullness (v. 25). He invites believers to open their hearts and minds and to show their hospitality to the mystery of Christ which he preaches. Paul also challenges us to cultivate that quality of hospitality which welcomes all others in Christ. The Gospel passage describes how Martha, a true child of Abraham, wanted to extend the traditional generous hospitality of her people to Jesus, the true Messiah, by preparing an elaborate meal for him, while her sister Mary spent her time in talking to Jesus and listening to him. Presenting Martha as a dynamo of action and Mary as a true listener to the word of God, today’s Gospel invites us to serve others with Martha’s diligence after recharging our spiritual batteries every day by prayer – listening to God and talking to God – as Mary did. We can minister truly to the needs of others only after welcoming God’s Word into in our hearts and minds.

Life Messages: 1) We need to recharge our spiritual batteries: We should put aside the work we do for the Lord in serving others and just spend some time being with Him, talking to Him and listening to Him, fully aware of His holy presence in our souls. We may also recharge our spiritual energy by means of our personal and family prayers, our meditative reading of the Bible and our participation in the celebration of the Holy Mass.

2) We need listening Marthas and serving Marys: Martha has become a symbol of action-oriented, responsible people who get the job done. Our world and our parish churches need such dynamic and generous men, women, boys and girls. We need them to sing in the choir, to help in the Church, to teach in the Sunday school, to visit the sick and the shut-ins and to serve in all other ministries of the parish community. 3) We need to be good listeners, like Mary, at home and in the workplace. Active and busy as we are, we must find time every day to listen to God, to our spouse, kids and neighbors. Listening and quiet caring are essential for the success of married life, of family life and of the rearing of children with love, affection and a sense of discipline. Human love begins at home, and it begins with listening

OT XVI [C] Gn 18:1-10a; Col 1:24-28; Lk 10:38-42

Homily starter anecdote: # 1: Southern Marthas & Mary-Marthas: Like women of many other countries and cultures, Southern women in the United States are great Marthas and proud of it.  These women, who have traditional Southern hospitality refined to an art, never sit. They hover. Plates are never allowed to go empty. Guests are continually asked if they need anything. In fact, many times the hostess will continue to cook all through the meal. When does the hostess eat? This is one of the South’s mysteries. The hostess keeps working, huffing around the table. She misses all dinner conversation, all sharing of feelings and information, and gives herself totally to serving. A second type of Southern woman is Mary-Martha. Unflustered, she greets the guests at the door. The table is already set and the kitchen is spotless. This hostess sits, talks, laughs and eats the appetizers with her guests. She excuses herself, goes to the kitchen, and returns with food that’s prepared and ready to eat. At dinner, she remains with those gathered around the table, getting to know the guests, asking about their lives, sharing her own thoughts and feelings. In today’s Gospel, Jesus expresses his preference for Mary-Marthas over Southern Marthas. (Mary W. Ander).

# 2: “Start each day with an hour of prayer. “A true story is told about an advertising executive at Reader’s Digest, who found her emptiness filled in by prayer, listening to God, as Mary did in today’s Gospel. In spite of her successful career, she had felt emptiness in her life. One morning, during a breakfast meeting with her marketing consultant, she mentioned that emptiness. “Do you want to fill it?” her colleague asked. “Of course, I do,” she said. He looked at her and replied, “Then start each day with an hour of prayer.” She looked at him and said, “Don, you’ve got to be kidding. If I tried that, I’d go off my rocker.” Don smiled and said, “That’s exactly what I said 20 years ago.” The woman left the restaurant in turmoil. Begin each morning with prayer? Begin each morning with an hour of prayer? Absolutely out of the question! Yet, the next morning she found herself doing exactly that. And she’s been doing it ever since. This woman is the first to admit that it has not always been easy. There have been mornings when she was filled with great peace and joy. But there have been other mornings when she was filled with nothing but weariness. And it was on these weary mornings that she remembered something else that her marketing consultant said. “There will be times when your mind just won’t go into God’s sanctuary. That’s when you spend your hour in God’s waiting room. Still, you’re there, and God appreciates your struggle to stay there.” Today’s Gospel reminds us of the need to combine work and prayer.

# 3: “I would like to be married to both of them”: Some single men in a Bible study group were discussing who would make the better wife–Martha or Mary. One fellow said, “Well, I think Martha would make the better wife. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. It sounds like Martha surely knew how to cook. I would love to be married to a woman like that!” Another man said, “I think Mary would make the better wife. She was always so thoughtful, sweet and loving. I could be very happy, married to a woman like Mary!” Finally, another fellow settled the argument when he said, “Well, I would like to be married to both of them. I would like Martha before supper and Mary after supper.” Today’s Gospel challenges us to combine the listening spirit of Mary with the dynamic spirit of Martha in our Christian lives.

#4: “She can sit all evening at the feet of a friend and not say anything.” The headline on the cover of Sports Illustrated some time back read: “Sportswoman of the Year.” One of the pictures on the cover showed Mary Decker pressing the tape as she defeated, by inches, the Soviet champion, Zamira Zaitseva, in the 1500-meter world championship race. The article went on to describe Decker’s phenomenal performances in San Diego, Los Angeles, Gateshead (England), Stockholm, Paris, and Oslo. One comment was made about Mary Decker by the writer of the article that is relevant to our discussion today. He wrote, “She can sit all evening at the feet of a friend and not say anything, just smile and let the talk wash over her.”[Kenny Moore, “She Runs and We Are Lifted,” Sports Illustrated (December 26, 1983), p. 38.] Today’s Gospel tells us about another Mary, Mary of Bethany, who did the same thing when Jesus made his last visit to her home.

Introduction: The central themes of today’s readings are the importance of hospitality in Christian life and the necessity of listening to God before acting. Jesus welcomed and tended to the needs of all, reflecting in his actions the very hospitality of God. The key to the Christian life is SETTING PRIORITIES: Jesus Christ first, then everything else. The only way really to learn that lesson is to spend some time every day, “sitting at the feet of Jesus.” Today’s first reading describes how Abraham and Sarah’s hospitality to strangers was rewarded by God. The Gospel passage describes how Martha, a true child of Abraham, wanted to extend the traditional generous hospitality of her people to Jesus, the true Messiah, by preparing an elaborate meal for him, while her sister Mary spent her time in talking to him and listening to him. Presenting Martha as a dynamo of action and Mary as a true listener to the word of God, today’s Gospel invites us to serve others with Martha’s diligence, after recharging our spiritual batteries every day by prayer – listening to God and talking to God – as Mary did. We are able to minister truly to the needs of others only after welcoming God’s Word into our hearts and minds.

First reading — Genesis 18:1-10, explained: This is the story of Abraham and Sarah and their offering of hospitality to three strangers. Both the ancient Jews and the early Christians believed that the best way to show their dedication to God was to be dedicated to hospitality. Three visitors appeared unexpectedly before Abraham’s tent. Abraham was wealthy enough to play the very generous host with the best of his contemporaries, and he was spiritually keen, sensing that his visitors were disguised angels. He and his wife, Sarah promptly started making preparations for a lavish meal with which to refresh their guests. Their generous hospitality was even more generously rewarded. God, speaking through the guests, promised that the aged couple would have a son within a year! The birth announcement was a sign of the fulfillment of God’s promises of progeny, prosperity, and property, a homeland for Abraham. If we open our hearts and our homes to God, the impossible can happen – God’s presence can overturn things. For the Israelites, this story was a sign of how God’s plan of salvation would be carried out through them, and they waited for the promised Messiah from the offspring of Abraham and Sarah. Because of his exemplary hospitality, Abraham has been featured in rabbinic stories as the founder of inns for travelers and the inventor and teacher of grace after meals. He may have been the inspiration for the missionary host who insisted that his guests praise Israel’s God for their room and board or pay cash for it!

Second reading — Colossians 1: 24-28, explained: Paul did not establish the Christian community at Colossae. But the elders there appealed to him for help in some doctrinal and disciplinary issues, and Paul agreed to assist them. In the second reading, Paul presents his credentials to the Colossians. Saint Paul had suffered many hardships in preaching the Good News brought by Jesus, the same Messiah whom he had encountered on the way to Damascus. He reported that he had not only been invited to join the suffering ministry of the risen Jesus but had also been given the insight that he was actually suffering “on behalf of His body, which is the Church.” Paul could honestly look even at the Gentiles and state that he saw “Christ in you, the hope for glory.” Paul was speaking figuratively when he stated that he filled up what was lacking in the sufferings of Christ (v. 24). Obviously, the saving sacrifice of Jesus was absolute and complete. Therefore, Paul’s statement should be understood as a metaphorical expression of the author’s incredible closeness to Christ as a member of His Body, the Church, a closeness which enabled him to make Jesus’ suffering his own. What was lacking was not the atoning power of the cross but its manifestation in the Church as a present reality. Paul also believed that he had been commissioned by God to minister to the Church, as the revealer of the mystery of salvation and the preacher of the word in its fullness(v. 25). Paul invites believers to open their hearts and minds to welcome the mystery of Christ. Those who consent, by Faith, to become “hosts” of the mystery are thereby challenged to cultivate that quality of hospitality that welcomes all others in Christ.

Gospel exegesis: Home away from home: Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary were good friends of Jesus. Their little village of Bethany was located two miles from Jerusalem, and according to the Gospel of John, Jesus visited Jerusalem at least six times. In other words, Jesus, the most popular rabbi of the time, often visited the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus as their closest family friend. In addition, Jesus was the Messiah who had raised Lazarus from death and given him back to his sisters. It was Mary’s simple statement of Faith that brought tears to our Lord’s eyes; “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” [John 11:32]. Furthermore, Jesus had made no secret that this was his last journey, as he had stated repeatedly that he would die in Jerusalem. Since Martha owned the house, and she was the older sister, she decided to make the last dinner for their great friend something very special.

The problem of hospitality in the early House Churches: Luke might have been using this incident from the life of Jesus to address a common problem of hospitality in House Churches (the only kind of Churches there were!) where the early Christians gathered for prayer and the Eucharistic service. Traditional values and hospitality would have placed a heavy expectation on the woman of the house, while the guests were listening to the preaching of the apostles or elders. The story is thus an indirect invitation for all the participants to share in the arrangements and preparation of the food. That would enable everyone to participate in the whole Eucharistic service and would save the host family from unnecessary worries. The assembled Marys should approach the Martha of the house and say “Let’s listen to the preacher first, and then let’s work together in the kitchen to feed the assembled ones.” Everyone was to be included and no one was to be left aside, trapped in a cooking role which kept her from participating in the entire service.

Our priorities: The episode is also intended to teach us how we should set our priorities. Traditionally, today’s Gospel story has been interpreted to mean that the quiet life of contemplation and prayer led by monks and nuns and personified in Mary, is superior to a busy life of activity and action, personified in Martha. Jesus did not intend to belittle Martha and her activity, but rather to show that hearing the word of God is the foundation of all action, and that the word of God must permeate all other concerns. The highest priority must be given to listening to the word. Prayer and actions must be continuous, complementary and mutually dependent. Prayer without action is sterile, and action without prayer is empty. We are expected to be “contemplatives in action” because only those who listen carefully to the Word of God know how to behave in the way that God wants, when they show deep concern for the well-being of other people. That is why Jesus reminds Martha that proper service for him is attention to his instruction, not just an elaborate provision for his physical needs. Mary shows her love for the Lord by listening to him. Jesus in fact, needed Mary and Martha to keep him company and to listen to him because he was preparing to face the cross. By this episode, Jesus teaches his disciples that those who minister among God’s people must be actively listening to his words thus becoming hospitable hosts and hostesses, welcoming into their hearts and attending to the good news of salvation. At every Mass, we are offered the very hospitality of Jesus at the table of the Eucharist to become both Mary and Martha. Both Mary and Martha are teaching would-be disciples that their following of Jesus and their service in his name will require frequent spiritual refueling by prayer, silence and communion with God. Otherwise, service can become a crushing responsibility, a burden rather than a vocation, or a loving response to the invitation of God.

Expression of love: In his Gospel, Luke frequently shows women in places of honor. Here, Mary is presented as sitting at Jesus’ feet to receive his teaching, the posture of a disciple, a man’s role in that time and place. Mary’s presumptuous posture and the attention she was receiving may have embarrassed Martha. Martha may have suspected, as many cast in her mold do, that Jesus loved her ‘spiritual’ sister better than herself, and that Jesus had little regard for the mundane work she was doing in the kitchen. Hence, it is no wonder that Martha was distracted! Her hands were busy, but her resentments were busier. How are we to understand the complementarities of Martha’s hospitality in meeting Jesus’ need for food, and Mary’s longing for personal communion with him? Our love of God must become incarnate in whatever we do to meet the needs of others. Thus, our good work – whether cooking a meal or voting for a bill in Congress – becomes a sacrament or an effective sign of our self-giving love. The proper service of Jesus is attention to his instruction not an elaborate provision for his physical needs.

Life Messages: 1) We need to recharge our spiritual batteries: It is a well-known fact that those who are in the caring professions, like doctors, nurses, pastors, social workers and even parents, often suffer from burnout and terminal exhaustion as Martha did. People suffering from burnout often end up angry, anxious, and worried. Hence, occasionally we need to put aside the work we do for the Lord in serving others and just spend some time being with Him, talking to Him and listening to Him, fully aware of His holy presence in our souls. We may do the recharging of our spiritual energy also by our personal and family prayers, by the meditative reading of the Bible and by participating in the celebration of the Holy Mass. Christian husbands and wives should develop “couple spirituality” and seek more opportunities to pray together. The Martha and Mary episode teaches us the need for balance between service and prayer and the need for spending time with the Lord, learning from Him and recharging our spiritual batteries with the power of the Holy Spirit.

2) We need listening Marthas and serving Marys: Martha has become a symbol of action-oriented, responsible people who get the job done. Our world needs such men, women, boys and girls, and so does the Church. How would the Church survive if not for the Marthas and Bills who sing in the choir, run the altar guild, work with the homeless, work with the youth, and build the Church? The Church could not exist without them. The same is true with the family. We need responsible people to do the work in the house: to cook, to clean, to keep the house operating, to pay the bills, to keep the cars running, not to speak of rearing the children and loving the spouse. Households can’t survive without Marthas and Bills. Nor can offices, schools or businesses. There is nothing wrong with being a responsible, action-oriented, get-it-done kind of person. But we must find time to listen to God speaking to us through His word and time to talk to God. Jesus clearly said: be hearers and doers of the word. Jesus never reversed that order.

3) We need to be good listeners, like Mary, at home and in the workplace.Martha has become a symbol of you and me in the modern world. We have become so active and busy with living our lives that we no longer have time to slow down and quietly listen to God, or even to our spouse, kids or friends. We become so active in doing good things that our activities become a cover-up for our lack of listening and quiet caring. We come home from a day of work and the kids are talking to us at the kitchen table. We nod affirmatively at their words without listening. Our spouse wants to share what has happened during the day and we don’t hear a word that is spoken, being entirely preoccupied with what has happened at our workplace. Human love begins at home, and it begins with listening. The more one listens, the more love grows. The less one listens, the less love there is. This is certainly true in marriage. Any good marriage will show us a man and woman who have discovered what it means to listen to one another. That is also true in good families and in good businesses. We can so easily get the Martha-syndrome because there is always so much work to do: at our place of employment, at home with the kids or in the yard, at Church and school, at the various groups we or our children are a part of. But let’s not be like Martha who got distracted with much serving. Rather, let us take time out every day to listen to Jesus, to get to know Jesus better, to be His guest and to welcome Him as ours.

4) We need to serve the Lord with Martha’s diligence: Some of mankind’s greatest contributions have come from people who decided that no sacrifice was too large and no effort too great to accomplish what they set out to do. Edward Gibbon spent 26 years writing The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Noah Webster worked diligently for 36 years to bring into print the first edition of his Webster’s Dictionary. It is said that the Roman orator Cicero practiced before friends every day for 30 years in order to perfect his public speaking. Most of the famous scientists sacrificed their whole lives on their research for the betterment of human lives. Now let’s think about how much energy we put into the Lord’s work in an age when people are self-serving, self-centered, and self-indulgent. Why is our service for Christ sometimes performed in a halfhearted manner? Why do some people who pursue earthly goals put us to shame with their diligence?

5) God does us a favor by hosting a meal for us every Sunday: We don’t do God a favor by showing up for Church on Sunday and throwing something into the plate. This does nothing for God. It does not enhance His dignity or add anything to His power or glory. God does us a favor by hosting a meal for us every Sunday in which He offers Himself to us as food, in the most intimate act of communion with Himself imaginable. Mass is not about what we do for God, but about what God does for us. At this Sunday’s Mass, let’s pray more intensely for God to work in our hearts, to forgive our sin and transform the way we think and act, that we can become like the man of Psalm 15 who is suitable to dwell in God’s presence; or like Mary, who understood the “one thing” necessary and was willing to say “No” to distractions and demands in order to soak in the presence and teaching of Jesus. (The Sacred Space).

JOKE OF THE WEEK (Laughing Jesus pics)

(“Laughter is indeed God’s therapy. Let us then be thankful that, when the Gates of Heaven swing open, mixed with celestial music there is the unmistakable sound of celestial laughter.” (Malcom Muggeridge) Shortly after his election as pope, St. John XXIII was walking in the streets of Rome when a woman passed him and said to her friend, “My God, he’s so fat!” Overhearing her remark, he turned around and replied, “Madame, I trust you understand that the papal conclave is not exactly a beauty contest.”) ht

1) A day off for the pastor? A distraught woman tried many times to contact her pastor only to discover that it was his day off. She made contact with him the next day and scolded him severely. “Father, I needed you yesterday,” she said, “and you were not there for me. You have let me down. I cannot believe you would take a day off when so many people like me need you.” Then she added, “The devil never takes a day off.” The pastor, a little irritated and with tongue in cheek, responded, “And if I didn’t take a day off, I would be just like him, wouldn’t I?”

2) Pope St. John Paul II and busy-like-Martha. A person had been confined to a mental institute. After years of treatment it was decided that he was well enough to be discharged. So, the psychiatrist approached his patient to congratulate him. “I have good news for you. The board has examined your case and they have decided that you are completely cured. You can go home.” Seeing the resentful look on the face of the patient, the doctor said: “Why are you reacting in this way? Aren’t you happy now that you are cured?” And the man ranted back, “I am cured, but I am not going home! When I came here, I was Pope Francis. I was busy like Martha in the Bible story, blessing people, writing encyclicals and giving daily papal audience to all the inmates and visitors of this house. But I will be nobody at home!”

Prepared By: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604.

Synopsis: Homily for OT 17 Sunday (July 24) on Lk 11:1-13 (L/16)

Introduction: The main themes of today’s Scripture readings are the power of intercessory prayer, the Our Father as the ideal prayer,and the necessity for persistence and perseverance in prayer with trusting faith and boldness. In short, they teach us what to pray and how to pray.  The first reading, taken from the book of Genesis, gives us the model for intercessory prayer provided by Abraham in his dialogue with God. Although Abraham seems to be trying to manipulate God through his skillful bargaining and humble, persistent intercession, God is actually being moved to mercy by the goodness of a few innocent souls. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 138), with the Psalm Response,“Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me,” is a hymn of hope and trust in the Lord, reminding us that God is close to the humble of heart and to all those who call upon Him in their need. The second reading, taken from Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, does not deal with prayer directly, but it provides a basis for all Christian prayers, especially for liturgical prayer:  the mystery of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul assures us that even when we were dead in sin, God gave us new life through Jesus and pardoned all our sins.  In the Gospel passage, after teaching a model prayer, Jesus instructs his disciples to pray to God their Heavenly Father with the same boldness, daring, intimacy, conviction, persistence and perseverance Abraham displayed and the friend in need in the parable employed. He gives us the assurance that God will not be irritated by our requests or unwilling to meet them with generosity.

Life Messages: 1) Prayer is essential for Christian family life. To remain faithful in marriage, the spouses must pray, not only individually, but together.  They must thank God and offer intercessory prayers for each other, for their children and for their dear ones.    Daily prayer will help married couples to celebrate and reverence God’s vision of human sexuality and honor life from conception to natural death.  Here is St. John Marie Vianney’s advice to a couple:  "Spend three minutes praising and thanking God for all you have. Spend three minutes asking God’s pardon for your sins and presenting your needs before Him. Spend three minutes reading the Bible and listening to God in silence. And do this every day." 2) Let not lame excuses turn us away from prayer: Modern Christians give four lame excuses for not praying.   a) The first excuse: We are too busy. Often the first thing given up by a busy Christian is his prayer life, thus disconnecting himself from the real source of spiritual power. b) A second excuse: We don’t believe that prayer does that much good, other than giving us psychological motivation to be better persons.   Prayer establishes and augments our relationship with God, the source of our power. c) A third excuse: A loving God should provide for us and protect us without our asking Him.  Prayer expresses our awareness of our need for God and our dependence on Him. d) A fourth excuse: Prayer is boring.  It is never boring if we learn to talk to God and listen to Him.

OT XVII [C] (7/24/2016) Gen 18:20-32, Col  2:12-14, Lk 11:1-13

Anecdote # 1: “Never give up!"   Years ago in Illinois, a young man with six months schooling and self- education competed in the state and national elections nine times and got defeated six times. First he ran for an office in the legislature when he was 23 and was beaten. Next he entered business with a partner but failed in that too, and spent the next seventeen years paying the debts of his worthless partner. He fell in love with a charming lady and they became engaged, but she died. The next year he had a nervous breakdown. Relying on the power of prayer, he ran for the post of Speaker (at 29), of Elector (at 31) and for a seat in Congress (at 34). He was defeated each time.   He then tried to obtain an appointment to the U.S. Land Office as commissioner, but didn’t succeed. He became a candidate for the Vice-Presidency and lost. Two years later he was defeated in an election to the Senate (at 46). He ran for office once more and was elected thesixteenth President of the United States in 1860 when he was 51. That man was Abraham Lincoln who put his trust in the power of persistent prayer coupled with never-fading Faith in God’s goodness.  It took Winston Churchill three years to get through the eighth grade, because he couldn’t pass English!  Ironically, he was asked many years later to give the commencement address at Oxford University. His famous speech consisted of only three words: “Never give up!"   In today’s Gospel, after teaching the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus instructs us that we should never give up in our prayer life.

# 2: Dear God, if you ever want to see your mother again.” In his book, Moments For Mothers (New Leaf Press: 1996), Robert Strand relates the story of a young boy named Benjamin who wrote a prayer-letter to God to ask for a baby sister. “Dear God, I’ve been a very good boy. . .” and then stopped, thinking that God might not be convinced by his claim. Taking a new sheet of paper, he began again, “Dear God, mostof the time, I’ve been good. . .” Again he stopped, dissatisfied that his plea was not sufficiently moving. After a few thoughtful moments, the young boy got a towel from the linen closet and laid it carefully on a chair in the living room. Then he went to the mantle over the fireplace and very slowly lifted down the statue of Mary. He had often seen his mother carefully dust the statue and knew it to be a special family heirloom. Very gently, Benjamin placed the Madonna in the middle of the towel, carefully folding over the edges. Then, after he secured the towel with rubber bands, he carried his parcel back to his desk, took another piece of paper and made his third attempt at a letter. . . “Dear God, if you ever want to see your mother again. . .” Strand entitled his amusing story “Irreverent Manipulation”; however, given today’s readings from Genesis and Luke, it is feasible that Benjamin was being neither irreverent or manipulative. Perhaps his child’s heart already knew that he could be bold and daring in his prayer because he knew himself to be loved by a bold and daring God. (Patricia Datchuck Sánchez)

#3: "Why don't you just try putting on the emergency brake?" Father Barry Foster, a priest in Dublin, Ireland, parked his car on a rather steep slope close to his church. His little dog was lying on the rear seat and could not be seen by anyone outside the vehicle. Father Foster got out of the car and turned to lock the door with his usual parting command to the dog. "Stay!" he ordered loudly, to an apparently empty car. "Stay!" An elderly man was watching the performance with amused interest. Grinning, he suggested, "Why don't you just try putting on the emergency brake?" (Colin Jeffery, Catholic Digest, May 1992, p. 72). The theme of today’s Gospel is prayer and model prayer. To the unbeliever, prayer is an exercise in futility like ordering "Stay," to an automobile fully expecting it to obey. But to the believer, prayer is the most powerful and the most reliable force in the world today by which we communicate with God.

Introduction: The main themes of today’s Scripture readings are the power of intercessory prayer, the Our Father as the ideal prayer,and the necessity for persistence and perseverance in prayer, with trusting faith and boldness. In short, they teach us what to pray and how to pray.  The first reading, taken from the book of Genesis, gives us the model for intercessory prayer provided by Abraham in his dialogue with God. Although Abraham seems to be trying to manipulate God through his skillful bargaining and humble, persistent intercession, God is actually being moved to mercy by the goodness of a few innocent souls. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 138), with the Psalm Response,“Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me,” is a hymn of hope and trust in the Lord, reminding us that God is close to the humble of heart and to all those who call upon Him in their need. The second reading, taken from the Letter to the Colossians, does not deal with prayer directly, but it provides a basis for all Christian prayers, especially for liturgical prayer:  the mystery of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul assures us that even when we were dead in sin, God gave us new life through Jesus and pardoned all our sins.  In the Gospel passage, after teaching a model prayer, Jesus instructs his disciples to pray to God their Heavenly Father with the same boldness, daring, intimacy, conviction, persistence and perseverance Abraham displayed and the friend in need in the parable employed. He gives us the assurance that God will not be irritated by our requests or unwilling to meet them with generosity.

First reading: Genesis 20: 18-32: The first reading is the story of Abraham's negotiating for mercy with God on behalf of some innocent potential victims of Sodom and Gomorrah (including his nephew Lot and his family), when God had decided to destroy those cities which were almost entirely inhabited by people who led wicked and sexually-perverted lives. Abraham acknowledged that (1) he  was “dust and ashes” breathed into existence by the very breath of God (Genesis 2:7), (2) he had been called to become a covenantal partner of God (15:1-18), and (3) he had been blessed with the Divine promise of land, progeny protection and prosperity (12:1-3). But, as a close friend of God, the great patriarch of the Jews felt free to bargain with God when God told him He had decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah: “If you find fifty righteous people in those wicked and immoral cities," Abraham said,” you won’t destroy it, will you, God?” God said, “No, if I find fifty righteous people in the city, I will not destroy it.” “How about forty, thirty, twenty? ten?” Although there were not even ten just people in those cities, God went beyond the terms of negotiation and spared the only just inhabitants of the cities, Abraham's nephew and his family, because God is much more merciful than we are. Sodom’s destruction, in spite of Abraham’s intercession, teaches contemporary believers the valuable lesson that those who tolerate the evils perpetrated in human society and who refuse to protest against them by word, prayer and example leave themselves open to being swallowed up by them.

Second Reading: : The Christians at Colossae were being exposed to a variety of philosophical and theological teachings, many of which were incompatible with the Gospel. Hence, in his letter to the Colossians, Paul tried to establish that Christ was superior to any other possible mediator between humanity and God. In today’s passage, Paul answered the question, “How, then, do we get Christ in us?" Assuming that the ritual of Baptism obviously simulates burial and resurrection, Paul's declared that when we were buried in the waters of Baptism, we were united with Jesus in his saving death, and when we emerged from the baptismal font we were joined to Christ in his Resurrection. Long before "confession" came into existence, Paul taught that our sins were forgiven because the person who had committed those sins was no longer alive. That person died when he or she became one with the risen Jesus through Baptism. The new person who had come into existence at that point was not responsible for the dead person's transgressions. His or her sins had been literally wiped out or erased from the mind and memory of God, having been snatched up and nailed to the cross (v. 14), i.e. put to death, through the saving sacrifice of Jesus.

Exegesis: Luke’s version and Matthew’s version: Matthew's version of the Lord’s Prayer is given in the context of the Sermon on the Mount as part of Jesus' teaching on how to pray, while Luke's version is set in one of those occasions just after our Lord had been at prayer. Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer is shorter than the more familiar version found in Matthew's Gospel. However, it teaches us all we need to know about how to pray and what to pray for.  It has only five petitions while Mathew adds two more ("Your will be done…" and "deliver us from the evil one.") The first two petitions have to do with praise and worship of God, while   the next three petitions present to Him our needs – daily bread, forgiveness and protection from the evil one. The Church uses the longer form of the Lord's Prayer.

The structure of the Our Father: The prayer consists of two parts. In the first part, we praise and worship God and express our ardent desire for His rule in human hearts, enabling us to do His will in the most perfect way. In the second part we present our needs before God our Father with filial love and trusting Faith. We offer before God our present (daily bread), our past (forgiveness of sins) and our future (protection against temptations).  By this prayer we also invite the Trinitarian God into our lives: God the Father, the Creator and Provider, by asking for daily bread; God the Son, Jesus, our Savior, by requesting forgiveness of our sins; and God the Holy Spirit by asking for deliverance from temptations (“the final test.”).

The petitions: The petitions cover our present needs, the forgiveness of our past sins, and protection from future temptations. We need not only bodily nourishment, but also daily spiritual nourishment, so that we may be strong enough to forgive those who offend us.    In the next petition, Jesus links the giving and receiving of forgiveness.  If we expect God to forgive us, we must forgive one another (“Forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us”). The last petition- "and do not subject us to the final test"- covers future trials and temptations. We need God's protection both from the evil one (the devil) and from the evils in society that seek to destroy us.  It is quite appropriate for us to pray for deliverance from evil for ourselves, our loved ones, our community, our nation, and our world.

Prayer: persistent and persevering: In the second part of today’s Gospel, by presenting the parable of a friend in need, Jesus emphasizes our need for persistent and persevering prayer, acknowledging our total dependence on God. In the ancient Hebrew world, hospitality was the essence of one's goodness.  To welcome a visitor without food and drink was unthinkable. A traveler who was traveling in the evening to avoid the heat of the afternoon, might well arrive late at night.  But the villagers used to go to bed early, as they had no electricity.  So in this parable, when a man received unexpected guests late at night and found his cupboard bare, he went to his neighbor and woke him in order to borrow a loaf of bread.   In those days, people generally slept in one room, the children bedded down with the adults. Rising to answer the door would disrupt the whole family and hence the neighbor was reluctant to get up.   Finally, however, because of the persistence of his guest, he got up and gave bread to his neighbor. This parable does not mean that God is a reluctant giver. Rather it stresses the necessity of our persisting in prayer as the expression of our total dependence on God. Persevering in prayer helps us to purify our prayer, to make clear to ourselves our values and hopes, and to lead us to ask for what is really in our very best interests. St. Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing” (Romans), “pray at all times” (Ephesians), “be steadfast in prayer” (Colossians), and “pray constantly” (Thessalonians). Jesus assures us, "Knock and the door shall be opened."

The misconception: The parable teaches us that prayer is not putting coins in a vending machine called God to get whatever we wish. We must not look upon God as a sort of genie who grants all our requests. God is our loving Father Who knows what to give, when to give and how to give. This includes not only our daily bread to satisfy our physical hunger but also “bread” to satisfy our spiritual hunger. Prayer is a relationship -- an intimate, loving, caring, parent-child relationship. The Greek text means: "Ask and you will receive something good,"--not just whatever we ask for. The New Testament Greek also instructs us, "ask and keep on asking...seek and keep on seeking...knock and keep on knocking.”  Hence, we are to be persistent declaring our trusting faith and dependence on God. One thing that is sometimes overlooked in this story is that this, like the story of Abraham bargaining with God for the lives of Lot and his family, is primarily a story about intercessory prayer. One friend goes to another friend on behalf of someone else.

"Prayer doesn't change God; it changes me." A colleague asked C.S. Lewis if he really thought he could change God with his prayer for the cure of his wife’s cancer. Lewis replied: "Prayer doesn't change God; it changes me." William McGill summed it up this way. "The value of persistent prayer is not that God will hear us but that we will finally hear God." Keep in mind that Jesus has taught us to address God as Father.  A loving Father listens to his child, but does not blindly endorse every request.  Instead, the loving Father provides what is needed, including discipline. Bishop Sheen has this comment on prayer: "The man who thinks only of himself says prayers of petition. He who thinks of his neighbor says prayers of intercession. He who thinks only of loving and serving God says prayers of abandonment to God's will, and that is the prayer of the saints." The Our Father is the "summary of the whole Gospel" (Tertullian) and it is the “perfect prayer”(St. Thomas Aquinas).

Messages: 1) Lame reasons why we don’t pray and the sad result. Modern Christians give four lame excuses for not praying.   a) The first excuse: We are too busy. The richer a culture is, the less time it has for prayer, because money and wealth provide distractions. Researchers say that the average Christian living in a wealthy country prays four minutes a day. Often the first thing given up by a busy Christian is his prayer life. b) A second excuse: We don’t believe prayer does that much good, other than giving us psychological motivation to be better persons.  Besides psychological motivation, prayer establishes and augments our relationship with God, the source of our power. c) A third excuse: A loving God should provide for us and protect us from the disasters of life, such as disease or accidents, without our asking Him.  Prayer expresses our awareness of our need for God and our dependence on Him. d) A fourth excuse: Prayer is boring.  People who use this excuse forget the fact that prayer is a conversation with God: listening to God speaking to us through the Bible and talking to God.  You can’t have a close relationship with anyone, including God, without persistent and intimate conversation. Four minutes a day is not much intimate conversation. Since our society concludes that prayer doesn’t work, it turns to sex, violence and unhealthy addictions resulting in broken marriages, broken families, psychological problems, moral decadence, spiritual poverty, law-and-order problems, and prison populations.

2) Prayer is essential for Christian family life. Fidelity is one of the original blessings of married life.  To be truly faithful in marriage, spouses must pray, not only individually, but together.  Married couples should come together before God every day as prayer partners, thanking God and offering intercessory prayers for each other, for their children and for their dear ones.    Daily prayer will help married couples to celebrate and reverence God’s vision of human sexuality and honor life from conception to natural death.  Here is St. John MarieVianney’s advice to a couple who asked him how to pray: "Spend three minutes praising and thanking God for all you have. Spend three minutes asking God’s pardon for your sins and presenting your needs before Him. Spend three minutes reading the Bible and listening to God in silence. And do this every day."

JOKE OF THE WEEK.

1)”God is not deaf but grandma is:” Two young boys were spending the night at their rich grandma's house during Christmas. She was getting them ready for bed, and reminded them to say their prayers. Grandma left the boys alone and went into the next room before coming back to tuck them in. The older of the two said his prayers, thanking God and asking Him to bless grandma, his friends and family. Then, it was his younger brother's turn. He offered the same prayer as his big brother, but at the end of the prayer, he shouted in a very loud voice, "And God, please send me a new scooter and a CD player." His older brother turned and said, "You don't have to shout. God isn't deaf." "I know," the younger one replied. "But Grandma is."

2) Memory pills to remember the prayers. Two elderly men were walking along the beach and their wives were walking behind them. One man says, "Eddie, did you know I've been taking these new memory pills to help me remember my prayers? They're tremendous." “I would like to improve my memory too," said the other man.  "What are those pills called?"   The first man scratches his head, embarrassed because he can't remember the name of the memory pills. "Wait!" he exclaims. “Let me ask my wife.”  He thinks a moment and then says, “My God! I forgot her name.  It's the same name as a flower with red petals, long green stems and thorns.”  "The rose?" Eddie guesses. "Yes, that's her name!"  The first man replies, smiling brightly, as he turns around to ask his wife. "Rose! What is the name of those memory pills I take?"

3) Liquor shop and power of prayer:  A tale is told about a small town that had always been "dry."  One day, however, a local businessman erected a tavern. A group of Christians from a local Church were concerned and they convened an all-night prayer meeting to ask God to intervene. It just so happened that shortly thereafter lightning struck the tavern burning it down to the ground. The owner of the bar sued the Church, claiming that the prayers of the congregation were responsible, but the Church hired a lawyer to argue in court that they were not responsible. The presiding judge, after his initial review of the case, stated, “No matter how this case comes out, one thing is clear: the tavern owner believes in prayer and the Christians do not."

4) God’s laughter: How do you make God laugh? Tell him your plans. Robert Frost: "Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee, and I'll forgive Thy great big joke on me."

O. T. XVII Sunday homily-one-page summary

Introduction: The main themes of today’s Scripture readings are the power of intercessory prayer, the Our Father as the ideal prayer, and the necessity for persistence and perseverance in prayer with trusting faith and boldness. In short, the readings teach us what to pray and how to pray.

Scripture lessons summarized: The first reading, taken from the book of Genesis, gives us the model for intercessory prayer provided by Abraham in his dialogue with God. Although Abraham seems to be trying to manipulate God through his skillful bargaining and humble, persistent intercession, God is actually being moved to mercy by the goodness of a few innocent souls. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 138), with the Psalm Response, “Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me,” is a hymn of hope and trust in the Lord, reminding us that God is close to the humble of heart and to all those who call upon Him in their need. The second reading, taken from Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, though it does not address prayer, reminds us of the need of perseverance in our living faith in Christ, which provides the basis for all Christian prayers, especially for liturgical prayer:  the mystery of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul assures us that even when we were dead in sin, God gave us new life through Jesus and pardoned all our sins.  In the Gospel passage, after teaching a model prayer, Jesus instructs his disciples to pray to God their Heavenly Father with the same boldness, daring, intimacy, conviction, persistence and perseverance Abraham displayed and the friend in need in the parable employed. He gives us the assurance that God will not be irritated by our requests or unwilling to meet them with generosity.

Life Messages: 1) Prayer is essential for Christian family life. To remain faithful in marriage, the spouses must pray, not only individually, but together.  They must thank God and offer intercessory prayers for each other, for their children and for their dear ones.    Daily prayer will help married couples to celebrate and reverence God’s vision of human sexuality and honor life from conception to natural death.  Here is St. John Marie Vianney’s advice to a couple:  “Spend three minutes praising and thanking God for all you have. Spend three minutes asking God’s pardon for your sins and presenting your needs before Him. Spend three minutes reading the Bible and listening to God in silence. And do this every day.” 2) We need to accept others as children of God and thereby our brothers and sisters: Through the Our Father, Jesus is giving us a new vision of human relationships: that we all, irrespective of our color, creed or social background, are the children of God and thereby are brothers and sisters. When we learn this lesson – if we can learn this lesson, if we are able to treat God as our Father and love Him accordingly, and if we are able to treat every other human being as our own dear brothers and sisters and love them accordingly —  then, and then only, shall we experience the Kingdom of God here on earth and enjoy this in the next life. When we love each other and forgive each other’s failings God also will love us and forgive us. This is the foundation of true faith. (Joe Vemp).

OT XVII [C]  Gn 18:20-32, Col  2:12-14, Lk 11:1-13

Homily starter anecdote # 1: “Never give up!”   Years ago, in Illinois, a young man with six months schooling and self-education competed in the state and national elections nine times and was defeated six times. First, he ran for an office in the legislature when he was 23 and was beaten. Next, he entered business with a partner but failed in that too and spent the next seventeen years paying the debts of his worthless partner. He fell in love with a charming lady and they became engaged, but she died. The next year he had a nervous breakdown. Relying on the power of prayer, he ran for the post of Speaker (at 29), of Elector (at 31) and for a seat in Congress (at 34). He was defeated each time.   He then tried to obtain an appointment to the U.S. Land Office as commissioner but didn’t succeed. He became a candidate for the Vice-Presidency and lost. Two years later he was defeated in an election to the Senate (at 46). He ran for office once more and was elected the sixteenth President of the United States in 1860 when he was 51. That man was Abraham Lincoln who put his trust in the power of persistent prayer coupled with never-fading Faith in God’s goodness.  It took Winston Churchill three years to get through the eighth grade, because he couldn’t pass English!  Ironically, he was asked many years later to give the commencement address at Oxford University. His famous speech consisted of only three words: “Never give up!”   In today’s Gospel, after teaching the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus instructs us that we should never give up in our prayer life.

# 2: “Dear God, if you ever want to see your mother again.” In his book, Moments for Mothers (New Leaf Press: 1996), Robert Strand relates the story of a young boy named Benjamin who wrote a prayer-letter to God to ask for a baby sister. “Dear God, I’ve been a very good boy. . .” and then stopped, thinking that God might not be convinced by his claim. Taking a new sheet of paper, he began again, “Dear God, most of the time, I’ve been good. . .” Again, he stopped, dissatisfied that his plea was not sufficiently moving. After a few thoughtful moments, the young boy got a towel from the linen closet and laid it carefully on a chair in the living room. Then he went to the mantle over the fireplace and very slowly lifted down the statue of Mary. He had often seen his mother carefully dust the statue and knew it to be a special family heirloom. Very gently, Benjamin placed the Madonna in the middle of the towel, carefully folding over the edges. Then, after he secured the towel with rubber bands, he carried his parcel back to his desk, took another piece of paper and made his third attempt at a letter. . . “Dear God, if you ever want to see your mother again. . .” Strand entitled his amusing story “Irreverent Manipulation”; however, given today’s readings from Genesis and Luke, it is feasible that Benjamin was being neither irreverent nor manipulative. Perhaps his child’s heart already knew that he could be bold and daring in his prayer because he knew himself to be loved by a bold and daring God. (Patricia Datchuck Sánchez)

#3: “Why don’t you just try putting on the emergency brake?” Father Barry Foster, a priest in Dublin, Ireland, parked his car on a rather steep slope close to his church. His little dog was lying on the rear seat and could not be seen by anyone outside the vehicle. Father Foster got out of the car and turned to lock the door with his usual parting command to the dog. “Stay!” he ordered loudly, to an apparently empty car. “Stay!” An elderly man was watching the performance with amused interest. Grinning, he suggested, “Why don’t you just try putting on the emergency brake?” (Colin Jeffery, Catholic Digest, May 1992, p. 72). The theme of today’s Gospel is prayer, and it offers a model prayer. To the unbeliever, prayer is an exercise in futility like ordering “Stay,” to an automobile fully expecting it to obey. But to the believer, prayer is the most powerful and the most reliable force in the world today by which we communicate with God.

Introduction: The main themes of today’s Scripture readings are the power of intercessory prayer, the Our Father as the ideal prayer, and the necessity for persistence and perseverance in prayer, with trusting faith and boldness. In short, the readings teach us what to pray and how to pray.

Scripture lessons summarized: The first reading, taken from the book of Genesis, gives us the model for intercessory prayer provided by Abraham in his dialogue with God. Although Abraham seems to be trying to manipulate God through his skillful bargaining and humble, persistent intercession, God is actually being moved to mercy by the goodness of a few innocent souls. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 138), with the Psalm Response, “Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me,” is a hymn of hope and trust in the Lord, reminding us that God is close to the humble of heart and to all those who call upon Him in their need. The second reading, taken from the Letter to the Colossians, does not deal with prayer directly, but it provides a basis for all Christian prayers, especially for liturgical prayer:  the mystery of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul assures us that even when we were dead in sin, God gave us new life through Jesus and pardoned all our sins.  In the Gospel passage, after teaching a model prayer, Jesus instructs his disciples to pray to God their Heavenly Father with the same boldness, daring, intimacy, conviction, persistence and perseverance Abraham displayed and the friend in need in the parable employed. He gives us the assurance that God will not be irritated by our requests or unwilling to meet them with generosity.

First reading: Genesis 20: 18-32 explained: The first reading is the story of Abraham’s negotiating for mercy with God on behalf of some innocent potential victims of Sodom and Gomorrah (including his nephew Lot and his family), when God had decided to destroy those cities which were almost entirely inhabited by people who led wicked and sexually-perverted lives. Abraham acknowledged that (1) he  was “dust and ashes” breathed into existence by the very breath of God (Genesis 2:7), (2) he had been called to become a covenantal partner of God (15:1-18), and (3) he had been blessed with the Divine promise of land, progeny protection and prosperity (12:1-3). But, as a close friend of God, the great patriarch of the Jews felt free to bargain with God when God told him He had decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah: “If you find fifty righteous people in those wicked and immoral cities,” Abraham said,” you won’t destroy it, will you, God?” God said, “No, if I find fifty righteous people in the city, I will not destroy it.” “How about forty, thirty, twenty? Ten?” Although there were not even ten just people in those cities, God went beyond the terms of negotiation and spared the only just inhabitants of the cities, Abraham’s nephew and his family, because God is much more merciful than we are. Sodom’s destruction, in spite of Abraham’s intercession, teaches contemporary believers the valuable lesson that those who tolerate the evils perpetrated in human society and who refuse to protest against them by word, prayer and example leave themselves open to being swallowed up by them.

Second Reading: Colossians 2:12-14 explained: The Christians at Colossae were being exposed to a variety of philosophical and theological teachings, many of which were incompatible with the Gospel. Hence, in his letter to the Colossians, Paul tried to establish that Christ was superior to any other possible mediator between humanity and God. In today’s passage, Paul answered the question, “How, then, do we get Christ in us?” Assuming that the ritual of Baptism obviously simulates burial and resurrection, Paul’s declared that when we were buried in the waters of Baptism, we were united with Jesus in his saving death, and when we emerged from the baptismal font we were joined to Christ in his Resurrection. Long before “confession” came into existence, Paul taught that our sins were forgiven because the person who had committed those sins was no longer alive. That person died when he or she became one with the risen Jesus through Baptism. The new person who had come into existence at that point was not responsible for the dead person’s transgressions. His or her sins had been literally wiped out or erased from the mind and memory of God, having been snatched up and nailed to the cross (v. 14), i.e. put to death, through the saving sacrifice of Jesus.

Gospel exegesis: Luke’s version and Matthew’s version: Matthew’s version of the Lord’s Prayer is given in the context of the Sermon on the Mount as part of Jesus’ teaching on how to pray, while Luke’s version is set in one of those occasions just after our Lord had been at prayer. Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer is shorter than the more familiar version found in Matthew’s Gospel. However, it teaches us all we need to know about how to pray and what to pray for.  It has only five petitions while Mathew adds two more (“Your will be done…” and “deliver us from the evil one.”) The first two petitions have to do with praise and worship of God, while   the next three petitions present to Him our needs – daily bread, forgiveness and protection against the evil one. The Church uses the longer form of the Lord’s Prayer.

The structure of the Our Father: The prayer consists of two parts. In the first part, we praise and worship God and express our ardent desire for His rule in human hearts, enabling us to do His will in the most perfect way. In the second part we present our needs before God our Father with filial love and trusting Faith. We offer before God our present (daily bread), our past (forgiveness of sins) and our future (protection against temptations).  By this prayer we also invite the Trinitarian God into our lives: God the Father, the Creator and Provider, by asking for daily bread; God the Son, Jesus, our Savior, by requesting forgiveness of our sins; and God the Holy Spirit by asking for deliverance from temptations (“the final test.”).

The petitions: The petitions cover our present needs, the forgiveness of our past sins, and protection from future temptations. We need not only bodily nourishment, but also daily spiritual nourishment, so that we may be strong enough to forgive those who offend us.    In the next petition, Jesus links the giving and receiving of forgiveness.  If we expect God to forgive us, we must forgive one another (“Forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us”). The last petition- “and do not subject us to the final test“- covers future trials and temptations. We need God’s protection both from the evil one (the devil) and from the evils in society that seek to destroy us.  It is quite appropriate for us to pray for deliverance from evil for ourselves, our loved ones, our community, our nation, and our world.

Prayer: persistent and persevering: In the second part of today’s Gospel, by presenting the parable of a friend in need, Jesus emphasizes our need for persistent and persevering prayer, acknowledging our total dependence on God. In the ancient Hebrew world, hospitality was the essence of one’s goodness.  To welcome a visitor without food and drink was unthinkable. A traveler who was traveling in the evening to avoid the heat of the afternoon, might well arrive late at night.  But the villagers used to go to bed early, as they had no electricity.  So, in this parable, when a man received unexpected guests late at night and found his cupboard bare, he went to his neighbor and woke him in order to borrow a loaf of bread.   In those days, people generally slept in one room, the children bedded down with the adults. Rising to answer the door would disrupt the whole family and hence the neighbor was reluctant to get up.   Finally, however, because of the persistence of his guest, he got up and gave bread to his neighbor. This parable does not mean that God is a reluctant giver. Rather it stresses the necessity of our persisting in prayer as the expression of our total dependence on God. Persevering in prayer helps us to purify our prayer, to make clear to ourselves our values and hopes, and to lead us to ask for what is really in our very best interests. St. Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing” (Romans), “pray at all times” (Ephesians), “be steadfast in prayer” (Colossians), and “pray constantly” (Thessalonians). Jesus assures us, “Knock and the door shall be opened.”

The misconception: The parable teaches us that prayer is not putting coins in a vending machine called “God” to get whatever we wish. We must not look upon God as a sort of genie who grants all our requests. God is our loving Father Who knows what to give, when to give and how to give. This includes not only our daily bread to satisfy our physical hunger but also “bread” to satisfy our spiritual hunger. Prayer is a relationship — an intimate, loving, caring, parent-child relationship. The Greek text means: “Ask and you will receive something good,”–not just whatever we ask for. The New Testament Greek also instructs us, “ask and keep on asking…seek and keep on seeking…knock and keep on knocking.”  Hence, we are to be persistent declaring our trusting Faith and dependence on God. One thing that is sometimes overlooked in this story is that this, like the story of Abraham bargaining with God for the lives of Lot and his family, is primarily a story about intercessory prayer. One friend goes to another friend on behalf of someone else.

“Prayer doesn’t change God; it changes me.” A colleague asked C.S. Lewis if he really thought he could change God with his prayer for the cure of his wife’s cancer. Lewis replied: “Prayer doesn’t change God; it changes me.” William McGill summed it up this way. “The value of persistent prayer is not that God will hear us but that we will finally hear God.” Keep in mind that Jesus has taught us to address God as Father.  A loving Father listens to his child, but does not blindly endorse every request.  Instead, the loving Father provides what is needed, including discipline. Bishop Sheen has this comment on prayer: “The man who thinks only of himself says prayers of petition. He who thinks of his neighbor says prayers of intercession. He who thinks only of loving and serving God says prayers of abandonment to God’s will, and that is the prayer of the saints.” To pray is not to impose our will on God but to ask God to make us open to His will; in other words, we pray not to change God’s mind but for God to change ours. The Our Father is the “summary of the whole Gospel” (Tertullian) and it is the “perfect prayer” (St. Thomas Aquinas). “The Lord’s Prayer is the most perfect of prayers… In it we ask, not only for all the things we can rightly desire, but also in the sequence that they should be desired. This prayer not only teaches us to ask for things, but also in what order we should desire them.” (St. Thomas Aquinas, as quoted in Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2763)

Life messages: 1) Prayer is essential for Christian family life. Fidelity is one of the original blessings of married life.  To be truly faithful in marriage, spouses must pray, not only individually, but together.  Married couples should come together before God every day as prayer partners, thanking God and offering intercessory prayers for each other, for their children and for their dear ones.  Daily prayer will help married couples to celebrate and reverence God’s vision of human sexuality and to honor life from conception to natural death.  Here is St. John Marie Vianney’s advice to a couple who asked him how to pray: “Spend three minutes praising and thanking God for all you have. Spend three minutes asking God’s pardon for your sins and presenting your needs before Him. Spend three minutes reading the Bible and listening to God in silence. And do this every day.”

2) We need to accept others as children of God and thereby brothers and sisters: Through the Our Father, Jesus is giving us a new vision of human relationships: that we all, irrespective of our color, creed or social background, are the children of God and thereby brothers and sisters. When we learn this lesson – if we can learn this lesson, if we are able to treat God as our father and love Him accordingly, and if we are able to treat every other human being as our own dear brothers and sisters and love them accordingly — then, and then only, shall we experience the Kingdom of God here on earth and enjoy this in the next life. When we love each other and forgive each other’s failings, God also will love us and forgive us. This is the foundation of true faith. (Joe Vempeny).

3) We need to avoid giving lame reasons why we don’t pray. Modern Christians give four lame excuses for not praying.   a) The first excuse: We are too busy. The richer a culture is, the less time it has for prayer, because money and wealth provide distractions. Researchers say that the average Christian living in a wealthy country prays four minutes a day. Often the first thing given up by a busy Christian is his prayer life. b) A second excuse: We don’t believe prayer does that much good, other than giving us psychological motivation to be better persons.  But besides giving us psychological motivation, prayer establishes and augments our relationship with God, the source of our power. c) A third excuse: We think a loving God should provide for us and protect us from the disasters of life, such as disease or accidents, without our asking Him.  Prayer expresses our awareness of our need for God and our dependence on Him. d) A fourth excuse: We think prayer is boring.  People who use this excuse forget the fact that prayer is a conversation with God: listening to God speaking to us through the Bible, and talking to God.  You can’t have a close relationship with anyone, including God, without persistent and intimate conversation. Four minutes a day is not much intimate conversation. Since our society concludes that prayer doesn’t work, it turns to sex, violence and unhealthy addictions resulting in broken marriages, broken families, psychological problems, moral decadence, spiritual poverty, law-and-order problems, and prison populations.

JOKE OF THE WEEK.

1)”God is not deaf but grandma is:” Two young boys were spending the night at their rich grandma’s house during Christmas. She was getting them ready for bed, and reminded them to say their prayers. Grandma left the boys alone and went into the next room before coming back to tuck them in. The older of the two said his prayers, thanking God and asking Him to bless grandma, his friends and family. Then, it was his younger brother’s turn. He offered the same prayer as his big brother, but at the end of the prayer, he shouted in a very loud voice, “And God, please send me a new scooter and a CD player.” His older brother turned and said, “You don’t have to shout. God isn’t deaf.” “I know,” the younger one replied. “But Grandma is.”

2) Memory pills to remember the prayers. Two elderly men were walking along the beach and their wives were walking behind them. One man says, “Eddie, did you know I’ve been taking these new memory pills to help me remember my prayers? They’re tremendous.” “I would like to improve my memory too,” said the other man.  “What are those pills called?”   The first man scratches his head, embarrassed because he can’t remember the name of the memory pills. “Wait!” he exclaims. “Let me ask my wife.”  He thinks a moment and then says, “My God! I forgot her name.  It’s the same name as a flower with red petals, long green stems and thorns.”  “The rose?” Eddie guesses. “Yes, that’s her name!”  The first man replies, smiling brightly, as he turns around to ask his wife. “Rose! What is the name of those memory pills I take?”

3) Liquor shop and the power of prayer:  A tale is told about a small town that had always been “dry.”  One day, however, a local businessman erected a tavern. A group of Christians from a local Church were concerned and they convened an all-night prayer meeting to ask God to intervene. It just so happened that shortly thereafter lightning struck the tavern burning it down to the ground. The owner of the bar sued the Church, claiming that the prayers of the congregation were responsible, but the Church hired a lawyer to argue in court that they were not responsible. The presiding judge, after his initial review of the case, stated, “No matter how this case comes out, one thing is clear: the tavern owner believes in prayer and the Christians do not.”

4) God’s laughter: How do you make God laugh? Tell him your plans. Robert Frost: “Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee, and I’ll forgive Thy great big joke on me.”

Prepared by: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604.

Synopsis: OT XVIII Sunday homily (July 31) on Lk 12:13-21 L/16

Introduction: The common theme of today’s readings is that the greedy acquisition of wealth and power is futile, because everything and everyone is “here today and gone tomorrow.” So the meaning of life cannot be found in selfishly hoarding wealth and possessions, but onlyin sharing these with the needy.

 Scripture lessons:  The first reading, taken from Ecclesiastes, reminds us that the greedy acquisition of goods and the selfish hoarding of them are useless because when the hoarder dies he goes to eternity empty-handed, and his heir gains, and perhaps squanders, his riches. In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 90), the Psalmist challenges us to listen to God and allow Him to soften our hearts that we may share our blessings with others. The Psalm Response urges,  “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Ps 95:8). In the second reading, Paul directs our attention to lasting, Heavenly treasures and warns that greed for wealth and influence is idolatry.  He advises,"Put to death, your parts that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry”(Colossians 3: 5).  In today’s Gospel, Jesus, telling the parable of the foolish rich man, warns us against all types of greed, because greed takes our life’s focus away from God and away from serving and loving Him in other people. Jesus says God calls the greedy rich man a fool because the man thought he would not die soon and that he was not accountable for the way he used his riches. The rich man had forgotten that his wealth was lent to him by God for sharing with the needy. Jesus also warns us that our eternal life does not consist of earthly possessions (Luke 12: 15), which we should share to gain eternal life.

 Life messages: 1) We are invited to share our blessings with others. The parable of the rich fool gives us a warning as well as an invitation. It reminds us that our possessions are merely loaned to us by God, and that we are accountable for their use.  We must begenerous in sharing our time, our treasure, and our talents in Christian stewardship.   Even if we are poor financially, we may be blessed with intelligence, good will, a sense of humor or the ability to console, encourage, inspire and support and help others. God expects us to give our thanks to Him for all these blessings by sharing them with others for His glory. The Old Testament Scriptures are clear about tithing – giving 10% of our income for God’s cause and for helping the needy.  God never allows tithers to regret their generosity.  2) Let us control our greed.  Our greed takes different shapes and forms. For some it may be the desire for the approval and praise of others.  For others it is the uncontrolled desire for power, control or fame.  For still others greed takes the form of excessive and sinful indulgence in eating, drinking, gambling, drugs or sexual activities.  Greed also turns our life away from God and away from serving and loving Him in other people. As greed directs all our energy and attention to fulfilling the self, its objects become our false gods, and they will consume us, unless we become rich in the sight of God.

OT XVIII (jly   31) Eccl 1:2; 2:21-23; Col 3:1-5, 9-11; Lk 12:13-21

Anecdote # 1: Candle in the Wind:  The wedding of Princess Diana (Diana Spencer), in 1981, was watched by 750 million people. Her funeral in 1997 was viewed by 2.5 billion people. At her funeral, singer Elton John brought tears to the eyes of hundreds of mourners in Westminster Abbey when he sang: “Candle in the Wind.” Interestingly, this song – with the line “Goodbye, Norma Rose” – was originally written for an equally glamorous woman, Norma Jeanne, who assumed the stage name ‘Marilyn Monroe’ and died on August 5, 1962, due to an overdose of sleeping pills. Diana and Marilyn share many things in common – both were beautiful and wealthy, photographed by paparazzi worldwide, yet, unhappy in marriage, and both died tragically in August aged but 36 – young icons snuffed out like candles in the wind. Ecclesiastes gives bad news for those who base their hopes on the perishable wealth and goods of this world, echoing a stark message: vanity of vanities, all is vanity! All of human life is ultimately meaningless if viewed in itself, apart from God. (Francis Gonsalves in Sunday Seeds for Daily Deeds).

# 2:  “Generous people are rarely mentally ill.” Dr. Carl Menninger, the world-renowned psychiatrist, was talking on one occasion to an unhappy but wealthy patient. He asked the patient what he was going to do with so much money. The patient replied, “Just worry about it, I suppose.” Menninger asked, “Well, do you get that much pleasure from worrying about it?” “No,” responded the patient, “but I get terrified when I think of giving some of it to somebody else.” Then Dr. Menninger went on to say something quite profound. He said, “Generous people are rarely mentally ill.” (David A. Renwick, .) I didn’t say that. Dr. Carl Menninger said it. “Generous people are rarely mentally ill.” He is right. People who cannot share with others have deep-seated problems. If your level of giving to the work of God and the service of others requires no sacrifice, then you have Jesus locked in a cupboard, and he is not really living in every part of your life. In today’s Gospel Jesus’ parable, God calls such people “fools.”

# 3: $100 million divorce money and $20 for church and charities: Did you read about the couple in Florida who had been married twenty-one years and were getting a divorce? The terms of the settlement called for the woman to be able to maintain "a reasonable lifestyle." Since the couple listed their assets at $100 million, here's what the judge decided: She could fly to New York once a month to get her hair fixed; she would receive $2,600 a month to eat out; and she would receive a liberal expense account for gasoline, oil, and maintenance of her $100,000 Mercedes. In addition, she was to receive, each month: $10,446 for vacations; $6,452 for clothing; $1,592 for groceries; $1,440 for local beauty parlors; $1,407 miscellaneous; $171 for pet care; and $20 for Church and charities. ("The Messenger," Bacon Heights Baptist Church, Lubbock, Texas, 1991.) Is there something wrong with this picture? One hundred million dollars and she's giving $20 a month to Church and charities? I believe Christ would say to her, "You fool!" Wealth is for sharing. Sure, there is satisfaction in the little luxuries of life, but not as much as being involved in something great and lasting.

Introduction: The common theme of today’s readings is the futility of the greedy acquisition of wealth and power because everything and everyone is “here today and gone tomorrow.” Therefore, the meaning of life cannot be found in possessions but in the sharing of time, treasure and talents with the needy.  The first reading, taken from Ecclesiastes, reminds us that the greedy acquisition and the selfish hoarding of goods are useless because when the hoarder dies he goes to eternity empty-handed, and his heir gains, and perhaps squanders, his riches. In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 90), the Psalmist challenges us to listen to God and allow Him to soften our hearts that we may share our blessings with others. The Psalm Response urges,  “If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts” (Ps 95: 8). In the second reading, Paul directs our attention to lasting Heavenly treasures and warns that greed for wealth and influence is idolatry.  He advises the Colossians, “Put to death, your parts that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry”(Colossians 3: 5). In today’s Gospel, Jesus, telling the parable of the foolish rich man, warns the disputing brothers, and us, against all types of greed, because greed takes our life’s focus away from God and away from serving and loving Him in other people. Jesus says God called the greedy rich man a fool because the man thought he would not die soon and that he was not accountable for his riches. He forgot that his wealth was lent to him by God for sharing with the needy. Jesus also warns us that our eternal life does not consist of earthly possessions (Luke 12: 15), and so we should share our possessions to gain eternal life.

First reading: Ecclesiastes 1: 2; 2: 21-23:  The book of Ecclesiastes (also called Qoheleth), is the most pessimistic and cynical book in the whole Bible. The author claims that he has “seen all things that are done under the sun” and found them to be “a chase after wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14).  He expresses a ruthlessly honest pessimism about the prospects for finding true happiness in the greedy acquisition of earthly goods, because the greedy hoarder leaves everything behind at his death, and his heir may squander his hard earned wealth. Even while he is alive, wealth and power give man worry and sleeplessness. "All his days sorrow and grief are his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest” (Ecclesiastes 2: 23).  Hence, greed and selfishness are not worth the effort.  Thus, the statement, "Vanity of vanities, all things are vanity!"(Ecclesiastes 1: 2), is a blunt summation of Qoheleth’s disturbingly candid skepticism, underscoring the transitory and fleeting character of life. According to an old legend, Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), commanded that when he died and was carried forth to his grave, his hands should not be wrapped in the burial clothes, as was the custom, but should be left outside so that all might see them, and might see also, that they were empty. In the brief span of his thirty-three years, Alexander had conquered and possessed the riches of an empire that extended from Greece to India. Yet, in death, his hands were empty; none of his wealth could survive the passage through death.

Second reading: Colossians 3: 1-5, 9-11:  We are living in a culture that caters to our desire for immediate gratification. It encourages us to amass possessions, and in many ways it thrives on deceit. Hence, Paul directs our attention to those treasures that endure, warning that greed for wealth and influence is idolatry and that the faith-life of a believer requires Christ as its first priority. Baptism is our participation in the death and Resurrection of Jesus.  Paul reminds us that, since we have been raised with Christ through Baptism and are going in a Heavenly direction, we have to “put to death immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and the greed that is idolatry”(Colossians 3: 5). The desires of the human heart cannot be satisfied by what is here today and gone tomorrow because we have been made for “what is above”(Colossians 3: 1). For Paul, the whole process of joining Christ in glory revolves around “taking off our old self with its practices and putting on the new self, which is being renewed..., in the image of its Creator" (Colossians 3: 9-10).  Although power, influence and possessions come and go, our new self will endure because it is grounded in the power of the risen Lord.

Exegesis:  The greed behind a property dispute:  The Jewish rabbis were often asked to settle disputes among their countrymen. They judged cases using the Mosaic Law as given in the Torah - the Jewish book of civil, religious and liturgical laws.   In matters concerning the distribution of property in a family with two children, the Torah (Deut. 21; 15-17, Numbers 27: 1-11, 36: 7-9), granted two thirds of the wealth to the elder son and one third to the younger. If there were several sons, the first-born would receive double the inheritance of his younger brothers and would serve as the patriarch of the family and executor of his father's estate.  In the case related in today's Gospel, either the older brother had delayed the partition of property or else the younger brother was greedy. Jesus refused to be an arbitrator in this property dispute between two brothers because he had come to bring people to God by preaching the Good News of God’s forgiving and sharing love.  But he used the occasion as a "teachable moment,” instructing the audience on the folly of greed and selfishness, while contradicting the Epicurean motto: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

Why did Jesus say God called the rich man a fool? Traditional Jewish good works included prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Blessed with an excellent harvest, the rich landowner in Jesus’ parable did the opposite of giving alms. Instead of thanking God and sharing with the hungry, he planned to give himself over to a pagan orgy - "eat, drink and be merry." Jesus called him a fool because: 1) “He never saw beyond himself.” He was focused on himself and was selfish to the core. He liberally used the “aggressively possessive” pronouns “I” (six times) and “my” (five times). He was possessed by his possessions, instead of possessing them. In the process, he evicted God from his heart and never thought to thank God for having blessed him with a rich harvest. As God had been ousted from his heart, that heart became narrow and constricted with no space left for others in it.  Hence, the rich man gave no thought to the poor workers who had labored in his field, nor to his poor relatives, nor to the poor people in his community. In doing this, he turned his back on his Jewish heritage, for the Torah demands that gleanings from a harvest be left for the poor, the widow, the orphan and the immigrant (Lev. 19:9-10;23:22; Dt. 24:21). The rich man in the parable did not care about others who were suffering. He did not show any regard for the hurting and needy. He did not voice any concern for keeping the community of which he was a part safe from unexpected droughts, famines, or plagues. The richer the man grew, the greedier he became, as suggested by the Roman proverb: “Money is like sea water; the more a man drinks the thirstier he becomes.” The rich man was called fool because he did not consider sharing the wealth. In other words, he left other people out of his possessions.

2) The foolish rich man “never saw beyond this world.”   He forgot that he was going to die, sooner or later. He also forgot that God had given him everything he had – the land, the good growing season and the excellent – not for himself alone but for all those around him who were in need. It was  as he was planning to build new barns and warehouses to store his wealth, that he heard the words all creatures will hear one day from their creator: "This night your life will be demanded of you!"  He left his soul out of his thoughts and, hence, left eternity out of his plans. This, as Jesus warns us in the parable, is folly.

 3) He failed to become “rich in what matters to God.” He left God out of his gratitude. He was not thankful to God for His blessings; instead, he considered them as solely the fruit of his own labor.  He also failed in his stewardship duties – the returning to God of His portion in paying his tithe.  Third, he did not recognize his possessions as on loan from God, given to him to share with others.  Fourth, he was taken up with worries or anxieties about his wealth.  He was starving to death spiritually in the midst of God’s abundance.   Yet, though he may have prayed the beautiful prayer in the book of Proverbs: "Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." (Proverbs 30: 8-9), he did not change.

Life messages: 1) We are invited to share our blessings with others. The parable of the rich fool gives us a warning as well as an invitation. It reminds us that our possessions are merely lent to us by God, and that we are accountable for their use.  We must be generous in sharing our time, our treasure, and our talents, the three elements of Christian stewardship.  Every one of us is rich in one thing or another.  The parable instructs us to share these gifts. Even if we are poor financially, we may be blessed with intelligence, good will, a sense of humor or the ability to encourage, inspire and support others. God expects us to give our thanks to Him for all these blessings by sharing them with others for His glory. Giving God the first fruits of our labors, not the meager leftovers, is a traditional way of becoming “rich in what matters to God.” The Old Testament Scriptures are clear about tithing – 10% -- and that’s the top 10%, not the last 10%. Godnever allows tithers to regret their generosity.  Not only are tithers better off economically but also they feel a sense of personal satisfaction.

2) Let us control our greed.  Our greed takes different shapes and forms. For some it may be the desire for the approval and praise of others.  For others it is the uncontrolled desire for power, control or fame.  For a few others it takes the form of desire for excessive and sinful indulgence in eating, drinking, gambling, drugs or sexual activities.  Greed also turns our life away from God, away from serving and loving other people. As greed directs all our energy and attention to fulfilling the self, its objects become our false gods, and they will consume us unless we become rich in the sight of God.

JOKE OF THE WEEK

1)  Lawyer’s greed and doctor’s greed: A doctor and a lawyer were attending a cocktail party when the doctor was approached by a man who asked advice on how to handle his ulcer. The doctor mumbled some medical advice, then turned to the lawyer and remarked, "I never know how to handle the situation when I'm asked for medical advice during a social function. Is it acceptable to send a bill for such advice?" The lawyer replied that it was certainly acceptable to do so. The next day, the doctor sent the ulcer-stricken man a bill. The lawyer also sent  a bill to the doctor.

   2) The greedy man and the genie. A man is walking down the beach and comes across an old bottle. He picks it up, pulls out the cork and out pops a genie! The genie says, "Thank you for freeing me from the bottle. In return I will grant you three wishes." The man says "Great! I always dreamed of this and I know exactly what I want. First, I want one billion dollars in a Swiss bank account." Poof! There is a flash of light and a piece of paper with account numbers appears in his hand! He continues, "Next, I want a brand new red Ferrari right here." Poof! There is a flash of light and a bright red, brand-new Ferrari appears right next to him! He continues, "Finally, I want to be irresistible to women." Poof! There is a flash of light and he turns into a box of chocolates.

3) A rich fool in a Boeing 707: An old lady was on a flight.  She was sitting beside a rich, young businessman. After the in-flight meal she took out her Holy Bible and started her devotions. The businessman glanced at her and said,   "Do you really believe all that stuff in the Bible is true? "Well, yes, as a matter of fact I do," said the old lady. "Yeah, right..." the man scoffed, "like... what's that guy's name... the one who got swallowed by a whale..." "You mean Jonah?" "Yeah, Jonah.  Do you actually believe he could have survived for three days in the belly of a fish?" "Yes. I don't know how,” she replied, "but I can ask him when I see him in Heaven someday." Feeling smart, the young man said: "OK, but what if he's not in Heaven because he went to Hell?" "Then you can ask him yourself when you get there, “replied the old lady calmly.

Synopsis OT XIX [C] (Aug 7) Sunday homily on Luke 12:32-48 Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is the necessity for trusting faith in God’s promises and vigilant preparedness among Christ's followers.

Scripture lessons: The first reading cites the faith-filled preparedness of the ancient Hebrew slaves in Egypt before their mass exodus to the Promised Land.  Their trusting faith in their God’s promises gave them hope.  We are told how their faith and hope resulted in their liberation. With expectant hope, the Hebrews sacrificed the first Passover lamb and ate the first ritual meal, as prescribed by their God through Moses.  They awaited their imminent release and were prepared for it. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 33), invites us to express our own confidence in God and to declare our trust in His Providence. In the Second Reading, taken from the last chapter of the letter to the Hebrews, Paul defines Faith as “the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.”   He tries to bolster the Faith of the Jewish Christians (the Hebrews), by appealing to the example of their ancestors, starting with Abraham, and reviewing the things they had accomplished by Faith.  In the Gospel, Jesus challenges his disciples to trust the Father’s promise to give them eternal happiness in His kingdom. But they are to be prepared at all times, because the Son of Man will come at an unexpected hour either at the moment of their death or at the end of the world whichever is earlier. Using the master-thief parable Jesus warns us to be on our guard so that the thief (the devil), may not steal our treasure of Divine grace by his             temptations. Using the master-servant parable, Jesus reminds us always to do the will of God by obeying Jesus’ commandment of love, offering humble and sacrificial service to others.

Life message:  We always need to be prepared to meet Our Lord as our judge: Let us always remember the words of the Book of Revelation: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him and he with me" (3:20). Since nobody is sure about the time and circumstances of his or her death we must be ever prepared to face Jesus our Lord and Savior as our Judge at the moment of our death to give an account of our lives. He wants to see that we have kept our personal relationship with him by growing in holiness. Such a growth is possible by daily talking to him and listening to him in Bible reading, by asking for the guidance of the Holy Spirit every day, by recharging our spiritual batteries through offering our lives on the altar and getting spiritual nourishment in Holy Communion during the Holy Mass, by getting reconciled with God every day, asking for His pardon and forgiveness with a repentant heart and seeking His forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation for serious sins, by seeing the face of Jesus in everyone and by serving all people around us, sacrificially sharing our blessings with them.

OT XIX (Aug 7) Wis 18:6-9; Heb 11:1-2, 8-19; Lk 12: 32-48 (L/16)

Anecdote: # 1: Be watchful servants: Steven Anthony "Steve" Ballmer (born March 24, 1956) has been the of since .  He was one of the richest people in the world with a personal wealth estimated at US$14.5 billion in 2010.  He is Bill Gates' hand-picked successor. In 2004, he was seen crawling on the floor of the General Motors' executive conference room, trying to fix a connection that would enable him to make a pitch to GM engineers. The image of the Microsoft CEO on his hands and knees to please some customers made such an impression on the author Steve Hamm that he wrote a whole article based on this one incident. [Steve Hamm, "Why High Tech Has to Stay Humble,"Business Week (19 January 2004), pp 76-77.] Corporate executives will get on their hands and knees to show customers how much they care. In today’s Gospel Jesus warns his followers to be ever prepared by doing the will of God always in their lives, as the time of their death is uncertain.

# 2: “Come what may,” St. Francis answered, “I would finish hoeing my garden.” A woman once approached John Wesley (1703-1791), with an interesting question: “Suppose you knew for certain that you were going to die and meet your Maker at the stroke of midnight tomorrow,” she said. “How would you spend your time between now and then?” Wesley replied, “Well, madam, just as I intend to spend it now. I will preach this evening at Gloucester and again at five tomorrow morning. After that I will ride to Tewkesbury to preach in the afternoon and meet with the societies in the evening. Then I’ll go home to dinner, talk and pray with the family as usual, retire to my room at 10 p.m., commend myself to God, lie down to rest and wake up to GLORY!” When he had been similarly questioned, Martin Luther (1483-1546), replied, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my little apple tree and pay my debts.” Centuries before Luther and Wesley, Francis of Assisi (1182-1226), was hoeing his garden when one of his brothers in Christ put the same question to him. “Come what may,” he answered, “I would finish hoeing my garden.” In a sense, the Scripture readings for today invite each member of the gathered assembly to become engaged in a similar reflection. What would you do if you knew that this day would be your last? What would you not do? How would you prepare to meet God? Where would you go? With whom would you spend your remaining hours? (Patricia D Sanchez).

# 3: The end of the world predictions: Hal Lindsey, in his book The Late Great Planet Earth, which has sold over 30 million copies, predicted in his book that 40 years after the establishment of the country of Israel Jesus would return to earth and 7 years after that return the Church would be raptured to heaven. The problem is this: Israel was established in 1948. Christ should have returned in 1988 and the church should have been raptured in 1995. In 1997 Hal Lindsey was forced to change his predictions. In the late 80’s, the Russian president, Mikhail Gorbachev, was considered by some Bible prophecy pundits as the Antichrist. But Gorbachev, far from becoming a world dictator, turned out to be the single person most responsible for the demise of Soviet Russia. Televangelists Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson predicted that Russia was the great Gog and Magog mentioned in Ezekiel 18. When Russia collapsed in the early 90’s, losing its status as a world power, they were forced to change their positions. Harold Camping, president of Family Radio, predicted the world would end in September of 1994. Grant R. Jeffrey wrote a popular book called Armageddon stating that the year 2000 was the most likely date of the world’s end. We know that all these predictions were false ones. These false predictions suggest that we are to get ready for Christ’s second coming by trying to do the will of God every day through love and service and being reconciled with God and God’s children on a daily basis, as suggested by today’s Gospel.

Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is the necessity for trusting faith in God’s promises and vigilant preparedness in the followers of Christ.  The first reading cites the Faith-filled preparedness of the ancient Hebrew slaves in Egypt before their mass exodus to the Promised Land.  Their trusting Faith in their God’s promises gave them hope.  We are told how their Faith and Hope resulted in their liberation. With expectant Hope, the Hebrews obediently sacrificed the first Passover lamb and ate the first ritual meal, as prescribed by their God through Moses.  They awaited their imminent release and were prepared for it. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 33), invites us to express our own confidence in God and declare our trust in His providence. In the Second Reading, taken from the last chapter of the letter to the Hebrews, Paul defines Faith as “the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.”   He tries to bolster the Faith of the Jewish Christians (the Hebrews), by appealing to the example of their ancestors, starting with Abraham, and reviewing the things they had accomplished by Faith.  In the Gospel, Jesus challenges his disciples to trust the Father’s promise to give them eternal happiness in His kingdom. But they are to be prepared at all times, because the Son of Man will come at an unexpected hour, either at the moment of their death or at the end of the world. Using the master-thief parable Jesus warns us to be on our guard so that the thief (the devil), may not steal our treasure of Divine grace by his temptations. Using the master-servant parable, Jesus reminds us always to do the will of God by obeying Jesus’ commandment of love, offering humble and sacrificial service to others.

First reading, : The book of Wisdom was written about a century before the coming of Jesus, by a faithful, learned Jew living in cosmopolitan Alexandria in Egypt. One of his purposes was to bolster the Faith of fellow Jews living in a world indifferent, and sometimes hostile, to their beliefs. A favorite theme of the writer is how the providence of God has protected the Chosen People throughout their history, especially during the time of their enslavement in Egypt and during their Exodus to freedom and the Promised Land under Moses. The author goes over these events in great detail. Our verses today interpret where, while the angel of the Lord was striking down the first-born of Pharaoh and other Egyptians, the vigilant Hebrew slaves were both obediently offering grateful sacrifice to the Lord and eating the meat of the lamb to fortify themselves for their coming escape. That night was the first Passover.  Like those Jewish slaves in Egypt, we, too, have been called to cling to the Hope of a future that may seem too good to be true, and we, too, are expected to be steadfast in our Faith, even when we see no signs of the fulfillment of God’s promises.

 Second Reading, : This passage is taken from the end of the Letter to the Hebrews. It contains the only explicit definition of religious Faith in the Bible: “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” Like our first reading, the Letter to the Hebrews was trying to bolster the Faith of the Jewish Christians (Hebrews), by appealing to the example of their ancestors who had believed in promises yet to be fulfilled. The chief example of strong Faith is found in their patriarch Abraham, a wealthy but childless pagan in Ur of the Chaldees (modern Iraq).  Abraham heard the voice of God summoning him to a different land, where God promised to grant him many descendants. By Faith Abraham left his homeland, accepted God’s promise that his descendants would form a great nation and was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac at God’s command. Despite obstacles and setbacks, Abraham stayed obedient, "for he thought that the One Who had made the promise was trustworthy." The first century Jewish Christians were ostracized from the religious institutions (sacrifices, priesthood, rituals), of mainline Judaism. To bolster their Faith, the author provided a complex treatise showing that, in their new life in Christ, they were more than compensated for what they had lost. They were given the assurance that Christ’s promises for his believers exceeded the promises given to their Jewish ancestors.

Exegesis: Be ready for your death and Jesus’ Second Coming: Today’s reading from Luke 12 is one of three eschatological discourses in the Gospel. All three of the Synoptic Gospels record Jesus’ concern for warning his disciples to keep alert, to keep watch over themselves with careful attention. The passage is a collection of short parables, in which the chief characters are a master (representing the risen Jesus), and his servants (Jesus’ followers). According to the Fathers of the Church, Jesus' words in this passage have two senses. In the narrower sense, the words refer to the Second Coming of Jesus, but  in the broader  sense they  refer to the time of  our own  death,  when God will call us  to meet Him and to give Him an account of our  life on earth. Since the precise time of each is unknown to us, the proper attitude for Jesus’ followers is constant watchfulness.

Relationship by grace:  In the first part of today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us what our real treasure should be and how we may keep it safe. The treasure God offers is of far greater value and is more secure than any earthly treasure.  Nevertheless, it is possible for us to lose this treasure if we do not guard it carefully.   The treasure is the relationship with God, which the Lord offers us in His promise of eternal life. But this treasure can be stolen by the devil or lost by a lack of vigilance in the midst of our temptations.  Jesus uses two comparisons to explain the nature of the vigilance required of us. We must be ready for action like an oriental servant and trimmed for service like an oil lamp. The long flowing robes worn by people of the day were a hindrance to work.  When a man prepared himself to work, he gathered up his robes under his girdle (belt) in order to leave himself free for activity. The reference to fastened belts and lamps burning ready (v. 35) also recalled the preparedness for action, which was legislated for Israel in the Passover ritual (Exodus 12:1). Just as the Israelites were to be ready to pass from slavery to freedom, so were the disciples to live in a state of alertness in order to recognize and accept the Passover which Jesus offered –  from sin and death to forgiveness and life. The eastern lamp was like a cotton wick floating in a vessel of oil. The wick had to be kept trimmed at all times and the lamp replenished with oil. Otherwise the light would go out. What Jesus teaches us through these comparisons is that our relationship with God the Father must be constantly replenished by our prayers, our Sacramental life, our reading of Holy Scripture and our acts of charity.  Since the Lord is committed to us in an unbreakable covenant of love and fidelity, we must respond with equal commitment, no matter how difficult it may be. In His love for us, God always gives us the grace and strength to remain faithful, and He will reward our faithfulness.

Steadfast Faith and eternal vigilance: In the second part of today’s Gospel, Jesus exhorts his followers to be steadfast in their Faith and ever vigilant. He explains his point using three mini-parables.  The servants of a master were entrusted with the management of the household. In Jesus' day, although stewards were slaves, they had almost unlimited power.   A trusted steward ran his master's house and administered his estate. When his master was not at home, the steward was ever vigilant. He prepared himself for his master’s return at any time of the day or night by always doing his duties faithfully. Jesus illustrates the same point using another mini-parable of the wise servants waiting for the return of their master after a wedding feast.

Jesus teaches us the need for constant vigilance using yet another mini-parable of the thief and the treasure. We should not lose our treasure of Divine grace like the man who awoke one day to discover that a thief had stolen his wealth during the night.  These parables are addressed to all believers to encourage "wakefulness" and preparedness. We must be vigilant like the servant in the parable waiting for his master's unexpected return or like the wise homeowner who was well prepared for the unexpected break-in of a thief.   Since the time of our death is quite uncertain, we, too, must be ever ready to meet our Lord at any moment. He should find us carrying out our task of love, mercy and service, rather than leaving things undone or half-done. He should also find us at peace with God, ourselves and with our fellowmen (Eph 4:26)

Irreparable mistakes: Jesus then presents the parable of the unwise steward as a warning to us. The unwise steward made two mistakes.   (i) He said, “I will do what I like while my master is away." Like him, we often forget that our Lord is always with us, and that we will be accountable to him on the day of reckoning. Misuse of an office for one’s own advantage or the abuse of others will bring about severe punishment, for the returning Lord will place that servant “with the unfaithful.”  (ii) He said, “I have plenty of time to put things right before the master comes."  Nothing is as fatal to the accomplishment of a task as procrastination.  Jesus also warns us that knowledge and privilege bring responsibility with them. Today, looking back on two thousand years of Christian history, we find it difficult to expect Christ’s second coming during our lifetime.  But we are sure to meet him at our death. Since the date and time of our death are unknown to us,  we should always be ready to give him an account of our lives.

Life messages: 1) We need to be vigilant and ready to face the Lord. One of the traditional means for remaining alert is prayer. The most important element in prayer is listening to God – an attitude of attention to the "tiny whispering sound" of the Lord (1 Kings 19:11-12).   Such attentiveness demands that we set aside a quiet time every day during which we can tune our ears to the Divine sounds of love, harmony and peace. Let us recall the words of the Book of Revelation: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him and he with me" (3:20).

2) We need to wait for the Lord. "Waiting for Christ to return" means working for the coming of the Kingdom of God.  This means doing God’s will by rendering humble service to others, by combating poverty, by ending the hatred that divides us, by establishing peace among individuals and nations, by curbing the pride that causes us to become confrontational, and by building social structures that respect the dignity of individual humans. We must wait for the Lord in our daily lives by learning to see Jesus in the least of our brothers and sisters.  In other words, we must be prepared to serve Jesus in whatever form he takes. What we frequently discover in "serving" other people is that God comes to us through them.

JOKE OF THE WEEK:

1) Get ready for the Heavenly trip.  During his sermon, an evangelist asked all who wanted to go to heaven to raise their hands. Everyone in the audience did so--except for one elderly man sitting near the front of the auditorium. The preacher pointed his finger at him and said, "Sir, do you mean to tell us that you don't want to go to Heaven?"   "Sure I do," the old man answered, "but the way you put the question, I figured you were getting up a busload for tonight!'

2) "Who is in the Penthouse?" A holy pastor of a very large parish died and went to heaven. He was convinced that he would get the penthouse in Heaven. If not he, then who, he thought, not so humbly, to himself. Instead, he was given a   tiny one-bedroom apartment. Disappointed and not a little bit angry, the preacher asked St. Peter why he couldn't have the penthouse. St. Peter replied, "We have lots of pastors and preachers like you here in Heaven, and the conveniences in your apartment surpass everything available to the rich and famous people on earth." "Then who is in the penthouse?" the pastor demanded. "It's a lawyer," replied St. Peter. "What?! Why?!" Peter replied, "Until now, we have only one of them in heaven!"

OT XX [B] (Aug 16) Homily on Jn 6: 51-58 (L/15)

Introduction: Today’s readings stress the fact that the Holy Eucharist, the perfect fulfillment of the symbol of the manna of the Old Testament, is the Food that gives us life forever. In last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus declared that the Bread he gives is his Flesh. This Sunday, Jesus asserts that to eat this Bread is to have eternal life.

Scripture lessons: In today’s first reading, taken from the Book of Proverbs, Lady Wisdom, representing God, offers wisdom and understanding in the form of a rich banquet to all those who are willing to heed her invitation. The early Christians often identified Jesus as the Wisdom of God. They regarded the Eucharist as Wisdom’s banquet, where they shared in the Divine Wisdom now Incarnate in Jesus. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 34), thanks God for His providential care and His close association with His people, and invites all to “taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” In the second reading, Paul advises the Gentile Christians to show their gratitude to God for calling them, along with the Jews, to Christianity, and for giving them a share in Christ’s life. They will be able to receive this life by avoiding their former foolish ways, like getting drunk on wine.Instead they are to be Spirit-filled with their talk edifying, always trying to discern and do the will of God. In today’s Gospelpassage, Jesus asserts that eating the Living Bread, himself, allows us to participate in his life and to grow here and now in our eternal life with God. Jesus emphasizes the eternal-life dimensions of eating his Body and drinking his Blood – that those who have faith in Jesus and do so have already stepped into Heaven in this life, sharing in God’s own life and therefore in eternal life. Our participation in the Eucharist also concretizes and energizes our relationship with Christ and with one another. When we share in the Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, Jesus himself comes to dwell within us. This communion with the Lord makes us one Body, brings us eternal life, and sends us forth to be Christ's Body for the life of the world.

Life messages: # 1: We need to allow our body to be broken and our blood to be shed for others as Jesus did.  That is why, at the end of the Mass, we are sent out to announce the Gospel of the Lord by our humble service and exemplary lives, radiating Jesus’ love, mercy, forgiveness and spirit of service all around us.  Let us say with Jesus, "This is my body, given over for you" and"This is my blood, poured out for you“ and live out these words by living for others.

#2: We need to keep the hunger and thirst for God alive in our hearts: Every human being is blessed with an insatiable longing for God. We want God as our Father to hold us gently in His arms, keeping us safe throughout the dangers we face.   But often we use substitutes as an escape from that need: fast living, fast food, fast cars, needless luxuries, unrestricted sexual fulfillment.  We demand the right to do whatever we want to do whenever we want.  But let us remember the truth that unless we keep the hunger for God strong in our hearts, we will eventually realize the emptiness of our lives without Him.

1. T. XX (B) (August 16) , , John 6: 51-58

Anecdotes: # 1: Touching the body of Christ! Mother Teresa of Calcutta had a rule that when a newcomer arrived to join her Order, the Missionaries of Charity, the very next day the newcomer had to go to the Home of the Dying. One day a girl came from outside India to join the Order.  Mother Teresa said to her: "You saw with what love and care the priest touched Jesus in the Host during Mass. Now go to the Home for the Dying and do the same, because it is the same Jesus you will find there in the broken bodies of our poor." Three hours later the newcomer came back and, with a big smile, said to her, "Mother, I have been touching the body of Christ for three hours." "How? What did you do?" Mother Teresa asked her. "When I arrived there," she replied, "they brought in a man who had fallen into a drain, and been there for some time. He was covered with dirt and had several wounds. I washed him and cleaned his wounds. As I did so I knew I was touching the body of Christ." To be able to make this kind of connection we need the help of the Lord himself. It is above all in the Eucharist that he gives us this help.  

# 2: Cannibalism in the Andes: In October, 1972, a plane carrying 46 passengers an Uruguayan rugby team and their families and supporters to an exhibition game in Chile crashed in the Andes.   Nando Parrado, one of the survivors, tells the story of their 72 day struggle against freezing weather and dangerous avalanches in the book Miracle in the Andes. [Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home is a 2006 book by and .]  The author's mother and sister were among those killed in the crash.  High in the Andes, with a fractured skull, eating the raw flesh of his deceased teammates and friends, Parrado calmly pondered the cruelties of fate, the power of the natural world and the possibility of his continued existence: "I would live from moment to moment and from breath to breath, until I had used up all the life I had," he wrote.   The 16 survivors had nothing to eat except the flesh of their dead teammates.  After two months, Nando, an ordinary young man – a rugby player - with no disposition for leadership or heroism, led an expedition of the remaining three of the survivors up the treacherous slopes of a snow-capped mountain and across forty-five miles of frozen wilderness in an attempt to find help.  The party was finally rescued by helicopter crews.  It was difficult for them to decide that eating human flesh was all right, even in those extreme circumstances!  Hence, it is not surprising that Jesus’ listeners protested against his invitation to eat his flesh and drink his blood as described in today’s Gospel. ()’

3) Food pyramids: New standards for diet were proposed recently. A new food pyramid was developed as a guide for healthy eating. It includes a base of bread, cereals, rice and pasta. The next level up the pyramid is vegetables and fruit. A still smaller next level is milk, yogurt, cheese, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and nuts. The smallest group at the top is fats, oils and sweets. We can propose a food pyramid for those who want a healthy spiritual life. You may want to develop your own, but it might include a base of feeding on the Word of God in the Eucharist and by study and meditation on the Scriptures. Upon that base one is nourished by Christian fellowship. It should include servings of regular worship. To that a daily use of prayer and devotions could be added. On top of those elements should be time for Christian service to meet the needs of others.

Introduction: Today’s readings stress the fact that the Holy Eucharist, the perfect fulfillment of the symbol of the manna of the Old Testament, is the Food that gives us life forever.   In last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus declared that the Bread he gives is his Flesh. This Sunday, Jesus asserts that to eat this Bread is to have eternal life.    The first and second readings encourage us to turn aside from those things that do not nourish and sustain us and turn towards the Divine source: “be filled with the Spirit.”  In  today’s first reading, taken from the Book of Proverbs, Lady Wisdom, representing God, offers wisdom and understanding in the form of a rich banquet to all those who are willing to heed her invitation. The early Christians often identified Jesus as the Wisdom of God. They regarded the Eucharist as Wisdom’s banquet, where they shared in the Divine Wisdom now present in Jesus. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 34), thanks God for His providential care and His close association with His people, and invites all to “taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” In the second reading, Paul advises the Gentile Christians to show their gratitude to God for calling them, along with the Jews, to Christianity, and for giving them a share in Christ’s life. They will be able to receive this life by avoiding their former foolish ways, like  getting drunk on wine. Instead they are to be Spirit-filled with their talk edifying, always trying to discern and do the will of God. In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus asserts that eating the Living Bread, himself, allows us to participate in his life and to grow here and now in our eternal life with God. Jesus emphasizes the eternal-life dimensions of eating His Body and drinking his Blood. "Eternal life" is complete and lasting happiness, satisfying our deepest longings and realizing all our dreams. We begin to experience this happiness in this world and enter it completely and forever in Heaven. This means that those who have Faith in Jesus have already stepped into Heaven in this life, sharing in God’s own life and therefore in eternal life. In the case of the Eucharist, once we start eating and drinking Jesus’ Body and Blood, we’re there. Our participation in the Eucharist also concretizes and energizes our relationship with Christ and with one another.

First reading, : In Old Testament times, most people believed that Heaven and Hell existed within this present life rather than in the future. According to Proverbs, Heaven exists in the quest for Divine wisdom, that is, the quest to discover Yahweh's presence in everything and everyone.  Those who discover how God operates in this world will live fulfilled and happy lives. In chapter nine from which today’s first reading is taken, Wisdom is depicted as a gracious hostess inviting the people to a fine banquet.  "Wisdom" becomes the symbolic image of the search for God's will.  As this reading suggests, Faith opens up the fonts of wisdom to nourish us. The reading invites us to an even more excellent banquet: the banquet depicted in today’s Gospel, .  When we partake of the Flesh and Blood of Christ, we are filled with true wisdom.  Here, wisdom means knowing the will of God in our lives, knowing the real values in life and knowing how to live life as God means us to live. In their hymns and creeds, early Christians often identified Jesus as the Wisdom of God. The Bread of Life discourse in John indicates that the Eucharist is Wisdom’s banquet, where we share in the Divine Wisdom Incarnate in Jesus.

Second Reading, : In the earlier chapters of his Letter to the Ephesians, Paul reveals God’s secret plan.  It is to extend the call of the Chosen People to the Gentiles, too.  Hence, in today’s selection, Paul advises the Gentile Christians to show their gratitude to God by avoiding their former foolish ways, like getting drunk on wine.  Instead, they have to be filled with the Spirit, understand the will of the Lord and address one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual singing, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.  Paul encourages the community in Ephesus "to discern the will of the Lord." The authentic follower of Jesus “gives thanks always and for everything."  Paul believes that no one can be a faithful follower of God without actively trying to discover God's will for him or her. The apostle believes that we can discover God’s will wherever we may     be.

Exegesis: The background: Although the traditional and accepted view of today's selection from the Bread of Life discourse is that the passage represents a literal event in the life of Jesus, there are some Bible scholars who suggest that this passage is simply a theological reflection on the Eucharist, written for the early Christians.   Among the four Gospels, only John’s Gospel fails to mention the Eucharistic institution at the Last Supper.  Instead he dedicates five chapters (13-17) to reporting Jesus' discourse, a dialogue between Jesus and his critics, on that theme.  Today’s selection, the fourth of five excerpts from this discourse, read on successive Sundays, shows the shocked reaction of some people to Jesus’ blunt statement that the Life-giving bread which he is going to give them is his own body and blood.  

Life-giving bread from Heaven: "I, myself, am the living Bread come down from Heaven." “Come down from Heaven” refers to the Incarnation and announces Jesus’ Divine origins; without the Son’s becoming a human being there would be neither Sacrament nor Salvation.   Eating this Bread results in profound at-oneness with the Divine: the Son-become-man.   The reference to the future, "I will give," points to Jesus’ sacrificial death and to his "Flesh," which was to be offered on Calvary and shared at every Eucharistic celebration.   Jesus reminds his listeners that this was not the first time in the history of salvation that God had provided his people with food.   The people knew about the experience of the Israelites in the wilderness.   They now must realize how that experience differed from Jesus’ feeding his followers with the Holy Eucharist.

A shocking statement: “Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Bood, you do not have life within you,” Jesus insists. That we cannot have everlasting life unless we eat Jesus' Body and drink his Blood was a shocking message to the listeners. Indeed, Jewish law prohibited the eating of human flesh, and blood of any kind was considered to be the actual life of a living being.   Drinking of blood, consequently, was prohibited in Judaism and in Christianity (Gen 9:4; Lev 17:10, 12, 14; cf. Acts 15:29).   Some of Israel’s Old Testament neighbors apparently drank blood as a religious act, believing that if they drank the blood of an animal they took into themselves the strength and vitality of that creature because blood was life, and life was blood.   Seeking life from the blood of an animal was idolatrous for Israelites because life comes from God alone.   In addition, for the Jews, blood itself was a spiritual contaminant, and coming in contact with blood immediately rendered one ritually unclean.  That was why a woman was considered to be ritually unclean for several weeks after she gave birth to a child.  We saw in the Gospel [13th Sunday B] how a woman with a chronic hemorrhage of blood dared not approach Jesus openly.  In the story of the Good Samaritan, the priest and the Levite on their way to the Temple would not contaminate themselves by contact with the injured man because he was bleeding.  To this day, observant Jews will eat only kosher meat from which the blood has been fully drained.

The Bread of Life from Heaven is the Body of Christ: The Bread of Life, or the Holy Eucharist, is the Sacramental Body of Christ.  Theologians recognize four elements in this “Body of Christ.” 1) The physical body: It is the physical body of Christ which was born in Bethlehem and died on Calvary.   2) The risen body: It is the transformed and glorified body of Jesus (I Cor 15: 35-49) with which Jesus appeared to his disciples.   3) The Mystical Body: It is the Church which is the continuation of Jesus Christ on earth.   Each baptized believer is an integral part (member), of the Mystical Body of Christ.   4) The Sacramental Body: It is related to and distinct from the above mentioned bodies of Christ.  During the Holy Mass, Jesus takes the bread and wine which we offer on the altar, offers it to God his Father and declares: “This is no longer your body, it is My Body; this is no longer your life’s blood, it is My Blood.”  The Eucharist is, thus, Jesus' dying for us, sacrificing himself for us, and calling us to perform the same sacrifice for others.

The Eucharist is the eternal sacrifice of Jesus providing life to those who eat his Body and drink his Blood.  Thus, the Holy Massis the Sacramental act which transforms our lives into the Divine Life.   In each Mass, Jesus transforms us into other Christs - ritually, sacramentally and existentially – thus keeping his promise: “I will be with you till the end of the world.”  

The deeper meaning: In spite of the Jewish antipathy to eating human flesh and blood, “eating Jesus' Flesh and drinking his Blood" became a common liturgical activity for Christians around the time of John's Gospel.   The second century martyr, St. Ignatius of Antioch, said, "For food I want the Bread of God, which is the Flesh of Jesus Christ and for drink I want His Blood, which is incorruptible love."   It was at the Last Supper that Jesus linked his Flesh with the bread he broke, and shared it with his disciples.  Likewise, he linked his Blood with the cup that was passed around, the Blood that was the pledge of an unbreakable bond between Jesus and his people. "This is my Body (my Flesh)... This is My Blood... which will be poured out for you.”   The Bread that we eat in the Eucharist is the Body of the Risen Lord; the Wine that we drink in the Eucharist is the Blood of the Risen Lord.   When Jesus spoke of his Flesh and Blood as the Food and Drink of eternal life, he was offering himself to the multitude as the real Source of Life.  To eat the Flesh of Jesus and to drink his Blood is to become totally identified with his very Person, with his deepest thoughts, with his vision of life, with his values, and with his mission to build the Kingdom of God.   In other words, Jesus is here calling us to follow him, to be with him sharing totally and unconditionally his mission and destiny.   Thus, the Eucharist is more than a memorial of Jesus' death (see 1 Cor 11:23-25).  Rather, it is the continuation of Jesus’ life after his Resurrection (Luke 24:13-35).

Heaven on earth theology: “Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.”    "Eternal life" is complete and lasting happiness satisfying our deepest longings and realizing all our dreams.   But Jesus’ audience was content with the “bread" they already possessed:  the Mosaic Law.    Their ancestors ate this "heavenly bread" but "died nonetheless."   Jesus is as essential for our resurrected existence as food and drink are for our earthly life. Remember what Jesus told Martha after her brother Lazarus died?   "I am the Resurrection and the Life; whoever believes in me, even if he die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”   Heaven doesn’t begin after death.  It already exists for those who believe in Jesus.  When we begin to eat and drink Jesus’ Jesus warns us that unless we eat his flesh and drink his blood we Body and Blood, we are already in Heaven.   No wonder that unless we eat this Food and drink from this Cup wewill not have Divine life within us!

Life messages: # 1: We need to allow our body to be broken and our blood shed for others as Jesus did: When we receive Jesus in Holy Communion we accept a great challenge.  We accept the triumphs and the tragedies, joys and the pains necessary to build up the Kingdom of God wherever we have been called to serve.   That is why, at the end of the Mass, we are sent out to announce the Gospel of the Lord (Form 2), through the witness of our humble service and exemplary lives, radiating Jesus’ love, mercy, forgiveness and spirit of service all around us. As we walk away from the altar we may perhaps hear Jesus saying: "This is my Body, which will be given up for you" and "This is the Chalice of my Blood … which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins”.   What a power we would be for our world around us if each one of us could say that and mean it!   That is why, at the end of the Mass, we are sent out with, "Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life"(Form 3), through our lives.

#2: We need to keep the hunger and thirst for God alive in our hearts: Every human being is blessed with an insatiable longing for God. We want God as our Father to hold us gently in His arms, keeping us safe throughout the dangers we face.   But often we use substitutes as an escape from that need: fast living, fast food, fast cars, needless luxuries, unrestricted sexual fulfillment.  We demand the right to do whatever we want to do whenever we want.  But unless we keep the hunger for God strong in our hearts, we will eventually realize the emptiness of our lives without God.

THE JOKE OF THE WEEK : # 1: Life-giving bread in Heaven’s buffet: This 85-year-old couple, having been married almost 60 years, had died in a car crash.   They had been in good health for the last ten years, mainly due to their interest in healthful food and exercise.

When they reached the Pearly Gates, St. Peter took them to their mansion, which was decked out with a beautiful kitchen, a master bath suite and a Jacuzzi.   As they "ooohed and aaahed,” the old man asked Peter how much all this was going to cost.

"It's free," Peter replied, "this is Heaven."

Next they went to see the championship golf course that their heavenly home backed up to.  St. Peter told them they would have golfing privileges every day.

The old man asked, "What are the greens fees?"

Peter's reply, "This is heaven; you play for free."

Next they went to the clubhouse and saw a lavish buffet laid out for them.

"How much does it cost to eat?" asked the old man.

"Don't you understand yet?   This is heaven! It's free!" Peter replied.

"Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol foods?" the old man asked timidly.  Peter smiled and said, "That's the best part...you can eat as much as you like of whatever you like and you never get fat and you never get sick.   This is Heaven."

The old man looked angrily at his wife and said, "You and your bran muffins! I   could have been here ten years ago!”

Synopsis: OT XX [C] Sunday on Luke 12: 49-53 (L-16)

Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is that we should courageously live out our religious convictions and principles in our lives, as Jeremiah, Paul and Jesus did theirs, even if doing so should result in our martyrdom and turn society upside down.  If no one is ever offended by the quality of our commitment to Christ, then perhaps we are practicing “inoffensive Christianity.”

Scripture lessons: Jeremiah, in our First Reading, is presented as experiencing the consequences of the burning word of God within him. Jeremiah's preaching divided the city and incited such opposition that people sought his death.  He showed the courage of his prophetic conviction by telling the king that he had to surrender to the mighty army of Babylonian empire to save Israel.  The result was that Jeremiah was thrown into a deep, muddy cistern to die for his "treason." Standing in this prophetic tradition, Paul, in the second reading, challenges the Judeo-Christians to stand firm in their faith in Jesus, ignoring the ostracism imposed on them by their own former Jewish community.  Jesus, too, in today’s Gospel, preaches the word of God which continues to divide families, a word which, he knew, would lead ultimately to his death.  The fire Jesus brings is the fire of love and the fire of hope.  The disruption, division and revolution Jesus and his true followers cause in society by the fire of sacrificial love and the fire of justice is necessary to re-set what's fractured, put right what's dislocated and cleanse what's infected.  In other words, the curative pain caused by Jesus’ ideas and ideals is necessary for the establishment of real shalom of God.  Even though Jesus brings a sword and causes division, he is the bringer of true and lasting peace.  In pursuing his mission, Jesus brings division because some follow him and others oppose him. We must make a decision to follow him or not, to share his "baptism" or not.  This choice can result in division, even within families.

 Life messages: # 1:  Let us learn to appreciate the contemporary prophets in the Church: The Jesuit Cardinal Avery Dulles, writing about the role of prophecy in the modern Church Salvatore Ferragamo Eyewear Sale communities in his book Models of the Church, remarks: “Christianity is not healthy unless there is room in it for prophetic protest against abuses of Balenciaga Venda authority.” God continues to send such prophets to every parish community and it is the duty of the bishop, pastor and parish council to listen to the well-intended and constructive criticisms of such Jeremiahs.

# 2: We should have fire in our hearts: On the day of our Baptism, we received the light of Christ and were instructed to keep that torch burning brightly until the return of Christ Jesus. In Nike Roshe One Dmb Red addition, the Holy Spirit was sent into our hearts at Confirmation to help set us on fire. “He who is on fire cannot sit on a chair.” So, as Christians on fire, we have to inflame people to care, to serve, and to bless one another with all the gifts of Faith. We should allow that fire to burn off the impurities in us and to bring out the purity of the gold and silver within us.

OT XX [C] (August 14) Jer 38: 4-6, 8-10; Heb 12: 1-4; Lk 12: 49-53

Anecdote: 1: “Be God’s prophets and God’s microphones” (Oscar Romero). God sends His prophets to give the world His message in every century. Blessed Oscar Romero, Blessed Mother Teresa, Pope St. John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dom Helder Camara, Maura Clark, Dorothy Kazel, Ita Ford, Jeanne Donovan, and Ella Baker were all twentieth century prophets who had the courage of their Christian convictions to follow Jesus and proclaim his undiluted message which cast fire on earth and caused healthy division in the society as today’s Gospel points out.  In 1980, in the midst of a U.S.-funded genocidal war against the so-called leftist rebels in El Salvador, Archbishop Blessed Oscar Romero who sided with the poor, exploited farm workers, declared: “If they kill all your priests and the bishop too, each one of you must become God's microphone, each one of you must become a prophet. I do not believe in death without resurrection. If they kill me, I will be resurrected in the Salvadoran people."  Amid overarching violence, Romero wrote to President Jimmy Carter pleading with him to cease sending military aid to the brutal military regime because, he wrote, "it is being used to repress my people."  The U.S. sent $1.5 million in aid every day for 12 years.  Archbishop Romero’s letter went unheeded.  Two months later, he was assassinated.  Ending a long homily addressed to the pro-government land owners and peasants and the military and broadcast throughout the country, his voice rose to breaking, "Brothers, you are from the same people; you kill your fellow peasants . . . .  No soldier is obliged to obey an order that is contrary to the will of God.”  There was thunderous applause; he was inviting the army to mutiny.  Then his voice burst out, "In the name of God then, in the name of this suffering people I ask you, I beg you, I command you in the name of God: stop the repression."  Oscar Romero gave his last homily on March 24, 1980, moments before a sharpshooter felled him at the altar of a hospital chapel.  Reflecting on the day’s Scripture, he had said, "One must not love oneself so much, as to avoid getting involved in the risks of life that history demands of us, and those that fend off danger will lose their lives."  In an interview as he was flying to Brazil in May, 2007 Pope Benedict told the reporters, “Romero as a person merits beatification.”  In July 2007, the new Salvadoran conservative government said it would formally request the Vatican to beatify Romero although it will not accept responsibility for his slaying. Pope Francis beatified the martyred Archbishop Romero on May 23, 2015.  Today’s readings remind us that the Church needs prophets like Romero and cautions contemporary prophets that their course will not be easy.  ().

# 2: Apathetic Attitude: In 1993, the total attendance at worship services in the United States came to 5.6 billion. The total attendance for all pro-Ferragamo Accessories Sale basketball, baseball and football games combined was only 103 million, less than 2 percent of the number who attended worship ["To Verify: Statistics for Christian Communicators," Leadership 15 (Fall 1994), 50).] We complain about a shrinking Church membership when the numbers actually point to a shrinking sense of excitement and exuberance for Christ's sake. In the name of sports, those 103 million get stadiums built, get team franchises moved, give local economies a boost and get whole regions of the country stand-up-and-shout excited. In the name of Christ, how much more could 5.6 billion accomplish in this country in the world if they were as "on fire" as the sports fans?

# 3: Courage to confront: In the 1920s, an English adventurer named Mallory led an expedition to conquer Mount Everest. His first, second and even his third attempt with an experienced team met with failure. Upon his return to England, the few who had survived held a banquet to salute Mallory and those who had perished. As he stood up to speak he looked around he saw picture frames of himself and those who had died. Then he turned his back on the crowd and faced a large picture of Mount Everest looming large like an unbeatable giant. With tears streaming down his face, he spoke to the mountain on behalf of his dead friends. “I speak to you Mt. Everest, in the name of all brave men living, and those yet unborn. Mt. Everest, you defeated us once, you defeated us twice; you defeated us three times. But Mt. Everest, we shall someday defeat you, because you can’t get any bigger, but we can.” Today’s Scripture challenges us to confront the world with prophetic courage of our Christian convictions (John Rose in John’s Sunday Homilies).

Introduction: The central theme of today’s readings is that we should courageously live out our religious convictions and principles in our lives, as Jeremiah, Paul and Jesus did theirs, even if doing so should result in our martyrdom and turn society upside down.   If no one is ever offended by the quality of our commitment to Christ, that commitment may not be authentic, and if our individual and communal living of the Good News casts no fire and causes no division, then perhaps we are practicing “inoffensive Christianity."  Jeremiah, in our First Reading, is presented as experiencing the consequences of the burning word of God within him. Jeremiah's preaching divided the city and incited such opposition that people sought his death.  He showed the courage of his prophetic conviction by telling King Zedekiah that the Lord God said he had to surrender to the mighty army of Babylonian empire to save Israel.  The result was that Jeremiah was thrown into a deep, muddy cistern to die for his "treason." Standing in this prophetic tradition, Paul, in the second reading, challenges the Judeo-Christians to stand firm in their Faith in Jesus, ignoring the ostracism imposed on them by their own former Jewish community.  Jesus, too, in today’s Gospel, preaches the word of God which continues to divide families, a word which, he knew, would ultimately lead to his death.  The fire Jesus came to bring is the fire of love and the fire of hope.  The disruption, division and revolution Jesus and his true followers cause in society by the fire of sacrificial love and the fire of justice is necessary to re-set what's fractured, put right what's dislocated, and cleanse what's infected.  In other words, the curative pain caused by Jesus’ ideas and ideals is necessary for the establishment of real shalom of God.  Even though Jesus brings a sword and causes division, he is the bringer of true and lasting peace.  In pursuing his mission, Jesus brings division because some follow him and others oppose him. We must make a decision to follow him or not, to share his "baptism" or not.  This choice can result in division, even within families.

First reading, : The first reading warms us up to hear where Jesus speaks with prophetic bluntness about how his mission will divide those who accept him from those who don't.  The prophet Jeremiah lived from about 650 B.C. to perhaps 580 B.C.  It was during this period that Babylon, becoming the supreme power in Mesopotamia, demanded tribute from all the smaller kingdoms, including Judah.  While the princes urged King Zedekiah, to seek military help from Egypt against Babylon, the Lord God, through His prophet Jeremiah, told them to pay the tribute to avoid a greater evil. Jeremiah had been predicting the impending destruction of Jerusalem as a judgment from YHWH because most of the kings of Judah had fallen further and further away from God and from their religion and because they had entered into unholy political alignment with neighboring countries, instead of trusting in their God. The prophet’s death sentence described in the first reading occurred during the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians about 587 B.C.  Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonian army, the Lord God, through Jeremiah, had told the king and the military leaders to surrender and pay tribute to the Babylonians.  That way the king might save his life and the lives of his people.  But Jeremiah sounded unpatriotic and even seditious, defeatist and treasonable to the military leaders who complained to King Zedekiah.  The king turned Jeremiah over to them, and they put him into a dry cistern with fairly deep mud at the bottom to die.  Jeremiah was saved by the sympathy of an Ethiopian courtier named Ebed-melech who evidently held a position of considerable authority at the royal court. Since the king did not listen to God’s counsel given by His prophet, Babylon captured and destroyed Jerusalem in 587 and took all the able-bodied citizens to Babylon as prisoners.  The cost of following God’s word, experienced by Jeremiah as a life so marked by suffering and opposition that he cursed the day he was born (20:14), points to the division Jesus brings (today’s Gospel).

Second Reading, : Paul wrote this letter to the Judeo-Christians who had been rejected by their fellow Jews, kicked out of synagogues and cut off from family and old friends. Separated from the comforting rituals and institutions they had known, these folks needed their faith bolstered.  Hence, Paul praised a long list of faithful Jews from the past, particularly Abraham, detailing some of the difficulties they had faced. Those heroic figures are the great "cloud of witnesses" mentioned in today's passage.  The author wanted his Judeo-Christians (the Hebrews), to think of themselves as athletes in a race in a stadium, where their ancestors in the Faith would be spectators, surrounding them and cheering them on because their descendants were now running the same race they had run in their day.  These ancestors were “witnesses” to the power of Faith to endure against every temptation to apostasy.  Paul asked the Hebrew Christians to run the race,keeping their eyes fixed on Jesus the “leader and perfecter of our faith.”  In his earthly life, Jesus was the pioneer because he initiated the way of Faith—the way through suffering to glory (v. 2)—and its perfecter because he completed his ”course,” thus enabling believers to run the same race, through suffering to glory.  We, too, are called to do our best until our great run for the Faith is crowned with victory.

Exegesis: Today’s Gospel passage consists of two sections: in the first section (vv 49-50), Jesus speaks of his Divine destiny to endure suffering, and in the second section (vv 51-53), he prophesies the breakup of families resulting from his  message.  Jesus explains his Divine destiny by highlighting his role of “setting the earth on fire” and being “baptized” in the waters of suffering.  The images of fire and baptism refer to his mission, both in terms of the cost that it will exact from him and the decision it will require of people.

“I have come to 'set the earth on fire.'" In the Bible, fire is sometimes symbolic of purification (for example, Nm 31:23; Ez 22:19-22), and, more often, is associated with God’s judgment (for example, Jdt 16:17; Is 66:16; Am 7:4; 2 Pt 3:7).  The image of fire is also used to symbolize God's glory (Ez 1:4, 13), His protective presence (2 Kgs 6:17), His holiness (Dt 4:24), His righteous judgment (Zec 13:9), and His wrath against sin (Is 66:15-16).  The image of fire is also used of the Holy Spirit (Mt 3:11 and Acts 2:3).  Fire has many characteristics: it warms, purifies, refines, transforms, and burns.  As a purifying force, fire burns up what is useless and refines what is impure besides giving warmth and energy.  Elijah brought the fire of judgment on the prophets of Baal (1 Kgs 18:36-40) and the soldiers of King Ahaziah (2 Kgs 1:10-14).  John the Baptist promises that Jesus "will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire"(Matt 3: 11), and that promise was fulfilled at Pentecost.  James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven upon the Samaritans who rejected Jesus, but Jesus would not permit it (Lk 9:54).  We are also reminded of the prophet's words, "For he is like a Adidas Daroga Trail Cc M refiner's fire…" (Mal 3:2).  The fire burns hot, removing impurities and leaving only that which is desirable.  These meanings suggest that the fire which Jesus brings will consume or purify the world.  Golden Goose Sale However, it is also possible that he means that his baptism will be a baptism of fire.  In the Aramaic language the word translated as “earth” can also mean “earth-oven,” the common stove in Mediterranean villages, heated by burning dried and salted camel-dung patties.  The salt in the dried camel dung acted as a catalyst keeping fire burning for a long time.  In that sense, Jesus acts as a catalyst in his believers’ life

“I must be baptized with a baptism:” The cup and baptism are metaphors for Jesus’ suffering and death when Jesus asks James and John, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?’ What Jesus means by his statement is “I have a terrible experience through which I must pass, and life is full of tension until I pass through it and emerge triumphantly from it.” Our Baptism is an immersion in Christ’s death in which we die to sin and are reborn to the new life of grace: “We were indeed buried with him through Baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life”(Romans 6:4). In the same way, our Eucharistic celebration is a recollection of Jesus’ baptism (immersion) in suffering, death and the anguish these caused him, not simply a celebration of the community with the risen Christ and with other believers.

“I have come to establish division on earth, not peace.” As Jesus walked the road to Jerusalem, the disciples had to decide whether to go with him or not.  To be with or against Jesus is a decision which has the effect of judgment and division.  Since Luke emphasizes peace as the gift that Jesus brings (1:79; 2:14; 19:38), we are shocked when Jesus declares that he has come not to bring peace on earth but division, splitting even families apart.  Jesus’ teaching caused division in families, in communities and in the Church.  For the Palestinian Jews of the first century, a person's place in the family conferred personal identity, protection, a support system, and a place in the community.  To separate oneself from one's family or clan was, literally, a matter of life and death.  But Christianity tore families in two, because a follower of Christ had to decide whether he loved better his kith and kin or Christ.  In Christianity, the loyalty to Christ has to take precedence over the dearest loyalties of this earth. Belief in Jesus and commitment to him cause fires of arguments to erupt between believers and non-believers in the same family or community, resulting in the division of families and conflict in society.  Standing up for what is right, working for justice and truth are higher aims than unity, and working for those aims will sometimes cause division.  Hence, Christians today may cause division and rouse opposition because they share through their Baptism the prophetic charism of speaking God’s word, no matter how unpopular, and of giving a voice to those who have no one to speak for them.  Let us remember that Jesus’ sense of justice brought him into conflict with those who exploited the weak and the poor.  His integrity invited confrontation with the dishonest and hypocritical leaders, and his love for the poor, for sinners and for the outcast alienated him from the narrow-minded and self-righteous. C. S. Lewis once said that the Gospel was concerned to create "new people" not just "nice people."

Life messages: # 1:  Let us learn to appreciate the contemporary prophets in the Church: The Jesuit Cardinal Avery Dulles, writing about the role of prophecy in the modern Church communities in his book Models of the Church, remarks: “Christianity is not healthy unless there is room in it for prophetic protest against abuses of authority.” God continues to send such prophets to every parish community and it is the duty of the bishop, pastor and parish council to listen to the well-intended and constructive criticisms of such Jeremiahs. The words of the late Archbishop Helder Camara, the champion of Brazil’s poor, serves as a prophetic warning, to all members of the Church: “When I give bread to the poor they call me a Saint. But when I ask why the poor have no bread, they call me Communist.”

# 2: We should have fire in our hearts: On the day of our Baptism, we received the light of Christ and were instructed to keep that torch burning brightly until the return of Christ Jesus. Further, the Holy Spirit was sent into our hearts at Confirmation to help set us on fire. The old proverb should be applicable to all baptized and confirmed Christians: “He /She who is on fire cannot sit on a chair.” Our Lord Jesus continues to cast fire on the earth, the fire of the Spirit, through the ministry of Word and Sacraments. As Christians, we should have fire to inflame people to care, to serve, and to bless each other with all the gifts of Faith. We should work with the Holy Spirit to allow that fire to burn off the impurities in us and to bring out the purity of the gold and silver within us. We need Divine fire to inflame our hearts with the love of God and love for His children. We Christians should blaze with the same fire with which Jesus wished his disciples to burn: “I came to cast fire upon earth, and would that it were already kindled” (Luke 12: 49). Hence, let us remember the old saying, “He/She who is on fire cannot sit on a chair,” and let us carry the fire of the Holy Spirit wherever we go. The scientist-cum-theologian Teilhard de Chardin said: “Someday, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity we shall harness the energies of love. Then for the second time in the history of the world man will have discovered fire.” “An 'adult' faith is not a Faith that follows the trends of fashion and the latest novelty (“dictatorship of relativism”); a mature adult faith is deeply rooted in friendship with Christ. It is this friendship that opens us up to all that is good and gives us a criterion by which to distinguish the true from the false, and deceit from truth” (Benedict XVI, April 18, 2005). Such a Faith will enable the fire of the Holy Spirit to burn in us and give us the courage of our Christian convictions.

Synopsis: OT XXI [B] (Aug 23) Sunday on John 6: 60-69 (L-15)

Introduction: The main theme of today’s readings is that Christian life is a series of daily choices for God or against God, as we choose to live out or reject the truths He has revealed through His prophets in the Old Testament and especially through His Son Jesus in the New Testament. The fundamental choice we make determines how we live our lives, deciding whom we will serve.

Scripture lessons: In the first reading, Joshua challenges the Israelites to decide whom they will serve, the gods of the Amorites in whose country they were then dwelling or the God of Israelites Who has done so much for them. The Renewal of Covenant ceremony in Joshua chapter 24 reminds us that the Eucharist is a Covenant meal that calls for a decision of Faith.  The second reading emphasizes the unity that must exist in the Body of Christ and the intimate relationship between Jesus and His followers. It also challenges the Ephesian Christians to make the right choice in life and build Christian marriages on mutual respect and love, accepting each spouse’s rights and dignity. He also uses the husband-wife relationship as an analogy to explain the close relationship between Christ and the Church. Paul reminds us that Jesus nourishes us, the members of his Church, through the Eucharist, making us his own flesh and blood, as husband and wife become one flesh. Concluding his long Eucharistic discourse, Jesus, in today’s Gospel, challenges his Jewish audience to make their choice of accepting him as the true Bread from Heaven who gives his Body and Blood as their Heavenly Food or of joining those who have lost their Faith in him and left him, expressing their confusion and doubts about his claims. Today’s passage describes the various reactions of the people to Jesus’ claims. Jesus gives his twelve apostles the option of leaving him or staying with him. The apostles exercise their freedom of choice by choosing to stay with Jesus. In this Eucharistic celebration, we, too, are called to make a decision, profess our Faith in God’s Son and renew the Covenant ratified in his life, death and Resurrection.

Life messages: # 1: Let us make our choice for Christ and live it:  We Christians have accepted the challenge of following the way of Christ and making choices for Christ, fortified by the Bread he gives and relying on the power of his Holy Spirit. The Heavenly Bread and the Holy Spirit will give us the courage of our Christian convictions to take a stand for Jesus, to accept the Church’s teachings and to face ridicule, criticisms and even social isolation for our adherence to sound Christian principles in our lives.  That is what we mean by our “Amen” while receiving Jesus in Holy Communion. We express without any conditions or reservations our total commitment to him in the community to which we belong. Christ’s thoughts and attitudes, his values, his life-view must become totally ours. Above all, we are to identify with him in the offering of his Flesh and the pouring out of his Blood on the cross by spending our lives for others.

OT XXI [B] (Aug 23): Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b; Eph 5:21-32; Jn 6: 60-69

Anecdote # 1: Martyrs’ choice for God, for Christ and his teachings: The Old Testament, the New Testament and the history of the Church tell the stories of brave men and women who heroically exercised their freedom of choice for God and His Commandments and courted martyrdom. II Maccabees 6: 18-31 describes how the 90-year-old saintly scribe, Eleazar, welcomed martyrdom rather than eat the flesh of pork. The same book describes another heroic Jewish mother and seven of her brave children who lost their lives by resisting the order of the Greek commander to reject their Jewish Faith. The martyrdom of St. Stephen is described in the Acts of the Apostles. The first three centuries saw thousands of Christians heroically choosing Christ and courting the cruel death inflicted by the pagan Roman Empire. St. Thomas More was the second-in-power in England and St. John Fisher the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University. Both were executed by King Henry VIII for choosing the teaching of the Church on marriage and divorce instead of choosing their king’s view. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian and pastor, chose to resist the anti-Christian and non-ethical doctrines of Hitler and was executed at 39. Today’s readings challenge us to make a choice for God and His teachings or against God.

#2: Do we stand for God? A group of Christians gathered for a secret prayer meeting in Russia, at the height of the persecution of all Christian churches. Suddenly the door was broken by the boot of a soldier. He entered the room and faced the people with a gun in his hand. They all feared the worst. He spoke. "If there’s anyone who doesn’t really believe in Jesus, then, get out now while you have a chance." There was a rush to the door. A small group remained - those who had committed themselves to Jesus, and who were never prepared to run from him. The soldier closed the door after the others, and once again, he stood in front of those who remained, gun poised. Finally, a smile appeared on his face, as he turned to leave the room, and he whispered "Actually, I believe in Jesus, too, and you’re much better off without those others!" [Jack McArdle in And That's the Gospel Truth: Reflections on the Sunday Gospels Year B (December, 1999).]

# 3: "I’m Jesus! Don’t you choose me?" There is the story that during the Second World War certain Nazis shot down a group of Jews and buried them in a mass grave.  A wounded twelve-year-old boy was still alive.  He dug his way out of the shallow dirt and went around the neighborhood seeking shelter in homes.  The people knew what had happened and, when they saw the boy caked with dirt, they hurriedly shut the door in his face.  One woman was about to do the same when the boy said:  “Mom, don’t you recognize me?  I’m the Jesus you Christians say you love.”  The lady broke into tears and received the boy into her home.  She had made her choice for Jesus. In today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges his audience to believe him and to accept his promise of the Eucharistic food.

Introduction: The main theme of today’s readings is that Christian life is a series of daily choices for God or against God, as we choose to live out or reject the truths He has revealed through His prophets in the Old Testament and especially through His Son Jesus in the New Testament. They remind us that the fundamental choice we make determines how we live our lives. Joshua, in our first reading, and Paul, in the second reading, make similar challenges to the people to make their choice.  Today we, too, are challenged to decide whom we will serve. In the first reading Joshua challenges the Israelites to decide whom they will serve, the gods of their fathers, the gods of the Amorites in whose country they were then dwelling or the God of Israelites Who has done so much for them. The Renewal of Covenant ceremony in Joshua 24 reminds us that the Eucharist is a Covenant meal that calls for a decision of Faith.  The Response for today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 34), encourages perseverance to the end, when we shall eventually "taste" (fully realize through personal experience), and "see" (everything, past, present and future, falling into place), "the goodness of the Lord!" Paul, in the second reading, emphasizes the unity that must exist in the Body of Christ and the intimate relationship between Jesus and His followers. It also challenges the Ephesian Christians to build Christian marriages on mutual respect and love. Paul says that the Christian husband and wife should stand together in love before God, respecting each other’s rights and dignity. He also uses the husband-wife relationship as an analogy to explain the close relationship between Christ and the Church. That is why he urges his faithful community in Ephesus, “Live in love, as Christ loved us.” He wants them to make the right choice in life. Paul reminds us that Jesus nourishes us, the members of his Church, through the Eucharist, making us his own Flesh and Blood, as husband and wife become one flesh. Concluding his long Eucharistic discourse in today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges his Jewish audience to make their choice of accepting the New Covenant he offers in his Body and Blood or of joining those who have lost their Faith in him and left him, expressing their confusion and doubts about his claims. Today’s passage describes the various reactions of the people to Jesus’ claims.  As Joshua spoke to his followers, Jesus speaks to the twelve apostles and gives them the option of leaving him or staying with him. The disciples cannot reject Jesus after all that he has done for them. Peter, their spokesman, asks Jesus how they can turn to anyone else – he is the only one who has the message of eternal life. The apostles exercise their freedom of choice by choosing to stay with Jesus. In the Eucharistic celebration, we, like Peter, are called to make a decision, profess our Faith in God’s Son and renew the Covenant ratified in his life, death and Resurrection.

First reading, Joshua 24:1-2, 15-17, 18: In our first reading, taken from the book of Joshua, the leader who succeeded Moses, Joshua challenges the Israelites who have entered the Promised Land to make a choice. He challenges the people to reaffirm their Covenant relationship with Yahweh. By that time (12^th century B.C.), the Promised Land had been divided up among the tribes of Israel. But a big concern was whether the tribes would drift away from the worship of the God of Israel.  So before departing from them in death, Joshua gathered the tribal leaders around him to issue his last words of advice.  They gathered at Shechem, 40 miles north of Jerusalem, where God had first appeared to Abraham and promised to make his descendants a great nation (Genesis 12:6ff and 33:18ff).  It was a fitting place for the renewal of the Covenant.  Joshua reminded the people of what God had done for them in rescuing them from slavery in Egypt, providing for their survival in the desert and giving them victory over their enemies.  God had been their Deliverer, Provider and Protector. This is the God that Joshua called Lord and with Whom he wanted to be covenanted.   Joshua's challenge to the Israelites is to decide, then and there, whom they will serve, the gods of their fathers, the gods of the Amorites among whom they now live, or this God Who has done so much for them.  They have to decide for the God of Israel or to reject Him in favor of the idols of their fathers and neighbors. Their decision for God should be reflected in their fidelity to the terms of the Covenant, i.e. the Law. Then Joshua sets the example for the rest of Israelites: “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua’s challenge prefigures the choice the apostles must make in today’s Gospel. We, too, are asked today whether or not we choose to remain in discipleship to Jesus.

Second Reading, : In this second reading, Paul, writing to the Ephesians, gives us the criteria for our daily moral choices in the family, parish community and civil society. He wants the Ephesians to use in all spheres of Christian life the criteria for the relationship of a successful marriage. The husband is to use the authority that society gives him over his family, not to dominate and seek his own selfish satisfaction but rather to aid in the salvation and spiritual development of his family and household. Paul uses the image of a marriage relationship primarily to express the bond that exists between Christ  and the Church. In addition, he uses the image of marriage to describe the relationship that should exist among believers. Those who enter into the Covenant of marriage should love and submit to one another in mutual care and respect, just as Christ submitted himself in loving sacrifice for the Church. Paul wants the Ephesians to accept, love, mutually respect, serve and recognize the true dignity of each member of Christ as the norms for all their relationships, both in the family and in their Faith community. Paul also reminds them, and reminds us, that Jesus nourishes the members of his Church through the Eucharist, making them his own flesh and blood, as husband and wife become one flesh. So the norms of our every relationship must be acceptance, love, mutual respect, service and recognition of the true dignity of each member of Christ. Our choices in family life and parish life should be guided by this high ideal.

Exegesis: A tough teaching without compromise: "This teaching is difficult.  Who can accept it?" It was Jesus' disciples who made this complaint.  They were offended by Jesus' language -- his imagery -- the metaphors he used in his Eucharistic discourse. It was Jesus' dramatic way of saying that we must accept him totally, without any conditions or reservations. His thoughts and attitudes, his values, his life-view must become totally ours. Above all we are to identify with him in the offering of his Flesh and the pouring out of his Blood on the cross, the symbol of God's unutterable love for us. But without giving any further explanation, Jesus  simply challenged them to open themselves to the gift of Faith that God was offering them: “No one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father” (v. 65). Jesus tries to help his remaining followers to  make a leap of Faith, because it is  only with Faith that they will be able to see and grasp the triple mystery which has been revealed to them, namely, (1) the Incarnation (I am the Bread that came down from Heaven, 6:41); (2) the redemption (the Bread that I give is my Flesh for the life of the world, 6:51); (3) the Ascension and glorification (the Son of Man will ascend to where he was before, 6:62). Having insisted earlier that the believer must eat the Flesh and drink the Blood of the Son of Man in order to have eternal life, Jesus now tells his disciples "that the flesh is of no avail." But "flesh" here is not the Eucharist. Rather, "flesh" means natural sustenance, which cannot give spiritual nourishment. And the "Spirit" here means the life-giving Holy Spirit Who will be given to believers after Jesus' ascent into heaven. Peter’s response, "Master, to whom we shall go? You have the words of eternal life,” reflects the faith-filled, free and whole-hearted decision of the early Christian community to follow Jesus and his teaching. While giving Holy Communion, the priest says, "The Body of Christ" and we respond with a total, “Amen” or "Yes!" That “Yes!” is not just an act of Faith in the Real Presence but a total commitment of myself to Jesus in the community of which I am a member. Some Bible scholars consider Jesus’ question, “Do you want to leave me, too?” to Peter and the apostle’s response as parallel to Jesus’ question, “Who do you think I am?” and Peter’s confession of faith at Caesarea Philippi (Mark 8:27-30; Matthew 16:13-20; Luke 9:18-21).

We are reminded of Paul, who spoke of "the offense (scandal) of the cross" (Gal. 5:11), and who said "The cross is foolishness to those who are perishing" (1 Cor. 1:18).  The complaints of the disciples (v. 61), linked them to the Israelites who followed Moses into the wilderness.  Those early Israelites were unhappy because their journey was hard.  Faithful discipleship is seldom easy. Why is the Gospel offensive and scandalous?  It is because God's ways are not our ways.  It is offensive because it is costly.  When Christ calls us to eat his Flesh and to drink his Blood, he is inviting us to participate in his death.  The Christians who first heard this Gospel experienced persecution.  They knew martyred Christians, and they knew Christians who had avoided martyrdom by compromising their Faith. The Gospel with no offense would be like a surgeon with no scalpel -- having no power to heal.  Christ and his cross, truly revealed, will always be an offense, except to the redeemed. The Church must always be ready to give offense -- to speak out for Christ and against the destructive beliefs and behaviors that the world finds so attractive. The total assimilation of Jesus' spirit and outlook into our lives is very challenging. And it was a challenge that some of Jesus' disciples were not prepared to face. And the reason? "There are among you some who do not believe, do not trust me." Faith is not simply a set of ideas to be held on to. It is a living relationship with a Person and his vision of life. It is a relationship that needs to grow and be deepened with the years. It is a relationship that has constantly to be re-appraised in a constantly changing world. We must hear Peter’s words to Jesus resounding through the centuries: “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Life messages: # 1: Let us make our choice for Christ and live it:  We Christians have accepted the challenge of following the way of Christ and making choices for Christ, fortified by the Bread he gives and relying on the power of the Holy Spirit. The Heavenly Bread and the Holy Spirit will give us the courage of our Christian convictions to accept the Church’s teachings and to face ridicule, criticisms and even social isolation for our adherence to sound Christian principles in our lives. 2) The very option or possibility of choosing for or against Jesus is repeated over and over again in the modern age. We should resolve to take a stand for Jesus and accept the consequences. We recognize, in our going to Communion, the accepting of that challenge to be totally one with Jesus. When the priest gives us Holy Communion saying, "The Body of Christ,” we respond, "Amen." That "Amen," that "Yes," is not just an act of faith in the Real Presence; it is a total commitment of ourselves to Jesus in the community of which we are members. We must accept him totally, without any conditions or reservations. Christ’s thoughts and attitudes, his values, his life-view must become totally ours, and must govern and shape our lives. Above all, we are to identify with him in the offering of his Flesh and the pouring out of his Blood on the cross, the symbol of God's unutterable love for us.

JOKE OF THE WEEK: 1) Choose my   God and my denomination and rite:  Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!" He said, "Nobody loves me." I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Catholic." I said, "Me, too! Latin rite Catholic or Oriental rite Catholic?" He said, "Oriental rite Catholic.” I said, "Me, too! Syrian or Armenian Catholic?" He said, "Syrian." I said, "Me, too! Syro-Malabar or Syro-Malankara rite?" He said, "Syro-Malankara." I said, "Die, former heretic!" And I pushed him over the bridge. (Adapted from Emo Philips)

2) A climber fell off a cliff. As he tumbled down into a deep gorge he grabbed hold of a branch of a small tree. “Help” he shouted. “Is there anyone up there?” A deep majestic voice from the sky echoed through the gorge. “I will help you, my son. But first you must have Faith in me.” “All right, all right. I trust you.” answered the man. The voice replied, “Let go of the branch.” There was a long pause and the man shouted again, “Is there anyone else up there?”

One-page synopsis: OT XXI [C] (Aug 22) Homily on Lk 13: 22-30 L/16

Introduction: As he continues his fateful journey to Jerusalem, Jesus answers the question as to how many will be saved by answering how to enter into salvation and how urgent it is to strive now, before the Master closes the door. Jesus wants us to ask the question: Are you prepared to be saved, choosing the narrow gate?

Scripture lessons:  In the first reading, Isaiah's prophecy speaks to the Babylonian exiles returning to Jerusalem some 400 years later, telling them that salvation is not a Jewish monopoly and that is why Yahweh will welcome the pagans also into Judaism. The prophet ends his great book as it began, with a vision of all the peoples of the world streaming toward Jerusalem, acknowledging and praising the God of Israel.   In the second reading, exploring with his readers the consequences of Christian commitment, St. Paul explains that “the narrow gate” of Jesus is accepting pain and suffering as God’s loving disciplining of His children. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 117) refrain, "Go out to all the world and tell the Good News,” reflects the mission of God’s chosen people to be instruments of salvation to the whole world. In today’s Gospel, Jesus clearly explains that anyone who follows him through the narrow gate of sacrificial service and sharing love will be saved.   Jesus also admonishes his followers to concentrate on their own salvation by self-discipline rather than to worry about other people’s salvation.

The Protestant doctrine on salvation: Once saved, you are always saved, in spite of your future sins and even apostasy. We are saved by the shed blood of Jesus when as teen ager or adult we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, confess our sins and say the “Sinner’s Prayer.” asking God’s pardon and forgiveness

Catholic teaching: Salvation is a past, present and future event. We were saved when we were baptized as children or adults. We are being saved at present, when we cooperate with God’s grace by loving others as Jesus did -- by sharing our blessings with the needy and by being reconciled with God daily, asking His forgiveness for our sins. We will be eternally saved when we hear the loving invitation from Jesus, the Judge at the moment of our death and on the day of the Last Judgment, saying: “Good and faithful servant, you were faithful in little things, enter into the joy of your Master.”

 Life messages: 1) We need to cooperate with God’s grace daily given to us.  a) by choosing the narrow way and the narrow gate of self-control and self-disciplining of our evil tendencies and evil habits and addictions;  b) by loving others, seeing the face of Jesus in them and sharing our blessings with them sacrificially; c) by obtaining the daily Divine strength to practice self-control and sharing love through the guidance of the Holy Spirit in daily prayer and Bible reading and through the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.

OT XXI [C] (8/21/2016) Is 66:18-21, Heb 12:5-7, 11-13; Lk 13: 22-30

Anecdote: # 1:  Three surprises in Heaven: Bishop Sheen tells us that we will have three surprises in Heaven. The first surprise: We will be surprised to see that many people we expected to be in Heaven are not there. St. John of the Cross gives the reason why they are not there: “At the evening of our life, we shall be judged on how we have loved.” The second surprise: We will be surprised to see that the people we never expected to be in Heaven are there. That is because God judges man’s intentions and rewards them accordingly. The third surprise: We will be surprised to see that we are in Heaven. Since our getting to Heaven is principally God’s work, we should be surprised that God somehow “went out of His way” to save us, simply because we showed the good will and generosity to cooperate with His grace. In today’s Gospel, Jesus answers the question, who will be saved, when and how.

# 2: Narrow door to successful living: Thousands upon thousands of young boys grow up bouncing basketballs and dreaming of a life in the National Basketball Association - the professional ranks. But only a handful are chosen each year. Woe to the young man or young woman who is talented at sports but neglects his or her education! Thousands upon thousands of new businesses are started each year, but only a small number of people in our society become super-successful in material terms. The higher you go up the scale, the smaller the numbers become. Thousands upon thousands of young couples each year stand at the altars of churches like this one and pledge their love to one another, but half these marriages will end in divorce. Many couples will stay together only for convenience, for appearances or for the children. Only an estimated 10% will find true fulfillment in their marriages. The door to any kind of successful living is a narrow one. That is why Jesus reminds us in today’s Gospel: "Strive to enter by the narrow door, for many I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able." Successful living requires making hard choices. It requires dedication and sacrifice. How can Christian Faith demand any less?

# 3: The narrow gate of great musicians: Someone once said to Paderewski, the great pianist, "Sir, you are a genius." He replied, "Madam, before I was a genius I was a drudge." He continued: “If I missed practice one day, I noticed it; if I missed practice two days, the critics noticed it; if I missed three days, my family noticed it; if I missed four days, my audience noticed it. It is reported that after one of Fritz Kreisler's concerts a young woman said to him, "I would give my life to be able to play like that." He replied, "That's what I gave.” The door is narrow. Why should we think we can "drift" into the Kingdom of God? The Christian life is a constant striving to do the will of God as Jesus revealed it. We need to strive because there are forces of evil within us and around us, trying to pull us down.

# 4: Self-discipline: Many years ago, an editorial in the magazine, War Cry put it like this: "A loose wire gives out no musical note; but fasten the ends, and the piano, the harp or the violin is born. Free steam drives no machine. But hamper and confine it with piston and turbine and you have the great world of machinery made possible. The unhampered river drives no dynamos, but dam it up and we get power sufficient to light a great city. So our lives must be disciplined if we are to be of any real service in this world." If you are going to walk with Jesus, there are some things you will need to leave behind.

Introduction: As he continues his fateful journey to Jerusalem, Jesus answers the question as to how many will be saved by answering how to enter into salvation and how urgent it is to strive now, before the Master closes the door. Jesus explains who will be saved? How? Why? When?  Jesus clearly explains that any one who follows him through the narrow gate of sacrificial serving and sharing love will be saved.   Jesus also admonishes his followers to concentrate on their own salvation instead of worrying about other people’s salvation In the first reading, Isaiah's prophecy speaks to the Babylonian exiles returning some 400 years later, telling them that salvation is not a Jewish monopoly, and that is why Yahweh will also welcome the pagans into Judaism. The prophet’s great book ends as it begins -- with a vision of all the peoples of the world streaming toward Jerusalem, acknowledging and praising the God of Israel.   In the second reading, exploring with his readers the consequences of Christian commitment, St. Paul explains “the narrow gate” of Jesus as pain and suffering, resulting from God’s loving disciplining of His children. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 117) refrain, "Go out to all the world and tell the Good News,” reflects the mission of God’s chosen people to be instruments of salvation to the whole world.

The first reading (Is 66:18-21):  Isaiah answered prophetically a similar question about salvation, which would be put forward some 200 years later by the Jews returning to Jerusalem in 540 BC after forty-seven years in exile.  Some of them brought back to Jerusalem their pagan wives and in-laws who had been converted to the Jewish Faith. The question was whether Yahweh would accept these former pagans along with His chosen people. The third part of Isaiah's prophecy (chapters 56-66), answers this question.  In the prophet's message, Yahweh declared that He was the Lord of all peoples rather than of the Jews alone.  In fact, some of these converts were to be missionaries to other pagans.  Even the hereditary posts of priest and Levite could be held by these outsiders.  (The Jewish priests were born into the priesthood.  No Jewish man born outside of a priestly family could ever dream of standing at the altar and offering sacrifice to Yahweh.  But Isaiah foresaw that even the non-Jews would be invited to join that highly restricted ministry!)

The second reading: Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13:   The author of the Letter to the Hebrews, considering the “narrow gate theology,” gives it a different twist (Heb 12:5-7, 11-13).  For Paul, the road less often taken and the gate less often chosen are the paths of God's discipline. The pain and suffering Christians experience are parts of God’s discipline, given in love. We are being disciplined by our afflictions, strengthened to walk that straight and narrow path - that we may enter the gate, take our place at the banquet of the righteous. The experience is similar to that of a child, disciplined by loving parents who desire only to help him grow, mature, and become responsible.  God’s discipline can be appreciated only by those who regard their relationship with God as that of a child to a parent (Proverbs 3: 11-12). Unfortunately, we often take God’s discipline differently. Some of us meet God’s discipline with a resigned acceptance that sees no other possible course.  Others gulp it down like a bitter pill so as to be done with it as soon as possible. Some respond with self-pity, which, in the end, leads to their collapse.  Still others become resentful and turn away from God. However, there are some, who can lift their spirits above present trials and look beyond to the peace and justice (v. 11) which are the fruits of God’s discipline.

Exegesis: “Are you saved”? When the questioner asked Jesus “How many will be saved?” he was assuming that the salvation of God's Chosen People was virtually guaranteed, provided they kept the Law. In other words, the Kingdom of God was reserved for the Jews alone, and Gentiles would be shut out.  The Jewish catechism, Mishnah, taught: “All Israelites have a share in the world to come.” But the author of the Apocalypse of Ezra declared, “this age the Most High has made for the many, but the age to come for a few” (4 Ezra 8:1). Hence, Jesus' answer must have come as a shock. Jesus affirms that God wants all persons to enjoy eternal life with Him. But he stresses the need for constant fidelity and vigilance throughout our lives. Thus, Jesus reminds us that, even though God wants all of us to be saved, we all need to work at it. Entry into God’s kingdom is not automatically granted, based purely on religious Faith or nationality, so we cannot presume on God’s mercy and do nothing by way of response to God’s invitation. What Jesus is saying is that salvation is not guaranteed for anyone. "Outside the Church there is no salvation" was a rallying cry for centuries.  But Jesus declares that nobody can claim that he is “saved,” possessing a "visa" to Heaven. How many will be saved in the end is a decision that rests with God, and depends on whether His Justice or His Mercy finally prevails.  Jesus came to bring God's love and freedom to the whole world. The message of his Gospel is that there is not a single person, not a single people, nation, race, or class, which will be excluded from experiencing the love and liberation that God offers. Hence, the role of the Christian community, from the beginning until now has been, first and foremost, to proclaim to the whole world the Good News of God's love for the world, and then to show this Good News to be real, reflected in the loving, sharing and serving lives of individual Christians. So to be "saved" means to live and to die in a close, loving relationship with God and with others.

 Jesus issued a series of sayings and parables that emphasized the difficulty involved in entering God’s Kingdom, and he stressed the need for constant fidelity and vigilance throughout our lives. Jesus also insisted that salvation was an urgent matter -- the "narrow gate" was open now but would not remain so indefinitely (“the master of the house will lock the door”).  Then he added two conditions:  a) Eternal salvation was the result of a struggle: "keep on striving to enter.”  (The Greek word agonizomai means strenuous effort in athletic competition.  See I Cor 9:25; 1 Tim 6:12; 2 Tim 4:7).  It is like the effort one would make in swimming against the current in a river.  A man must ever be going forward or else he will go backward.   b) We must enter through the "narrow gate" of sacrificial and selfless service. (Confer Mt 7:13-14; Jer 21:8; Dt 30: 15-20; Jos 24:15).

The narrow gate: Most cities of the ancient world were surrounded by walls that had large gates in them.  Jerusalem had about twelve gates that were large enough for two-way traffic.   People moved through these gates to do their business, to shop and to visit their friends.   These gates, however, were closed at night, in case the city came under attack by an invader.   There were also smaller gates through which individual citizens could be allowed into the city by the guards without exposing the city to danger. These smaller, or narrower gates were what Jesus was talking about. These smaller gates were like turnstiles – only one person at a time could enter through them.

Jesus repeats Isaiah's image of a final banquet. He does not want his followers to presume they can just slip through to enter his Father’s house. Jesus is not looking for casual acquaintance from us but for real dedication. The crowd will press for entry, but the door will be too narrow to admit all. The less alert will be forced to stay outside and appeal in vain for entry. They will say that they ought to be allowed to enter because they were acquainted with Jesus during his earthly life The irony of Jesus' image is that the narrow gates are the proper way to enter the Kingdom precisely because they are just wide enough to receive a single person – anyone who is willing to do sacrificial service for the glory of God.  In other words, entering through the narrow gate denotes a steady obedience to the Lord Jesus -- overcoming all opposition and rejecting every temptation.  It is the narrow way of unconditional and unremitting love. Mere faith in Jesus and membership in His Church by Baptism can not guarantee salvation.  Some of the Fathers of the Church interpreted the narrow door as that small place in the heart where one says "yes" or "no" to what one knows to be true.  It is the one place through which no external force can enter to shape or coerce one's choices. This place is what Teresa of Avila calls the "center of the soul" wherein God dwells.  That means that Jesus is the narrow gate, the way by which any person must enter the Heavenly city.

“Being saved’ is not a Protestant idea.  Protestants, in fact, took the idea from Catholics.  But in Catholic theology, "being saved" is the end result - seeing God face to face in Heaven, and not a ready-made “passport and visa” as some of our Protestant brothers claim.  Jesus explains that Salvation begins with Faith.  But it is also the result of how that Faith is lived, as is seen in the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the prophets.  We, too, believe that we cannot “earn” our way into Heaven by good works (this is the Pelagian heresy, condemned by the Council of Carthage in A.D. 418), but we also believe that we must allow God to work in our lives through His grace, a grace that is reflected in our actions.

Hence, our answer to the question: “Have you been saved?” should be: “I have been saved from the penalty of sin by Christ’s death and Resurrection.  I am being saved from the power of sin by the indwelling Spirit of God.  I have the hope that I shall one day be saved from the very presence of sin when I go to be with God.”  It is through the grace of Christ that we are able to live out His life in us -- a grace that is fortified every time we participate in the Holy Eucharist, are reconciled with God and meditate on His Word.  Bishop Sheen says that we will have three surprises in Heaven:  1) There will be many there whom we never expected;   b) there will be many absent whom we expected to see; and c) we will be surprised to find that we ourselves have gotten in.   The real question is:  who will enter God's Kingdom?  There is only one answer:  those who choose the narrow gate, and they will come from east and west, and will eat together, live together and enjoy God's   beatific vision for all eternity.

Life messages: 1) We need to make wise decisions and choose the narrow gate.  God allows us to decide every day what road we will walk down and what gate we will choose.  He encourages us, however, to choose His way:  “Choose life” (Moses – Dt 30:19-20); “Choose this day whom to serve” (Joshua – Jos 24:15); ”If God is Lord, follow Him” (Elijah – 1 Kgs  18:21); “There are two paths: one of life and one of death, and the difference between the two is great.”(Didache);   "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Lk 9:23).   This means a consistent denial of self and the steady relinquishing of sinful pleasures, pursuits, and interests.  St. Paul lists these sins in Galatians 5:19-21: “The works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, and occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.” Paul then enumerates "good works" that are representative of the "narrow road" and “narrow gate."  These are “the fruits of the Spirit:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23).  In other words, the "narrow road" or "narrow gate" concerns our everyday living—our relationships with God and with one another. To enter the narrow gate involves being with the blessed ones (poor, peacemakers, persecuted, etc), being salt and light consistently, following Jesus’ radical way about murder/anger, adultery/lust, divorce, truth-telling, choosing mercy over revenge, loving enemies. And it involves doing good deeds for the right reasons; it involves pursuing the Kingdom and God’s justice instead of fame and fortune; and it involves not condemning the others. It involves repentance, obedience, humility, righteousness, truth and discipleship.  Hence, we are to strive to enter through the “narrow gate” by prayer and supplication, diligently seeking deliverance from those things which would bar our entrance, and acquiring those things which would facilitate our entry

2) We need to check our track on a daily basis.  The parable of the locked door warns us that the time is short.  Each day sees endings and opportunities missed. “Opportunity will not knock twice at your door.”  Remember the old "Examination of Conscience" we were asked to make at the end of each day, in which we ask God’s pardon for the faults and sins of the day?  "How conscious was I this day of God's numerous gifts?  How well did I respond to the opportunities to bear witness and serve in Jesus' name: to forgive, feed, clothe, and love those who entered my life?  How much did I strive today to enter through the narrow gate of sacrificial love in action?'"  We might conclude this self-examination with a short prayer: “I need you Jesus Christ.  Grant me forgiveness for my sins.  Make me a new person.  I need your Holy Spirit to direct me, to strengthen me, so that I can walk in the narrow way and choose the narrow gate.  I need you to change me from a self-centered, self-sufficient person into your wise servant.”

JOKE OF THE WEEK

1) Irish solidarity on the “wide way” to hell. The Irish pastor said, “Everyone who wants to go to Heaven stand up!” and the whole church stood up.  And he said, “And those who want to go to hell, remain standing!” At the back of the church, old Murphy remained standing.   The pastor said, “Murphy, do you want to go to hell?”  Murphy said, “No, Father… I just hate to see you go there all by yourself!”   (No offence intended to my great Irish friends!).

3) A little boy once asked his mother if people who told lies went to Heaven. She replied "Of course not." "Well," he said, "it must be awfully lonesome and boring there with only God and George Washington."

OT XXI Homily on Lk 13: 22-30- one-page summary 

Introduction: As he continues his fateful journey to Jerusalem, Jesus answers the question as to how many will be saved by answering how to enter into salvation and how urgent it is to strive now, before the Master closes the door. Instead of asking how many will be saved, Jesus wants us to ask the question, “Am I prepared to be saved, choosing the narrow gate of sacrificial love?”

Scripture lessons summarized:  In the first reading, Isaiah’s prophecy speaks to the future Babylonian exiles returning to Jerusalem after 47 years in captivity, telling them that salvation is not a Jewish monopoly and that is why Yahweh will welcome the pagans also into Judaism. The prophet’s great book ends as it began, with a vision of all the peoples of the world streaming toward Jerusalem, acknowledging and praising the God of Israel.   In the second reading, exploring with his readers the consequences of Christian commitment, St. Paul explains that “the narrow gate” of Jesus means our accepting pain and suffering as the loving discipline God is giving His children. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 117) refrain, “Go out to all the world and tell the Good News,” reflects the mission of God’s chosen people to be instruments of salvation to the whole world. In today’s Gospel, Jesus clearly explains that anyone who follows him through the narrow gate of sacrificial service and sharing love will be saved.   Jesus also admonishes his followers to concentrate on their own salvation by self-discipline rather than to worry about the salvation of others.

The Non-Catholic doctrine on salvation: Once saved, you are always saved, in spite of your future sins and even apostasy. We are saved by the shed blood of Jesus when as teenager or adult we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, confess our sins and say the “Sinner’s Prayer.” asking God’s pardon and forgiveness for sins.

Catholic teaching on salvation: Salvation is a past, present and future event. We were saved when we were baptized as children or adults. We are being saved at present, when we cooperate with God’s grace by loving others as Jesus did — by sharing our blessings with the needy and by getting reconciled with God daily, asking His forgiveness for our sins. We will be eternally saved when we hear the loving invitation from Jesus, the Judge, at the moment of our death and on the day of the Last Judgment, saying: “Good and faithful servant, you were faithful in little things, enter into the joy of your Master.”

 Life messages: We need to cooperate with God’s grace daily given to us: a) by choosing the narrow way and the narrow gate of self-control and self-disciplining of our evil tendencies, evil habits, and addictions; b) by loving others, seeing the face of Jesus in them, and sharing our blessings with them sacrificially; c) by obtaining the daily Divine strength to practice self-control and sharing love through the guidance of the Holy Spirit in daily prayer, in Bible reading, and in reception of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.

OT XXI [C] Is 66:18-21, Heb 12:5-7, 11-13; Lk 13:22-30

Homily starter anecdote: # 1:  Three surprises in Heaven: Venerable Bishop Fulton J. Sheen tells us that we will have three surprises in Heaven. The first surprise: We will be surprised to see that many people we expected to be in Heaven are not there. St. John of the Cross gives the reason why they are not there: “At the evening of our life, we shall be judged on how we have loved.” The second surprise: We will be surprised to see that the people we never expected to be in Heaven are there. That is because God judges man’s intentions and rewards them accordingly. The third surprise: We will be surprised to see that we are in Heaven! Since our getting to Heaven is principally God’s work, we should be surprised that God somehow “went out of His way” to save us, simply because we showed the good will and generosity to cooperate with His grace. In today’s Gospel, Jesus answers the question, who will be saved, when and how.

# 2: Narrow door to successful living: Thousands upon thousands of young boys grow up bouncing basketballs and dreaming of a life in the National Basketball Association – the professional ranks. But only a handful are chosen each year. Woe to the young man or young woman who is talented at sports but neglects his or her education! Thousands upon thousands of new businesses are started each year, but only a small number of people in our society become super-successful in material terms. The higher you go up the scale, the smaller the numbers become. Thousands upon thousands of young couples each year stand at the altars of churches like this one and pledge their love to one another, but, on the average, half these marriages will end in divorce. Many couples will stay together only for convenience, for appearances or for the children. Only an estimated 10% will find true fulfillment in their marriages. The door to any kind of successful living is a narrow one. That is why Jesus reminds us in today’s Gospel: “Strive to enter by the narrow door, for many I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” Successful living requires making hard choices. It requires dedication and sacrifice. How can Christian Faith demand any less?

# 3: The narrow gate of great musicians: Someone once said to Paderewski, the great pianist, “Sir, you are a genius.” He replied, “Madam, before I was a genius, I was a drudge.” He continued: “If I missed practice one day, I noticed it; if I missed practice two days, the critics noticed it; if I missed three days, my family noticed it; if I missed four days, my audience noticed it. It is reported that after one of Fritz Kreisler’s concerts a young woman said to him, “I would give my life to be able to play like that.” He replied, “That’s what I gave.” The door is narrow. Why should we think we can “drift” into the Kingdom of God? The Christian life is a constant striving to do the will of God as Jesus revealed it. We need to strive because there are forces of evil within us and around us, trying to pull us down.

# 4: Self-discipline: Many years ago, an editorial in the magazine, War Cry put it like this: “A loose wire gives out no musical note; but fasten the ends, and the piano, the harp or the violin is born. Free steam drives no machine. But hamper and confine it with piston and turbine and you have the great world of machinery made possible. The unhampered river drives no dynamos but dam it up and we get power sufficient to light a great city. So, our lives must be disciplined if we are to be of any real service in this world.” If you are going to walk with Jesus, there are some things you will need to leave behind.

Introduction: As he continues his fateful journey to Jerusalem, Jesus answers the question as to how many will be saved by answering how to enter into salvation and how urgent it is to strive now, before the Master closes the door. Jesus explains who will be saved? How? Why? When?  Jesus clearly explains that anyone who follows him through the narrow gate of sacrificial serving and sharing love will be saved.   Jesus also admonishes his followers to concentrate on their own salvation instead of worrying about the salvation of others.

Scripture readings summarized: In the first reading, Isaiah’s prophecy speaks to the future Babylonian exiles returning to Jerusalem after 47 years in captivity, telling them that salvation is not a Jewish monopoly, and that is why Yahweh will also welcome the pagans into Judaism. The prophet’s great book ends as it begins — with a vision of all the peoples of the world streaming toward Jerusalem, acknowledging and praising the God of Israel.   In the second reading, exploring with his readers the consequences of Christian commitment, St. Paul explains “the narrow gate” of Jesus as pain and suffering, resulting from the loving discipline God is giving His children. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 117) refrain, “Go out to all the world and tell the Good News,” reflects the mission of God’s chosen people to be instruments of salvation to the whole world.

The first reading (Is 66:18-21) explained:  Isaiah answered prophetically a similar question about salvation, which would be put forward some 200 years later by the Jews returning to Jerusalem in 540 BC after forty-seven years in exile.  Some of them brought back to Jerusalem their pagan wives and in-laws who had been converted to the Jewish Faith. The question was whether Yahweh would accept these former pagans along with His chosen people. The third part of Isaiah’s prophecy (chapters 56-66), answers this question.  In the prophet’s message, Yahweh declares that He is the Lord of all peoples rather than of the Jews alone.  In fact, some of these converts were to be missionaries to other pagans.  Even the hereditary posts of priest and Levite could be held by these outsiders.  (The Jewish priests were born into the priesthood.  No Jewish man born outside of a priestly family could ever dream of standing at the altar and offering sacrifice to Yahweh.  But Isaiah foresaw that even the non-Jews would be invited to join that highly restricted ministry!)

The second reading: Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13 explained:   The author of the Letter to the Hebrews, considering the “narrow gate theology,” gives it a different twist (Heb 12:5-7, 11-13).  For him, the road less often taken and the gate less often chosen are the paths of God’s discipline. The pain and suffering Christians experience are parts of God’s discipline, given in love. We are being disciplined by our afflictions, strengthened to walk that straight and narrow path – that we may enter the gate and take our place at the banquet of the righteous. The experience is similar to that of a child, disciplined by loving parents who desire only to help him grow, mature, and become responsible.  God’s discipline can be appreciated only by those who regard their relationship with God as that of a child to a parent (Proverbs 3:11-12). Unfortunately, we often take God’s discipline differently. Some of us meet God’s discipline with a resigned acceptance that sees no other possible course.  Others gulp it down like a bitter pill so as to be done with it as soon as possible. Some respond with self-pity, which, in the end, leads to their collapse.  Still others become resentful and turn away from God. However, there are some, who can lift their spirits above present trials and look beyond to the peace and justice (v. 11) which are the fruits of God’s discipline.

Gospel exegesis: “Are you saved”? When the questioner asked Jesus “How many will be saved?” he was assuming that the salvation of God’s Chosen People was virtually guaranteed, provided they kept the Law. In other words, the Kingdom of God was reserved for the Jews alone, and Gentiles would be shut out.  The Jewish catechism, Mishnah, taught: “All Israelites have a share in the world to come.” The author of the Apocalypse of Ezra declared, “this age the Most High has made for the many, but the age to come for a few” (4 Ezra 8:1). Hence, Jesus’ answer must have come as a shock. Jesus affirms that God wants all persons to enjoy eternal life with Him. But he stresses the need for constant fidelity and vigilance throughout our lives. Thus, Jesus reminds us that, even though God wants all of us to be saved, we all need to work at it. Entry into God’s kingdom is not automatically granted, based purely on religious Faith or nationality, so we cannot presume on God’s mercy and do nothing by way of response to God’s invitation. What Jesus is saying is that salvation is not guaranteed for anyone. “Outside the Church there is no salvation” was a rallying cry for centuries.  But Jesus declares that nobody can claim that he is “saved,” possessing a “visa” to Heaven. How many will be saved in the end is a decision that rests with God and depends His Justice which includes His Mercy.  Jesus came to bring God’s love and freedom to the whole world. The message of his Gospel is that there is not a single person, people, nation, race, or class, which will be excluded from experiencing the love and liberation that God offers. Hence, the role of the Christian community, from the beginning until now has been, first and foremost, to proclaim to the whole world the Good News of God’s love for the world, and then to show this Good News to be real, reflected in the loving, sharing and serving lives of individual Christians. So, to be “saved” means to live and to die in a close, loving relationship with God and with others.

Jesus issued a series of sayings and parables that emphasized the difficulty involved in entering God’s Kingdom, and he stressed the need for constant fidelity and vigilance throughout our lives. Jesus also insisted that salvation was an urgent matter — the “narrow gate” was open now but would not remain so indefinitely (“the master of the house will lock the door”).  Then he added two conditions:  a) Eternal salvation is the result of a struggle: “keep on striving to enter.”  (The Greek word agonizomai means strenuous effort in athletic competition.  See I Cor 9:25; 1 Tim 6:12; 2 Tim 4:7).  It is like the effort one would make in swimming against the current in a river.  A man must ever be going forward or else he will go backward.   b) We must enter through the “narrow gate” of sacrificial and selfless service. (Confer Mt 7:13-14; Jer 21:8; Dt 30: 15-20; Jos 24:15).

The narrow gate: Most cities of the ancient world were surrounded by walls that had large gates in them.  Jerusalem had about twelve gates that were large enough for two-way traffic.   People moved through these gates to do their business, to shop and to visit their friends.   These gates, however, were closed at night, in case the city came under attack by an invader.   There were also smaller gates through which individual citizens could be allowed into the city by the guards without exposing the city to danger. These smaller, or narrower gates were what Jesus was talking about. These smaller gates were like turnstiles – only one person at a time could enter through them.

Jesus repeats Isaiah’s image of a final banquet. He does not want his followers to presume they can just slip through to enter his Father’s house. Jesus is not looking for casual acquaintance from us but for real dedication. The crowd will press for entry, but the door will be too narrow to admit all. The less alert will be forced to stay outside and appeal in vain for entry. They will say that they ought to be allowed to enter because they were acquainted with Jesus during his earthly life. The irony of Jesus’ image is that the narrow gates are the proper way to enter the Kingdom precisely because they are just wide enough to receive a single person – anyone who is willing to do sacrificial service for the glory of God.  In other words, entering through the narrow gate denotes a steady obedience to the Lord Jesus — overcoming all opposition and rejecting every temptation.  It is the narrow way of unconditional and unremitting love. Mere faith in Jesus and membership in His Church by Baptism cannot guarantee salvation.  Some of the Fathers of the Church interpreted the narrow door as that small place in the heart where one says “yes” or “no” to what one knows to be true.  It is the one place through which no external force can enter to shape or coerce one’s choices. This place is what Teresa of Avila calls the “center of the soul” wherein God dwells.  That means that Jesus is the narrow gate, the way by which any person must enter the Heavenly city.

“Being saved’ is not a Protestant idea.  The Protestants, in fact, took the idea from Catholics.  But in Catholic theology, “being saved” is the end result – seeing God face to face in Heaven, and not a ready-made “passport and visa” as some of our Non-Catholic preachers claim.  Jesus explains that Salvation begins with Faith.  But it is also the result of how that Faith is lived, as is seen in the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the prophets.  Catholics, too, believe that we cannot “earn” our way into Heaven by good works (this is the Pelagian heresy, condemned by the Council of Carthage in A.D. 418), but we also believe that we must allow God to work in our lives through His grace, a grace that is reflected in our actions.

Hence, our answer to the question: “Have you been saved?” should be: “I have been saved from the penalty of sin by Christ’s death and Resurrection.  I am being saved from the power of sin by the indwelling Spirit of God.  I have the hope that I shall one day be saved from the very presence of sin when I go to be with God.”  It is through the grace of Christ that we are able to live out His life in us — a grace that is fortified every time we participate in the Holy Eucharist, are reconciled with God and meditate on His Word.  Venerable Bishop Fulton J. Sheen says that we will have three surprises in Heaven:  1) There will be many there whom we never expected;   b) there will be many absent whom we expected to see; and c) we will be surprised to find that we ourselves have gotten in!   The real question is:  who will enter God’s Kingdom?  There is only one answer:  those who choose the narrow gate, and they will come from east and west, and will eat together, live together and enjoy God in the Beatific Vision for all eternity.

Life messages: 1) We need to make wise decisions and choose the narrow gate.  God allows us to decide every day what road we will walk down and what gate we will choose.  He encourages us, however, to choose His way:  “Choose life” (Moses – Dt 30:19-20); “Choose this day whom to serve” (Joshua – Jos 24:15); ”If God is Lord, follow Him” (Elijah – 1 Kgs 18:21); “There are two paths: one of life and one of death, and the difference between the two is great.”(Didache);   “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Lk 9:23).   This means a consistent denial of self and the steady relinquishing of sinful pleasures, pursuits, and interests.  St. Paul lists these sins in Galatians 5:19-21: “The works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, and occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.” Paul then enumerates “good works” that are representative of the “narrow road” and “narrow gate.”  These are “the fruits of the Spirit:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23).  In other words, the “narrow road” or “narrow gate” concerns our everyday living—our relationships with God and with one another. To enter the narrow gate involves being with the blessed ones (poor, peacemakers, persecuted, etc), being salt and light consistently, following Jesus’ radical way about murder/anger, adultery/lust, divorce, truth-telling, choosing mercy over revenge, loving enemies. And it involves doing good deeds for the right reasons; it involves pursuing the Kingdom and God’s justice instead of fame and fortune; and it involves not condemning others. It involves repentance, obedience, humility, righteousness, truth and discipleship.  Hence, we are to strive to enter through the “narrow gate” by prayer and supplication, diligently seeking deliverance from those things which would bar our entrance, and acquiring those things which would facilitate our entry

2) We need to check our track daily.  The parable of the locked door warns us that the time is short.  Each day sees endings and opportunities missed. “Opportunity will not knock twice at your door.”  Remember the old “Examination of Conscience” we were asked to make at the end of each day, in which we ask God’s pardon for the faults and sins of the day?  “How conscious was I this day of God’s numerous gifts?  How well did I respond to the opportunities to bear witness and serve in Jesus’ name: to forgive, feed, clothe, and love those who entered my life?  How much did I strive today to enter through the narrow gate of sacrificial love in action?'”  We might conclude this self-examination with a short prayer: “I need you Jesus Christ.  Grant me forgiveness for my sins.  Make me a new person.  I need your Holy Spirit to direct me, to strengthen me, so that I can walk in the narrow way and choose the narrow gate.  I need you to change me from a self-centered, self-sufficient person into your wise servant.”

JOKE OF THE WEEK

1) Irish solidarity on the “wide way” to hell. The Irish pastor said, “Everyone who wants to go to Heaven stand up!” and the whole church stood up.  And he said, “And those who want to go to hell, remain standing!” At the back of the church, old Murphy remained standing.   The pastor said, “Murphy, do you want to go to hell?”  Murphy said, “No, Father… I just hate to see you go there all by yourself!”   (No offence intended to my great Irish friends!).

2) A little boy once asked his mother if people who told lies went to Heaven. She replied, “Of course not.” “Well,” he said, “it must be awfully lonesome and boring there with only God and George Washington.”

3) An open-air evangelist, preaching on today’s Gospel text was warning his congregation about the eternal damnation. “On the Day of Judgment,” he said, “there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” But an old woman in the crowd asked, “Look preacher, I got no teeth!” “Never mind,” says the evangelist, “teeth will be provided.”

Prepared by: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604.

O.T. 31 [C] Sunday (November 3) Homily- One-page summary (L/19)

Introduction: The common theme of today’s readings is the benevolent, compassionate and forgiving mercy of God for sinners and the response of repentance and conversion expected from us. 

Scripture lessons summarized: The first reading reminds us that God's Almighty Power includes His strength to be merciful.  That is why God, who created the universe mercifully, waits for sinners to repent. God continues to love us, even when we do not love Him in return.  The reading focuses on the love God has for all He has created, the love that overlooks sin so that we all have time for repentance. God shows us His redemptive love through His mercy. In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 145), the Psalmist also tells us that the Lord is good to all, and His compassion is over all that He has made. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness (Ps. 148:8). In the second reading, St. Paul encourages the Thessalonians to persevere in their Christian Faith, giving glory to God, without idly waiting for the "second coming" of Christ in their lifetime. He advises them to continue to live a good Christian life every day, allowing God to work in their lives so that they may be worthy of their vocation as Christians.  Today’s Gospel presents the story of the instantaneous conversion of the tax-collector, Zacchaeus. God’s grace led him to a moment of conversion.  The account describes how Jesus recognized Zacchaeus for exactly what he was, a lost sinner in need of a Savior, and how God’s grace worked in Zacchaeus to lead him from idle curiosity to repentance, conversion and restitution. The episode emphasizes the fact that such a conversion can only result from a person’s fully receiving the love, acceptance and grace offered to everyone one by a merciful Lord.    

Life messages: 1) We need to accept the Divine invitation for repentance.  We are all sinners to a greater or lesser degree.  Jesus is inviting each one of us to total conversion today.  Let us remember that Jesus loves us in spite of our ugly thoughts, broken promises, sullied ideals, lack of prayer and Faith, resentments and lusts.  Hence, let us admit our sinfulness and accept God’s call to repentance, conversion and renewal of life.

2) Let us love others as Jesus loved Zacchaeus, despite his sins.    Parents and teachers need to accept children lovingly, without first setting up standards of behavior as conditions for being loved. Husband and wife may have qualities that irritate each other. But they should not withhold love from each other. Nor should they withhold their love from a rebellious teenager making stupid and even dangerous choices because of immaturity and peer-pressure.   

3) We are called to generosity: Jesus wants us to move from our small and feeble Faith to a greater and more powerful Faith, just as Zacchaeus did.  He also wants us to be financially and spiritually generous.

OT 31 [C] (Nov 3) Wis 11:22--12:2; 2 Thes 1:11--2:2. Lk 19:1-10 (L/19)  

Homily starter anecdotes: #1:  Life is Worth Living. In the early 1950s, a TV program captured the attention of millions throughout the word, particularly the English-speaking segment. It was Ven. Bishop Fulton Sheen's program: Life is Worth Living. The opening, dramatic lines spoken by the Bishop as he introduced the program were, "Is life worth living, or is it dull and monotonous? Life is monotonous if it is meaningless; it is not monotonous if it has purpose." Today’s readings tell us that life is worth living, if we are ready to experience the mercy of a forgiving God who accepts us as we are.

 #2: A man who decided to change himself: William L. Stidger in his book, There Are Sermons in Stories, once told about the owner of a small drugstore. For some reason, this druggist hated his work, so he spent his mornings looking for something better and his afternoons at the ballpark. He soon decided it was foolish to leave a business about which he knew something for one about which he knew nothing.  So, he decided to make the best of what he had. He would build up his business by giving the best service possible. When a customer who lived near would call in an order on the telephone, he would repeat each item being ordered and his assistant would fill the order. With the order filled, the owner would keep the customer on the line while the delivery boy dashed out the front door. When the delivery boy reached the house of the customer, who was still on the line with the drugstore owner, she would excuse herself for a minute to answer the door. Coming back to the phone she would express great surprise at the quickness with which the order was delivered. News got around about the drugstore that filled orders so promptly, and soon Charles R. Walgreen, founder of the great Walgreen drugstore empire, had more business than he could handle. Walgreen said his work was easy, like a game, and he soon found great joy in what he had once despised. [Rev. J.B. Fowler, Jr., Illustrated Sermons for Special Occasions, (Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman Press, 1988).] Walgreen decided that, since he could not change his situation, he would change himself. That is what Zacchaeus did in today’s Gospel story. 

# 3: "I'm so not the Material Girl now.” In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the singer and actress who calls herself Madonna explains how her life has changed since she first came to fame in the early 80s. Referring to one of her more famous songs, "Material Girl," Madonna claims, "I'm so not the Material Girl now. There were many years when I thought fame, fortune, and public approval would bring me happiness. But one day you wake up and realize they don't. [“Oprah Talks to Madonna," O Magazine (January 2004), p. 122).] Motherhood is what ultimately inspired the singer to seek out the more meaningful things in life. “The big turning point was when I was about to become a parent. I wanted to understand what I would teach my daughter, and I didn’t know where I stood on things. I wanted to know the meaning of true lasting happiness and how I could go about finding it,” revealed Madonna. Today’s Gospel describes how Zacchaeus came to that conclusion the day Jesus entered his life. 

Introduction: The common theme of today’s readings is the benevolent and forgiving mercy of God for sinners and the response of repentance and conversion expected from us. In the words of today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 145), “The Lord is good to all, and compassionate toward all His works” (v. 9). The first reading reminds us that God's Almighty Power includes His strength to be merciful.  That is why God, who created the universe mercifully, waits for sinners to repent. He “rebukes the offenders little by little,” “warns them of their sins” and reminds them to “abandon their wickedness.” God continues to love us even when we do not love Him in return.  The reading focuses on the love God has for all He has created, the love that overlooks sin to give us time for repentance. In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 145), the Psalmist also tells us, “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness” (Ps. 145:8). In the second reading, St. Paul encourages the Thessalonians to persevere in their Christian Faith, giving glory to God without idly waiting for the "second coming" of Christ in their lifetime. He advises them to continue living good Christian lives every day, allowing God to work their lives so that they may be worthy of their vocation as Christians.  "We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his call and may fulfill every good resolve and work of Faith by His power" (2 Thes 1:11). St. Paul advises his Christian community to place its trust in the Lord and rely on His love and mercy. He wants them to endure their daily circumstances patiently and to stop worrying about the next day’s possible troubles, especially those rumors about the end-time. Today’s Gospel presents the beautiful story of the instantaneous conversion of the tax-collector, Zacchaeus. God’s grace led him to a moment of conversion.  The account describes how Jesus recognized Zacchaeus for exactly what he was, a lost sinner in need of a Savior, and how God’s grace worked in Zacchaeus to lead him from idle curiosity to repentance, conversion and restitution. The episode emphasizes the fact that such a conversion can only result from a person’s fully receiving the love, acceptance and grace offered to everyone by a merciful Lord.    

The first reading: Wisdom: 11:22-12:2 explained. The writer, a learned sage from the ancient university city of Alexandria, is attempting to boost the Faith of his fellow Jews by answering the question, "Why doesn’t God do away with   evil men?"  The answer is that, unlike men, God is benevolent toward all His creatures.  God´s love for what He has created becomes a redemptive love through His mercy. God loves His creation, and because of this love He pardons and is patient with people who have gone astray, so that they may repent.  God's Providence for all His creatures is clearly shown through His strength and the compassion with which He both can and does deal mercifully with all men.  What the Book of Wisdom tells us is that we could not even exist if we were not loved by God.  Through His gifts of Faith and Love, God graciously calls each one of us.  Through this Divine mercy, we see the fulfillment of the promise, "For I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more" (Jer 31:34; Heb 8:12).  The Book of Wisdom consoles us saying, “You overlook people’s sins so that they may repent” (11:23).   

The second reading: II Thessalonians 1:11-22 explained. St. Paul’s second letter to the Church in Thessalonica encourages the Thessalonians to persevere in their Christian Faith, giving glory to God without idly waiting for the "second coming" of Christ in their lifetime. This letter was intended to correct certain misunderstandings which had arisen in the community. Someone had brought to the believers at Thessalonica either a message or a letter alleged to be from Paul. The letter asserted that the Day of the Lord, i.e., the second coming of Jesus, had already occurred. Some people in the community reacted with terror, while others quit work, and were making nuisances of themselves as they awaited the full effect of the Lord's coming (The Collegeville Bible Commentary).  The letter exhorts the Thessalonians, and us, to glorify the Name of Jesus and to conduct ourselves in such a way as to become worthy of God's call by “relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to His own purpose and grace.”  

Gospel exegesis: The context: A rich ruler came to Jesus asking how he might be saved (Luke 18).  But he went away sad after learning that he would have to sacrifice his riches.  When the Apostles wondered if any man with possessions could be saved, Jesus assured them, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God" (18:18-27).  This account leads naturally to our Gospel lesson, the story of Zacchaeus, a rich man who found salvation when he surrendered himself to the grace of God.  The rich ruler was too attached to his possessions to give them to the poor. The repentant Zacchaeus, on the other hand, voluntarily pledged to give half his possessions to the poor and to make fourfold restitution to any one he might have cheated.  The story of Zacchaeus reinforces the lessons of the fifteenth chapter of Luke in which a lost sheep and a lost coin are found, and a lost son is embraced.  It also demonstrates the fact that nobody is beyond the possibility of conversion.  

The tax and tax-collectors: Jericho was a very wealthy, commercial town in the Jordan valley, famous for its date palms and balsam groves. There were two major highways in Israel at that time, and one of them went through Jericho.  Hence, Jericho was one of the great tax centers of Palestine and its tax-collectors were rich and notorious.  Zacchaeus, as chief tax-collector in Jericho (roughly equivalent to a district director of the U. S.  Internal Revenue Service, the IRS), was probably a man of much wealth and few friends. From the time of Julius Caesar, the options for collecting Rome’s taxes were auctioned off to the highest bidder in each municipality. In order to win the bid, the prospective tax collector would have had to pay to Rome, in advance, all the taxes due in his locale. Then, he would hire agents who would help in collecting the taxes so that he could recoup his initial investment, pay his agents and make a generous profit as well. He cheated not only on his return, but everyone else's. He had figured out a way to skim some money off the top and squeeze the last drop from peoples' wallets. Moreover, being a boss himself, no doubt Zacchaeus also took a little off the top from each of his tax-collectors. Because the tax collectors extorted sizable amounts of interest in addition to the taxes fixed by Rome, they were despised by their own townspeople.  Since Zacchaeus had reached the top of his profession, he was the most hated man in the district, considered by the other Jews as a traitor, a thief and an outcast.   

The official climbs a tree: It was Passover time, which meant that tens of thousands of Jewish pilgrims were coming down from Galilee, by-passing Samaria and coming to the toll booth at Jericho to pay their taxes.  Bible scholars tell us that two or three million people showed up for the Passover.  Jesus also made this trip, coming from Galilee in the north, to Jerusalem in the south, by way of Jericho.  Since Jesus had become very famous by that time, people passing through the customs-house at Jericho wanted to see him.  Naturally, Zacchaeus was curious to see the new rabbi from Nazareth who, people said, welcomed tax-collectors and sinners as his friends.  Zacchaeus might even have heard that a former tax-gatherer, Levi, was one of Jesus’ disciples.  Therefore, despite the expected ridicule he might receive from the crowd, he resolved to get a look at Jesus.  To escape the crowd and get a clear vision of Jesus, he climbed a sycamore tree--a tree with a short trunk and wide branches--and sat hidden in its leafy branches.  Jesus noticed him, however, and cheerfully called, “Zacchaeus! Come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house!”  They went off together, the sinner and the Son of God.  Just as Zacchaeus had exposed himself to ridicule by climbing a tree, so Jesus exposed himself to criticism by visiting Zacchaeus' house.   A mere glance and a few words of acceptance from Jesus changed this man from the sinner the community thought him to be into a man to whom Jesus had brought salvation.  The presence of Jesus had given to Zacchaeus the twin gifts of Grace and Justification.  Zacchaeus' heart was changed, and he repented of his sins. We, too, are often blocked from seeing the Lord because other people get in the way. They block our sight in many ways. Parents block the sight of their children when they don’t pray with them or take them to Mass. Cultural forces, like those in the entertainment industry or in public schools or institutions of higher learning, or sports and games impede our vision by distorting Jesus’ image, ignoring him altogether, or ridiculing those who believe in him. Sometimes even those who should be icons of Jesus — priests, religious, catechists, godparents — obscure our vision through their scandalous lives or un-Christian behavior. The example of Zacchaeus challenges each of us to consider what is the extent to which we go, what trees or obstacles we’ll mount, in order to see Jesus more clearly.

The secret of instant conversion: What was the cause of Zacchaeus' instantaneous conversion? By entering Zacchaeus’ house, Jesus gave back to its owner the dignity that he had lost and restored his sense of self-worth. Jesus gave him a new life.   By making no demands on Zacchaeus, Jesus gave him a feeling of acceptance and a new direction for his life.  Hence during the banquet, Zacchaeus made the solemn announcement of his repentance and committed himself to doing justice by the sharing of his wealth (giving half his possessions to the poor), and the making of reparations (fourfold to the defrauded). This exceeded what the Torah asked (Ex 22:1-4, 21:2). (According to the law as recorded in the Jewish scriptures, when one who had cheated another confessed his guilt and volunteered to make restitution, the amount required was equal to the amount stolen plus one fifth more (Leviticus 6:5, Numbers 5:7)).  Zacchaeus did not make this offer to win Jesus' approval, but to show his gratitude. Hence, confirming the integrity of Zacchaeus’ conversion and affirming the quality of his Faith, Jesus announced that salvation had not come to Zacchaeus alone, but rather to his entire household.  Zacchaeus’ household would now share in his blessings as they had previously shared in his unjust practices (Acts 10:2, 11:14, 16:15, 16:31, 18:8).  

Son of Abraham once again: The story of the conversion of Zacchaeus ends with Jesus’ declaration, “the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”  This man, who had previously considered an outcast, was addressed by Jesus as a "son of Abraham."  Zacchaeus was not saved in isolation.  His salvation would affect the entire community, since he would provide support for the poor and restitution to those he had defrauded. A community would be transformed by the presence of a tax-collector whom people could trust. Zacchaeus reminds us that Jesus continues to call the strangest people from the strangest places.  With more than seventy-five percent of people suffering from a conviction of low self-worth, Zacchaeus serves as a good example of how to resist and survive the critical comments of others. 

Life messages: 1) We need to accept the Divine invitation for repentance. Jesus takes the initiative of knocking at the door of our souls, asking for entry. We have one thing in common with Zacchaeus: like him, we are all sinners and therefore we need salvation, which requires the total rehabilitation of formerly sinful man. It is a process of discipleship: seeking, meeting, undergoing conversion, and following. To refuse to admit that we are sinners is a fundamental impediment to the working of the mercy and grace of God in our hearts. A second and more common impediment is to refuse to listen to the call to repentance, which God so frequently sends out to us.  We are all sinners to a greater or lesser degree.  Jesus is inviting each one of us to total conversion today by means of this Gospel lesson.  Jesus is our loving Brother who died that we might live.  He is the Son of God, a God of Infinite Love.  Hence, let us expose and confess to Him all our weaknesses and injustices.  Let us remember that Jesus loves us in spite of our ugly thoughts, broken promises, sullied ideals, lack of prayer and Faith, resentments and lusts.  He will put us back on the straight road to Heaven.  We will become again true "sons and daughters of Abraham." In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, in the confessional, Jesus ministers to us individually, just as he interacted individually with Zacchaeus. As Zacchaeus did, we need to come down, to leave the perches of our pride and allow Jesus to go to work through his priestly ministers.

2) We need to love others as Jesus loves us, in spite of our sins.  Jesus loved Zacchaeus--the greatest of sinners--and by that love Zacchaeus was transformed.  How many parents and teachers can accept children lovingly, without first setting up standards of behavior as conditions for being loved?  Sometimes we have the temptation to withhold love from people we consider sinners. For example, a husband and wife may have qualities that grate on each other, prompting one spouse to withhold love from the other.  There may be a temptation to withhold one’s love from a rebellious teenager.  Perhaps our children make choices that disappoint us, and we become so frustrated by the consequences of their poor choices that we   withhold our love from them.  Our boss may be unlovable and autocratic, or our neighbor may become an object of hatred because of his incessantly barking dog.  But just as Jesus loved Zacchaeus, even though he was the worst of sinners, so we must love others in spite of their sin.  Jesus expects this of us, and offers us the strength to do it, if we will accept His grace.  

3) We are called to generosity: Zacchaeus was changed from being greedy to being generous, from selfishness to selflessness. There was a change deep within his heart.  Jesus wants us to move from our small and feeble Faith to a greater and more powerful Faith, just as Zacchaeus did.  God wants us to be financially and spiritually generous.  When we feel the warmth of God’s presence within us, that warmth will, in itself, melt our coldness and selfishness and lead us to repentance and a change of life.

 4) How would we respond to Jesus’ demand, "I must stay at your house today?"  How would we react to such an invitation?  Would we be ready to welcome Jesus into our home?  Indeed, Jesus has visited the homes of each and every one of us!  Through the Sacrament of Confirmation, we have received the indwelling Spirit of Christ within us.  Through the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, we receive the Divine Presence of the Lord.  Further, if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love is perfected in us (1 Jn. 4:13).  Hence, let us be thankful to the Lord for coming to us.  For those of us who have not yet received the Lord into our homes and lives, it is never too late to repent and welcome Him.  Our Lord is a God of Love, Grace and Mercy.  He does not wish to see anyone lost.  If we allow Jesus to enter our lives, our lives will change.  Grace is the driving power behind this transformation.  As we continue with the celebration of the Holy Mass, let us pray for all of us who do not yet have the indwelling of the Lord God in our homes and lives. Let us ask the Lord to reach out to us all as he reached out to Zacchaeus.  The result will be repentance, transformation, sanctification, salvation.  

JOKES OF THE WEEK

1)  A pastor was asked by one of the presidential candidates,
"Name something my government can do to help your church if I am elected president." The pastor replied, "Quit making one-dollar bills." 2)   Dear Lord, so far today I've done all right.  I haven't gossiped, haven't lost my temper, and haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent.  I'm very thankful for that.  But in a few minutes, Lord, I'm going to get out of bed, and from then on, I'm probably going to need a lot more help.  Amen 

Prepared by: Fr. Anthony Kadavil, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604.

SYNOPSIS OF O. T. XXII (AUG 30) HOMILY: Mk 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23 (L-15)

Introduction: Today’s readings explain what true religion is. It is not simply a scrupulous, external observance of rules, laws, traditions and rituals. It is a loving, obedient relationship with God expressed in obeying His Commandments, worshipping Him, recognizing His presence in other human beings and rendering them loving and humble service. Prayers, rituals, Sacraments and religious practices only help us to practice this true religion in our daily lives.

Scripture lessons: The first reading explains that religion is a Covenant relationship with a caring, providing and protecting God, fostered by keeping His Commandments given through Moses. God gave Israel the Law so that the Israelites might keep their Covenant with Yahweh and thank Him for His love and fidelity to His Chosen People. The Law was also intended to keep them a united, holy and intelligent nation, proud of their powerful, protective, single God.

In the second reading, St. James defines true religion as keeping the word of God and doing His will by helping the needy, the poor and the weak in the community. He challenges Christians to become doers of the word, not merely hearers.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus describes true religion as serving God and all His children with a pure and holy heart.  The Gospel explains the encounter of Jesus with the Sanhedrin observers and the Pharisees who had been sent to assess his unique, controversial teachings. These experts had found Jesus’ teachings an open violation of the “Traditions of the Elders, and His implied and spoken claims “blasphemous. It was in the fifth century BC that the scribes started adding oral traditions as interpretations and practical applications of the Mosaic Law. The Pharisees observed them and insisted that all the Jews should do so. The original noble purpose was to sanctify the daily lives of the people, making them “holy as God is holy” (“You are a priestly kingdom, a holy nation” -- Ex 19: 6), and different in lifestyle from their pagan neighbors. Jesus uses the occasion as a teachable moment to give them the following lessons: 1) Don’t teach human doctrines as dogmas. 2) Internal disposition, purity and holiness are more important than external ritual observances. 3) Keep your heart holy as it is the source of sins, vices and evil habits. The observance of traditions and of washing rituals does not correct the internal motivations and inclinations that really defile people. 4) External piety without internal holiness is hypocrisy.

Life messages: 1) We need to learn and keep the spirit of the Church’s laws and ritual practices. For example our  Sunday obligation is intended to allow us to worship God in the parish community, to offer our lives to God, to ask His pardon for sins, to thank God for His blessings and to receive Divine life and strength from Him in Holy Communion. Our daily family prayers are meant to thank God for his blessings, to present the family's needs before God, to ask pardon for sins and to maintain the spirit of unity and love in the family.

2) Let us avoid the tendency to become cafeteria Christians that is, to choose certain Commandments and Church laws to follow, and to ignore the others as we choose  certain food items and ignore others in a cafeteria.

XXII (Aug 30) ; ; Mk 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Anecdotes: 1) "Put your hand in Jesus' hand":  For almost 50 years Mother Teresa worked in the slums of Calcutta, India. She worked among the most forsaken people on earth. You and I would recoil from most of the people that she touched every day – the dispossessed, the downtrodden, the diseased, the desperate. And yet, everybody who met Mother Teresa remarked on her warm smile. How, after almost 50 years of working in conditions like that did she keep a warm smile on her face? Mother explains that it is interesting. "When I was leaving home in Yugoslavia at age of 18 to become a nun, my mother told me something beautiful and very strange”. She said, 'You go put your hand in Jesus hand and walk along with him.'" And that was the secret of Mother Teresa's life ever after. (Rev. King Duncan). Many of us here have good jobs. And we live in nice homes, and we have easy situations. But we don't have the warm smile on our faces that this little nun, working in the most desperate situation imaginable, had on her face. What's the difference? It may be that we've never put our hand in Jesus hand. It may be that we have him only on our lips as St. James remarks in the second reading.

2) Ritual washing using drinking-water: William Barclay in The Daily Study Bible tells the story of an old Jewish rabbi in the Roman prison diagnosed with acute dehydration which would have led to his death.  The prison guards insisted that the rabbi had been given his quota of drinking water.  So the prison doctor and the officer in charge instructed the guards to watch the rabbi and ascertain what he was doing with his ration of water.  They were shocked to find that the rabbi was using almost all his water for traditional ritual washing before prayer and meals.  Today’s Gospel tells us how the tradition-addicted Pharisees started questioning Jesus when his disciples omitted the ritual washing of hands in public before a meal.

3) Pursuit of enemy not hindered by prayer: Barclay’s second story is about a Muslim pursuing an enemy to kill him. In the midst of the pursuit, the Azan, or public call to prayer, sounded. Instantly the Muslim got off his horse, unrolled his prayer mat, knelt down and prayed the required prayers as fast as he could. Then he leaped back on his horse to pursue his enemy in order to kill him. Jesus opposes this type of legalism in the Jewish religion in today’s Gospel.

Introduction: Today’s readings explain what true religion is. It is not simply the scrupulous external observance of rules, laws, traditions and rituals. It is a loving, obedient relationship with God expressed in recognizing His presence in other human beings and rendering them loving and humble service. Prayers, rituals, Sacraments and religious practices only help us to practice this true religion in our daily lives.

Scripture lessons:  The first reading explains that religion is a Covenant relationship with a caring, providing and protecting God, fostered by keeping His Commandments given through Moses. God gave Israel the Law so that the Israelites might keep their Covenant with Yahweh and thank Him for His love and fidelity to His Chosen People. The Law was also intended to keep them a united, holy and intelligent nation proud of their powerful, protective, single God. The Responsorial Psalm describes a person who practices true religion —blameless and just, thoughtful and honest in dealing with others. In the second reading, St. James defines true religion as keeping the word of God and doing His will by helping the needy, the poor and the weak in the community. He challenges Christians to become doers of the word, not merely hearers.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus describes true religion as serving God and all His children with a pure and holy heart.  The occasion is a debate between Jesus and the Pharisees on the subject of "Tradition." Jesus warns the Pharisees against their tendency to equate traditional “human precepts” with God’s will. He blames the scribes and the Pharisees for giving undue importance to external observances in the name of “tradition,” while ignoring the Law’s real spirit. True religion should focus on the essentials. In particular, Jesus criticizes Pharisaic observance of ritual washing and declares that it is our inner motivations and dispositions that produce our purity or impurity.

First reading: : In the fifth century BC, internal corruption and external pressures had brought the Israelites to the brink of extinction.  Kings, priests, prophets and Temple had failed to hold them together. Deuteronomy, recorded under the Holy Spirit's direction during the crisis of the Babylonian exile, 587-539 BC, presented the ancient legal traditions surrounding the Law which had been given Israel by the Lord God through Moses. In this book, Moses described the beauty of the Law and commanded its observance as Israel’s sign of gratitude for the Lord God’s promise of the land. He assured the people that their God-given Law and their faithful observance of the Law would serve three purposes: a) it would help Israel survive as a people; b) it would make the people proud of their God and His Covenant; c) it would make neighboring nations marvel at the graciousness and justice of the God of Israel, at His closeness to His people and at their closeness to Him.  Hence, Moses challenged the Israelites with the questions:"What great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to him?  What other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?" Moses cited the praise they would receive from neighboring nations as an additional reason for keeping the Law: "This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people."

Second Reading, : Today we begin a series of five Sunday readings from the letter of James.  In the letter, James addresses the whole Christian Church in general, rather than speaking just to a particular community or person as Paul did in his letters.  After dealing with the value of trials and temptations and refuting the argument that temptations come from God (James 1:2-18), James provides the only formal definition of religion in the Bible. He defines true religion as translating the love of God into deeds of loving kindness toward the vulnerable members of the community and putting into practice the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. More specifically, true religion means that one is to “care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

Exegesis: The context: Just as Jesus and his disciples were reforming Judaism by transforming it into Christianity, the Pharisees had begun reforming Judaism at an earlier period. They considered the “Written Law” or Torah or the Law of Moses (the first five books of the Bible), and the “Oral Law” (clarifications and additions to the Mosaic Law given by scribes from the fifth century B.C.), as equally holy and binding.  These oral laws, known in Jesus’ time as the “Traditions of the Elders,” were a series of oral traditions intended to act as “a fence around the Law,” so that the Mosaic Law itself, and, thus, the Covenant, would never be violated. The original, noble intention of the scribes who formulated these traditions and of the Pharisees who practiced them was to have their religion permeate all Israel, purifying the people in their daily lives, making them holy as their God is holy.  In spite of these noble intentions, however, by the time of Jesus, their religion had degenerated, being reduced to only the exact performance of external rituals.  Small wonder, then, that the scribes and Pharisees were scandalized by the revolutionary teaching of Jesus, by the unique Divine and Messianic claims made by him and by his violations of the “Traditions of the Elders”! Hence, the supreme governing body of Judaism, the Sanhedrin, sent from Jerusalem as observers a team of scribes (experts in the Jewish Law), to assess Jesus’ claims, miracles, violations of traditions and controversial teachings.  A few of the local Pharisees accompanied the experts and started questioning Jesus when they noticed that Jesus’ disciples had omitted the ritual cleansing of hands before a party meal.

Ritual versus hygienic washing: Ritual washing was required of the priest, but there was nothing in the Mosaic Law that required the same behavior from lay people.  Pious Jews began to adopt that habit on the principle of Exodus 19:6 — “you are a priestly kingdom and a holy nation,” and gradually it became the “the tradition of the elders.”  The ritual cleansing of raw food items bought from the market, of vessels used for cooking and of the hands of those who were to eat the prepared food, like many similar practices, evolved later, to remind the Chosen People of their call to be "set apart as a holy and consecrated people," with values and life-style consciously different from those of pagans.  But in Jesus’ day, the Jews ignored the spirit of these traditions and practiced them simply as an essential judicial and ritual requisite.  The question "Why do your disciples not wash their hands before eating?" persisted. It created tensions in the early Church, particularly in the Christian community of Mark where some of the new Christians were Jews and some were Gentiles.  The Gentiles did not follow the Jewish customs, and, consequently, some of the Jewish Christians were upset.

Jesus’ reaction: In response to the Sanhedrin’s public criticism, Jesus stands in the prophetic tradition by citing Isaiah 29:13, where the prophet castigates the tendency to “teach mere human precepts as dogmas.”  "This people pays Me lip-service but their heart is far from Me.  Empty is the reverence they do Me, because they teach as dogmas mere human precepts." The Pharisees placed emphasis, not on building a relationship with God and their fellow-human beings, but on checking out their own external behavior.  Originally these religious traditions were intended to symbolize inner realities -- outward signs of inward devotion to God's Will.  But the Pharisees were using them to boost their own egos.  Hence, Jesus flatly denied that external things or circumstances could separate a person from God.  Jesus was not criticizing rituals given in the Mosaic Law, but the the giving of disproportionate importance to these things while neglecting what was far more important, the love of God and the care for one's fellow-human beings.  By insisting that uncleanness comes from violations of the moral law rather than of minute ritual prescriptions, Jesus denied a basic principle of Jewish religion and set aside a considerable amount of Mosaic Law.  "Nothing that enters a man from outside can make him impure; that which comes out of him, and only that, constitutes impurity."

Real source of impurity:  As illustrations of the evils which really make a person sinful and alienate him from God, Jesus mentions six evil acts: practices of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adultery, acts of coveting or lust, and wickedness in general.  Then he adds a checklist of six vices or sins of the heart: deceit (lying), wantonness (shamelessness, immodesty), jealousy or envy, slander (imputing evil to others), pride (arrogance), and folly (the stupidity of one lacking moral judgment).  The point is clear.  Righteousness is not what we do on the outside, but who we are on the inside.  Righteousness is not about the hand; it is about the heart.  Acts of adultery, murder and unkindness come from within, from hearts that are adulterous, murderous and unkind.  For Jesus, a community that is actively worshiping God is a community that does not base its behavior solely on precepts and doctrines, but is integrally connected to God through righteous, just and loving relationships.  What makes a person holy are the attitudes and actions that Paul in Gal 5:22-23 lists as “the fruit” of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Life messages: 1) We need to keep the spirit of the Church’s laws and practices. For example our Sunday obligation is intended to allow us to worship God in the parish community, to offer our lives to God, to ask His pardon for our sins, to thank God for His blessings, to  present our needs before Him  and to receive Divine Life and strength from Him in receiving Holy Communion. Our daily   family prayers are meant to thank God for His blessings, to present the family’s needs before God, to ask pardon for all our sins, and to maintain the spirit of unity and love in the family.

2) Let us avoid the tendency to become cafeteria Christians:  As the Pharisees did, we too show the tendency to add to or subtract from God’s laws given in the Bible and taught by the Church. Some of us pick and choose certain Commandments to follow, ignoring the others as we do food offerings in a cafeteria. For example some actively do corporal and spiritual works of Charity, but avoidSunday Mass or remain unfaithful to the obligations attached to the   gift of their sexuality or the sacrament of marriage. Others are interested in fulfilling only the “minimal obligations” of the Faith. They come to Mass late and leave early. They make an effort to avoid serious sins, but don’t go to confession even when they fall into mortal sins.

3) Let us accept the challenge to become hearers and doers of God’s word as St. James instructs us:  Let us ask ourselves how theSunday or daily readings are affecting or changing our lives. That will show us whether we are being attentive listeners to, and doers of, God’s word. We become more fully Jesus’ family members, only when we consistently “hear the word of God and do it” (Lk 8:21). When we receive Jesus in Holy Communion today, let us ask him for the grace to become the doers of his word as he was the doer of his Fathers’ will.

JOKE OF THE WEEK: 1) Who is the Pharisee?  Father O'Malley was going through the mail one day after his powerful sermon on the Pharisaic life of some of his parishioners on the previous Sunday.  Drawing a single sheet of paper from an envelope, he found written on it just one word: "FOOL."  The next Sunday at Mass, he announced, "I have known many people who have written letters and forgot to sign their names.  But this week I received a letter from someone who signed his name and forgot to write a letter."

2) The Jewish tradition: Late in the evening, the young Jew knocked at the door and asked as an elderly man opened the door. "Sir, what time is it?"  The old Jew just stared at him and did not answer.  “Sir, forgive me for disturbing you at this time,” said the young Jew, “but I really want to know what time it is.  I have to find a place to sleep.”  The old Jew said, “Son, the inn on the next street is the only one in this small city.  I don't know you, so you must be a stranger.  If I answer you now, according to our Jewish tradition, I must invite you to my home.  You're handsome and I have a beautiful daughter.  You will both fall in love and you'll want to get married.  And tell me, why would I want a son-in-law who can't even afford a watch?”

3) Amazing family tradition: Isaac Ole had heard from his grandma stories of an amazing family tradition in his family.  It seems that his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had all been able to walk on water on their 21st birthday.  On that day, they'd walk across the lake to the boat club for their first legal drink.  So when Isaac’s 21st birthday came around, he and his pal Sven took a boat out to the middle of the lake.  Ole stepped out of the boat and nearly drowned!  Sven just managed to pull him to safety. Furious and confused, Ole went to see his grandmother.  "Grandma," he asked," it's my 21st birthday, so why can't I walk across the lake like my father, his father, and his father before him?"  Granny looked into Ole's eyes with a broad smile and said, "Because your father, grandfather and great-grandfather were born in January when the lake is frozen and you were born in hot July!"

Homily Lk 14:1, 7-14

Introduction: The common theme of today’s readings is the need for true humility which leads to a generous blessed sharing with the needy. The readings also warn us against all forms of pride and self-glorification.  They present humility not only as a virtue but also as a means of opening our hearts, our minds and our hands to the poor, the needy, the disadvantaged and the marginalized people in our society – a personal responsibility for every authentic Christian.

Scripture lessons: The first reading, taken from the book of Sirach, reminds us that if we are humble, we will find favor with God, and others will love us. The second reading, taken from Hebrews, gives another reason for us to be humble. Jesus was humble, so his followers are expected to be humble, trying to imitate his humility.  Paul reminds us that Jesus was lowly, particularly in his suffering and death for our salvation (Heb 2:5-18), so we should be like him in order to be exalted with him at the resurrection of the righteous. Paul also seems to imply that we need to follow Christ’s example of humility in our relationships with the less fortunate members of our society. In today’s Gospel, Jesus explains the practical benefits of humility, connecting it with the common wisdom about dining etiquette. Jesus advises the guests to go to the lowest place instead of seeking places of honor, so that the host may give them the place they really deserve. Jesus’ words concerning the seating of guests at a wedding banquet should prompt us to honor those whom others ignore, because if we are generous and just in our dealings with those in need, we can be confident of the Lord’s blessings.

Life Message: We need to practice humility in personal and social life: Humility is based on the psychological awareness that everything I have is a gift from God and, therefore, I have no reason to elevate myself above others.  On the contrary, I must use these God-given gifts to help others. True humility requires us neither to overestimate nor to underestimate our worth. We must admit the truths that we are sinners, that we do not know everything and that we do not always act properly.  Nevertheless, we must also recognize that we are made in the image and likeness of God, and that we are called to help build the kingdom of God with our God-given gifts. We are of value, not because of those gifts, but because we are loved by God as His children, redeemed by the precious blood of His son Jesus. The quality of humility that Jesus is talking about also has a sociological dimension. For Jesus is inviting us to associate with the so-called "lower classes" of the society -- even the outcasts. Jesus invites us to change our social patterns in such a way that we connect with and serve the homeless, the handicapped, the elderly, and the impoverished -- the "street people" of the world with agápe love. (L/16)

OT XXII [C] (Aug 28): ; Heb 12:18-19, 22-24a;

Anecdote: 1) Cardinal Léger's option for the poor:  Most Rev. Paul-Émile Léger served as from 1950 to 1968, and was elevated to the in 1953 by . He was   one of the most powerful men in Canada and within the Catholic Church. He was a man of deep conviction and humility. Then on April 20, 1968 he resigned his office and leaving his red vestments, crosier, miter, and pallium in his Montreal office, disappeared. Years later, he was found living among the lepers and disabled, outcasts of a small African village. When a Canadian journalist asked him, "Why?" here is what Cardinal Léger had to say: "It will be the great scandal of the history of our century that 600 million people are eating well and living luxuriously and three billion people starve, and every year millions of children are dying of hunger. I am too old to change all that. The only thing I can do which makes sense is to be present. I must simply be in the midst of them. So, just tell people in Canada that you met an old priest. I am a priest who is happy to be old and still a priest and among those who suffer. I am happy to be here and to take them into my heart." ( Is that your calling? Is it mine? Probably not. Today’s Gospel says:  “Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." (For a short biography of Cardinal Leger (visit: ) (Barry Robinson)

2) The humble Gandhi: One man who took Jesus seriously was Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi acknowledged that he had been much influenced by the Gospels and touched by the life of Christ. As he once remarked, "I might have become a Christian had it not been for Christians!" Gandhi did not lead the masses by standing like a monarch above them but by identifying with them and sharing in their circumstances. He identified himself with the half-naked rural masses by rejecting his attorney’s pants and coat and dressing himself with a loincloth and cotton shawl.  While the other high caste Indian politicians were not willing to associate themselves with the untouchables, Gandhi chose to live, eat and march with the untouchables, and he gave them a new dignity and a new name. He honored them by calling them “harijans,” "the people of God."

3) America's "First Lady of Etiquette," Emily Post, versus Jesus Christ: Luke 14 focuses on etiquette for guests and hosts at dinner parties. I thought I should see what the original "Miss Manners," Emily Post, had to say on that subject. So I did consult the twelfth edition of Emily Post's Etiquette. I learned to kneel, kiss his ring, and address him as "Your Holiness" when having a private audience with the Pope. I learned replies to lunch invitations to the White House must always be handwritten and always returned that same day -- and the answer is always, "Yes." Emily Post was very specific about planning formal dinners. Seating charts were included showing which seats the guests of honor should get. Who's seated next to whom is also important. Emily Post sums it up: "The requisites for a perfect formal dinner ... are ... Guests who are congenial, Servants who are competent, A lovely table setting -- Food that is perfectly prepared ... A cordial and hospitable host and a charming hostess" (and a good seating chart). And there is another source we can turn to on how to throw a perfect party. The source is Scripture. And the "etiquette expert" is Jesus himself. In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives guidance on party protocol while attending a formal dinner. When God is throwing a party, all the "right" people will be there -- that is everyone who responds to (God's) invitation.  But seated next to the host (Jesus) in the places of honor are not the dignitaries, the celebrities, the distinguished people of position and prominence, but rather the poor, the hurting, the outcast -- people who have distinguished themselves only by their need.

Introduction: The common theme of today’s readings is the need for true humility which leads to a generous blessed sharing with the needy. The readings warn us against all forms of pride and self-glorification.  They present humility not only as a virtue but also as a means of opening our hearts, our minds and our hands to the poor, the needy, the disadvantaged and the marginalized of society. For Jesus, the daily human needs of the poor are the personal responsibility of every authentic, humble believer. The first reading, taken from the book of Sirach, reminds us that if we are humble we will find favor with God, and others will love us. The second reading, taken from Hebrews, gives another reason for us to be humble. Jesus was humble, so his followers are expected to be humble, trying to imitate his humility.  Paul reminds us that Jesus was lowly, particularly in his suffering and death for our salvation (Heb 2:5-18), so we should be like him that we may be exalted with him at the resurrection of the righteous. Paul seems to imply that we have to follow Christ’s example of humility in our relationships with the less fortunate members of our society. In today’s Gospel, Jesus explains the practical benefits of humility, connecting it with the common wisdom about dining etiquette (see Prov. 25:6-7; Sir. 3:17-20). Jesus advises the guests to go to the lowest place instead of seeking places of honor so that the host may give them the place they deserve. Jesus’ words concerning the seating of guests at a wedding banquet should prompt us to honor those whom others ignore, because if we are generous and just in our dealings with those in need we can be confident of the Lord’s blessings. On the other hand, if we act out of pride and selfishness we can be sure that our efforts will come to nothing.

The first reading, ():  Today’s reading, taken from Sirach, gives a lesson in humility. Sirach is a book of moral instruction and wise sayings written by a devout Jewish sage about 175 years before the time of Jesus. It is part of the Wisdom literature of the Hebrew Scriptures. As a world traveler (34:12-13) and a respected scribe and teacher, Jesus ben Eleazar ben Sirach, presided as the headmaster of an academy for young men (57:23-30). Today’s reading represents excerpted portions of two of ben Sirach’s short essays, the first on humility (3:17-24), the second on docility, almsgiving and social conduct (3:25-4:10). Like a parent or an elder brother offering wise counsel, the author recommends that his readers find true greatness in living humbly. "Conduct your affairs in humility," ben Sirach writes. "The more you humble yourselves, the greater you are." He instructs us to be honest about ourselves and to become conscious of our limitations, acknowledging our true position before God as creatures and sinners.

The second reading: (Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24): The Letter to the Hebrews was written in the last quarter of first century AD. Although many of the apostolic eye-witnesses to Jesus had died, the expected Second Coming of Jesus had not taken place. So the Hebrew Christians (Judeo-Christians), subjected to hostilities from both Judaism and the Roman Empire, grew lax in their commitment.  Hence, the author of Hebrews asks his readers to choose either the ways of the former Covenant, symbolized by the fire, storm, darkness, trumpet blast and the voice, speaking words that they begged not to hear, or the ways of the new Covenant, mediated by Jesus and celebrated by the angels and the assembly of the firstborn. St. Paul compares and contrasts the picture of God in the Old Testament with that found in the New Testament. Instead of the frightening manifestation of God’s glory in the Old Covenant, the New Testament offers the picture of a loving and humble God as revealed by Christ. Paul seems to imply that we need to follow Christ’s example of humility in our relationship with those members of our society less fortunate than we. We are gathered around "Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel." Jesus was lowly, particularly in his suffering and death for our salvation (Heb 2:5-18).  If we are humble, like Jesus and with him, we will be exalted with Him at the resurrection of the righteous.

Exegesis: Instruction at a party: The reason why Jesus was invited to the dinner party was that he was already a sort of celebrity, noted for curing the sick. People are always drawn toward celebrities.  But Jesus was not interested in such fame. Without putting on an air of superiority, he used the occasion to teach a lesson about the Kingdom, presenting humility as the essential condition for God’s invitation to His Heavenly banquet. Humility must be expressed in the recognition of one’s lowliness before God and one's need for salvation. Based on his observation of a gross breach of social etiquette at that party, Jesus taught those Jewish religious teachers what genuine humility was and what the dangers of pride were. "Go and take the lowest place," Jesus recommends, "so that when the host comes to you he may say, `My friend, move up to a higher position.'" In other words, we are always to situate ourselves in such a manner that the only way we can go is up.

Importance of humility: When God became man, He chose to occupy the lowest possible seat. Paul described in Phil. 2:7-8, the six steps in humility that God took in coming to this earth. "Jesus emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross." Humility was Jesus’ favorite theme. "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 14:11); "Whoever humbles himself like a little child is the greatest in the kingdom of God" (Matthew 18:4);  "Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart"(Matthew 11:29).  Humility is a strange phenomenon. As a rule, when we discover we have it, we lose it. Humility is like a rare flower -- put it on display, and it instantly wilts and loses its fragrance! St. Augustine said: "Humility is so necessary for Christian perfection that among all the ways to reach perfection, humility is first, humility is second, and humility is third." He added, "Humility makes men angels, and pride makes angels devils." St. Bernard declared, "Pride sends man from the highest elevation to the lowest abyss, but humility raises him from the lowest abyss to the highest elevation."

Humility with a hook: Here is a portion of one of Mother Teresa’s exhortations to her novices: "If I try to make myself as small as I can, I'll never become humble. It is humility with a hook. True humility is truth. Humility comes when I stand as tall as I can, and look at all of my strengths, and the reality about me, but put myself alongside Jesus Christ. And it's there, when I humble myself before Him, and realize the truth of who he is, when I accept God's estimate of myself, stop being fooled about myself and impressed with myself, that I begin to learn humility. The higher I am in grace, the lower I should be in my own estimation because I am comparing myself with the Lord God." Thus, humility is an attempt to see ourselves as God sees us. It is also the acknowledgement that our talents come from God who has seen it fit to work through us. Baron Rothschild once, when asked about seating important guests, said, "Those that matter won’t mind where they sit, and those who do mind, don’t matter."

Lesson in true humility: In today’s Gospel story, Jesus gives his host a lesson in humility. "When you hold a banquet, don't invite friends or relatives or wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather invite the poor, the cripples, the lame, and the blind, who are unable to repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." Thomas Carlyle, the British historian, put it succinctly, “Show me the man you honor, and I will know what kind of man you are.” The Pharisees were preoccupied with "earning" a high place in heaven. Jesus counsels them to practice what they preach  about God's concern for the poor and thereby to gain true merit. In other words, Jesus suggests, “Do something really different! Invite to your parties the people who have little to bring with them. The blessing, recognition and benefit you are worried about will come, though not through the means you expect.” The freedom that comes with knowing we are loved and sustained by God is a freedom to give generously of our resources, to give the best place to others without concern for ourselves. Just as Jesus challenges his fellow guests, so he challenges us. He warns us that those who will be saved will not be people like the Pharisees. The deeper message of this parable is that if we exalt ourselves, we are going to face embarrassment before the judgment seat of God, the Host who has invited us to the banquet of life.

Life Message: 1) We need to practice humility in personal and social life: Humility is grounded in a psychological awareness that everything I have is a gift from God, and, therefore, I have no reason to boast. I must not use these God-given gifts to elevate myself above others. Hence, humility means the proper understanding of our own worth. It requires us neither to overestimate nor to underestimate our worth. The humility that the Gospel urges upon us has nothing to do with a self-deprecation that leaves a person without proper self-esteem. We must simply admit the truth about ourselves: we do not know everything, we do not do everything correctly and we are all imperfect and sinners. Nevertheless, we also recognize that we are made in the image and likeness of God and that we are called to help build the kingdom of God with our God-given gifts. We are not of value because of those gifts but because we are loved by God as His children, redeemed by the precious blood of His son Jesus. The quality of humility that Jesus is talking about has a sociological dimensiontoo. For Jesus is inviting us to associate with the so-called "lower classes" of society -- even the outcasts. Jesus invites us to change our social patterns in such a way that we connect with the homeless, the handicapped, the elderly, and the impoverished -- the "street people" of the world – with agápe love.

2) We need to remember that we are the invited guests: We celebrate that coming Banquet Feast in Heaven every time we come together for Our Lord's Supper in Holy Mass. We are the (spiritually) poor, crippled, lame, and blind that Christ calls to himself. Our place is assured. Let us accept Jesus’ invitation by actively participating in this Eucharistic celebration. Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk and writer, on receiving Holy Communion, writes that, as he received the Sacrament for the first time, as an adult, he thought to himself: Heaven was entirely mine ... Christ, hidden in the small host, was giving himself for me and to me, and with himself the entire Godhead and Trinity ... Christ was born in me, his new Bethlehem, and sacrificed in me, his new Calvary, and risen in me ... (God) called out to me from his own immense depths [The Seven Story Mountain, (New York: Doubleday Image Books), pp. 273-274).] Thomas Merton sensed the wonder of God's invitation to Communion and received it joyfully. So should we.

JOKE OF THE WEEK: 1) Christian Archibald Herter (, - , ) was a politician and statesman, governor of , and -. When Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (without lunch), he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished. As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line. "'Excuse me,” Governor Herter said, “do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?” "'Sorry,” the woman told him. “I'm supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person because you are going to get other food items also from other servers.” "'But I'm starved and I love chicken,” the governor said. "'Sorry,” the woman said again. “Only one to a customer. “Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around. "'Do you know who I am?” he said. “I am the governor of this state!” "'Do you know who I am?” the woman retorted. “I'm the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister.”

2) Winston Churchill was once asked, "Doesn't it thrill you to know that every time you make a speech, the hall is packed to overflowing?" "It's quite flattering," replied Sir Winston. "But whenever I feel that way, I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I were being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big."

3) George Washington Carver, the scientist who developed hundreds of useful products from peanut, once told this story about himself. "When I was young, I said to God, 'God, tell me the mystery of the universe.' But God answered, 'That knowledge is reserved for Me alone.' So I said, 'God, tell me the mystery of the peanut.' Then God said, 'Well, George, that's more nearly your size.' And He told                                                                           me."

Introduction: Today’s readings challenge us to the true Christian discipleship of total commitment to the will of God, putting God first in our lives.

Scripture lessons: The first reading, taken from the Book of Wisdom, instructs us to ask for the gifts of discernment and strength from the Holy Spirit so that we may do the will of God as His true disciples. The second reading, taken from St. Paul’s letter to Philemon, teaches us that detachment and renunciation are necessary for a true disciple of Christ. As a responsible Apostle and zealous disciple of Christ, Paul had to renounce the service of his new helper, Onesimus, and return him to his master.  As a new disciple of Christ, Onesimus had to leave Paul, face his owner as a runaway slave and accept the consequences. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 90), instructs true disciples to lead holy lives by remaining constantly aware of the brevity and uncertainty of life.    Today’s Gospel reminds us to count the cost of being a disciple and follower of Christ because the cost is high:  true Christian discipleship requires one to "renounce" both earthly possessions and possessions of the heart (i.e., one's relationships).  In today’s Gospel, Jesus lays out four conditions for true Christian discipleship. i) Renounce too much attachment to family, giving priority to God and His commandments. ii) Break off the excessive attachment to possessions by leading a detached life, willingly sharing one’s blessings with others.  iii) Accept the hard consequences of discipleship which include daily sacrificial service done for others and even the giving one’s life for them. iv) Calculate the cost involved in following Jesus. Using the two parables of the tower-builder and the king defending his country, Jesus says: think long and hard about Christian discipleship before a decision is made.

Life messages: We need to accept the challenge of Christian discipleship with heroic commitment and practice it. We do so: 1) by daily recharging our spiritual batteries through prayer, i.e., by talking to God, and by listening to Him through the meditative reading and study of the Bible; 2) by sharing in God’s life through frequent and active participation in the Eucharistic celebration; 3) by practicing the spirit of detachment and the renunciation of evil habits; 4) by giving our time, talents and resources generously, for the Lord’s work in the Church universal, and especially in our parish community, relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, 5) by loving all God’s children, especially the less fortunate ones, through humble and selfless acts of kindness, mercy, forgiveness and service; 6) by showing true commitment to the obligations and duties entrusted to us by our vocation in life and our profession, like fidelity in marriage and firm adherence to justice in our living and profession.

 OT XXIII [C] (Sept 4) Wis 9:13-18b; Phlm 9-10, 12-17; Lk 14: 25–33