Thursday, November 13, 2008

Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini


Virgin

Biographical Information about St. Frances Xavier Cabrini[1]

Readings for Thursday of the Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary:
[3]

Reading 1:
Philemon 7-20

For I have experienced much joy and encouragement from your love,
because the hearts of the holy ones
have been refreshed by you, brother.
Therefore, although I have the full right in Christ
to order you to do what is proper,
I rather urge you out of love,
being as I am, Paul, an old man,
and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus.
I urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus,
whose father I have become in my imprisonment,
who was once useless to you but is now useful to both you and me.
I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.
I should have liked to retain him for myself,
so that he might serve me on your behalf
in my imprisonment for the Gospel,
but I did not want to do anything without your consent,
so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary.
Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while,
that you might have him back forever,
no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother,
beloved especially to me, but even more so to you,
as a man and in the Lord.
So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me.
And if he has done you any injustice
or owes you anything, charge it to me.
I, Paul, write this in my own hand: I will pay.
May I not tell you that you owe me your very self.
Yes, brother, may I profit from you in the Lord.
Refresh my heart in Christ.
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Commentary on
Phmn 7-20

This reading contains a majority of St. Paul’s Letter to Philemon. It is a short letter written by the apostle during his imprisonment (probably in Rome between 61 and 63 A.D.). He writes to Philemon, the owner of a slave named Onesimus who apparently ran away and possibly stole something along the way. St. Paul has converted Onesimus and now sends him back with this letter to his owner.

While the apostle does not attack slavery as a social structure, he clearly deals it a death blow in the Christian community by describing the relationship he has with Onesimus and by setting this slave as an equal to all who are brothers in Christ Jesus (“…no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother, beloved especially to me, but even more so to you, as a man and in the Lord.”) This testimony by St. Paul is an important addition to the Church’s understanding of unity in faith and the dignity of all persons.

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Responsorial Psalm:
[4] Psalm 146:7, 8-9a, 9bc-10

R. (5a) Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.

R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on
Ps 146:7, 8-9a, 9bc-10

Psalm 146 is a hymn of praise. The psalmist provides and litany of attributes showing how God provides salvation. This psalm is often quoted and the litany it contains is assigned also to the Messiah who comes, fulfilling the prophets and the Law. Used in that sense the psalm itself is prophetic establishing the divine relationship between Christ and the God of Jacob.

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Gospel:
Luke 17:20-25

Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come,
He
(Jesus) said in reply,
“The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed,
and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’
For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.”

Then he said to his disciples,
“The days will come when you will long to see
one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.
There will be those who will say to you,
‘Look, there he is,’ or ‘Look, here he is.’
Do not go off, do not run in pursuit.
For just as lightning flashes
and lights up the sky from one side to the other,
so will the Son of Man be in his day.
But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.”
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Commentary on
Lk 17:20-25

In this selection from St. Luke’s Gospel, the Pharisees ask Jesus to tell them when the Kingdom of God will come. He answers that it is already among them (referring to his own ministry and the effect it has on his followers). To his disciples he makes this clear as he tells them that once he has gone from them he will not be coming back and at the same time he will always be with them (“…just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be (in his day).”[24])

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Reflection:

There is an irony in the Kingdom of God about which the Pharisees ask Jesus. The Lord himself alludes to it in St. Luke’s Gospel (“The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.” …” For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.”) These two statements tell us that while Jesus will be leaving and his disciples will want to see him in the flesh he wore on the earth – the Lord, even though he appears to have left, will be with us. The Kingdom of God is intended to be in the here-and-now. While we, his modern day disciples look forward in joining the choirs of angels in heaven, he asks us to create that kingdom on earth.

This concept is well understood by St. Paul (although he did have some expectations about the Parousia – Christ’s second, coming that were a bit off.). Recall what he said in his Second Letter to the Corinthians; “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.”(
2 Cor 5:10) He understands that what we do in this life creates a reality here that is connected to God’s Heavenly Kingdom.

With that in mind, we now take a fresh look at St. Paul’s letter to Philemon. We see the apostle sending the run away slave Onesimus back to his master Philemon. We also observe the St. Paul told the slave owner that his slave was sent back to him as a “brother in Christ”. We pause here to ask this rhetorical question – Did this action elevate Onesimus or did it bring Philemon down to the level of a slave for Christ? In the Kingdom of God we all stand humbly before the majesty of the Lord. We hope one day to cavort in joy before that throne with the angels and saints. In that extension of God’s Kingdom we hope to make here on earth, can any one of us be greater than another?

We find in this consideration a message that must not be ignored by those of us who aspire to the heavenly kingdom. That message is the irony of humility – the Christian ideal that the one who would lead the way to God’s Kingdom will be the last to enter; the one who is the greatest among us must be the servant of all. We see the subtle consistency of our doctrine in these lines of sacred scripture and are in awe of its beautiful truth.

Pax

[1] The photograph of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini is in the public domain. Photographer and date are UNKNOWN
[2] ALTRE
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[4] Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.

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