Experiment Proposed

Tuesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time &
Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop

Biographical Information about St. Anthony Mary Claret
Readings for Tuesday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Eph 2:12-22

Responsorial Psalm Ps 85:9ab-10, 11-12, 13-14
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.

Gospel Lk 12:35-38

Reflection:

"A great soul born to unite contrasting elements, he was humble in origin, yet illustrious in the eyes of the world. Small in stature, but a giant in spirit. Modest in appearance, but very capable of instilling respect, also in the great ones of the earth. Strong in character, but with the gentleness of someone who knows the restraint of austerity and penance. Always in the presence of God, even in the midst of prodigious activity. Slandered and admired, celebrated and persecuted, and among such great marvels, a gentle light that illumines all, his devotion to the Mother of God."

I wonder, if you had not known that today the Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Anthony Claret, would you have known that this quote from Pope Pius XII was referring to him, or would you have thought that he was referring to St. Paul. With the possible exception to the very last statement, all that was said about St. Anthony was true of St. Paul as well.

This confusion would be especially true if, before the quote was read, one read the selection from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians for today. St. Paul really hammers the fact that Christ came as the great unifier. As he had with the Galatians, Paul points out that we are one in Christ, Jew and Gentile no longer but one in Christ.

The Gospel from Luke today gives us the Lord’s instruction on always being prepared. Remember Jesus is on his journey to Jerusalem and the events that will unfold there must be weighing on his mind. His disciples need to be ready. We need to be ready.

It makes good sense to link Jesus, St. Paul, and St. Anthony together today. Jesus who brings us God’s love; Paul who first took that word to the rest of the known world; and St. Anthony who, 1500 years later, continued the mission as he followed Christ’s command to be always prepared and Paul’s example of unification in Christ.

If we, each of us, were to go through our day today with the simple thought of getting spiritually ready, as if today were our last day, what would people who meet us think? First we would be constantly thinking about the Lord and that would give us a sense of peace as we realized that our salvation was assured. That peace would overcome any turbulence in our lives, people would not upset us, and the actions of inconsiderate people would roll off us. People who met us would be amazed at our unruffled demeanor.

Next, people would notice our actions which would reflect the compassion and love of Jesus in all that we did, with all we met. That would be a dead ringer – we belong to Christ and are at peace with what he has for us.

It would be very interesting to see how long we could maintain that excellent mindset today. What do you think? Should we give it a try?

Pax