Pope
Biographical Information about St. Pius X[1]
Readings for Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible (For the Memorial of St. Pius X)
Commentary:
Reading 1 Ezekiel 36:23-28
The prophet envisions the blessings of God being poured out upon the faithful, transforming them with an interior conversion of heart such that they become a sign of God’s great power to all the lands. (“Thus the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.”) This conversion is initiated by cleansing (“I will sprinkle clean water upon you”) and only God may do this; forgiveness is His alone. The process is continued with an indelible change of heart accomplished this time through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (“I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you”). This process, once completed, brings forth a new creation and heavenly adoption. (“…you shall be my people, and I will be your God.”) Theologically, this passage embodies the modern understanding of the gifts given in the Sacrament of Baptism.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
Psalm 51 is the fourth and most famous of the penitential psalms. The psalmist sings in these verses that only God can reverse the awful affects of sin. Through this action, taken by the Holy Spirit, God’s salvation is made manifest in the repentant and contrite heart.
Gospel Matthew 22:1-14
St. Matthew’s Gospel presents us with the parable of the King's Wedding Feast. The reference to the first servants sent to invite the guests were the Prophets, rejected or misunderstood by the Jewish Leadership. The second servants sent represent Christ Himself who here predicts his own death at the hands of the people he was sent to invite.
In the second section, we see the feast that was prepared for God’s chosen people, the Hebrew Nation, those first invited, is left unattended. Therefore God’s mercy is extended to all people of all nations. There is a warning at the end. Those not clothed in Christ who attempt to enter by deception will be punished severely.
Homily:
Today we think first about the orphan. An orphan is defined as “A child who has been deprived of parental care and has not been adopted.[3]” In wealthier and more developed countries orphans are generally institutionalized or placed in foster care where they are provided for – given the basics; food, shelter, and medical attention. They are sent to school when they are of age and, in listening to some of their stories we find that many end up at the poorest end of the social spectrum.
Yet the orphans in developed countries are far better off than those in poorer regions of the world. In Africa (where there will be staggering numbers of orphans due in part to the Aids epidemic social infrastructure is lacking these children are left to fend for themselves, often victims to the most heinous crimes committed against children. Of course this potentially huge population of orphans is off-set by the fact that the mortality rate among children between birth and five years of age is about one in four due to malaria.
The first time we heard these numbers or saw the images we may have been shocked. However, in an ironic twist, thanks to the constant diet of TV ads for financial aid for these disadvantaged children, we have become somewhat unaffected by their plight.
Our consideration of orphans was not to drum up financial support of these unfortunate victims of either fate or institutional ineptitude (definatly prayers though), but rather to draw an analogy between the orphaned state and the adopted state. An adopted child is accepted into the home of caring parents. They are not just given the basics as the best treated orphans receive, but something more; something that makes all the difference – love. And love makes all the difference in the world. Without love the human spirit dies and when this spirit is dead in a child they can no longer feel, see or in anyway perceive God who is love.
We fortunate Christians have been adopted by God through our baptism. Before that adoption we had what the world offered – food, shelter, and the support of people with whom we had contact. Like the orphan in an institution or foster care – we were given what was needed to live. As many orphaned children find, the basics are not enough. Without love, the self becomes hard and existence becomes just a series of events to be dealt with. Happiness is elusive and fleeting.
In our adoption by God we were made new. The Holy Spirit replaced those stony hearts and made them natural hearts. The love of God infuses us with the warmth of a parent who so loves us that He sent his Only Son to us to make sure we knew we were invited into this special relationship.
Today we rejoice in our call to faith and the Baptism by which we were adopted into the community of believers. We now go forward to become what God called us to be and; “Thus the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.”
Pax
[1] The photograph of St. Pius X was taken from a book authored by Karl Benzinger published in 1907. Photographer is UNKNOWN
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
[3] Orphan. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved August 21, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Orphan
Biographical Information about St. Pius X[1]
Readings for Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible (For the Memorial of St. Pius X)
Commentary:
Reading 1 Ezekiel 36:23-28
The prophet envisions the blessings of God being poured out upon the faithful, transforming them with an interior conversion of heart such that they become a sign of God’s great power to all the lands. (“Thus the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.”) This conversion is initiated by cleansing (“I will sprinkle clean water upon you”) and only God may do this; forgiveness is His alone. The process is continued with an indelible change of heart accomplished this time through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (“I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you”). This process, once completed, brings forth a new creation and heavenly adoption. (“…you shall be my people, and I will be your God.”) Theologically, this passage embodies the modern understanding of the gifts given in the Sacrament of Baptism.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
Psalm 51 is the fourth and most famous of the penitential psalms. The psalmist sings in these verses that only God can reverse the awful affects of sin. Through this action, taken by the Holy Spirit, God’s salvation is made manifest in the repentant and contrite heart.
Gospel Matthew 22:1-14
St. Matthew’s Gospel presents us with the parable of the King's Wedding Feast. The reference to the first servants sent to invite the guests were the Prophets, rejected or misunderstood by the Jewish Leadership. The second servants sent represent Christ Himself who here predicts his own death at the hands of the people he was sent to invite.
In the second section, we see the feast that was prepared for God’s chosen people, the Hebrew Nation, those first invited, is left unattended. Therefore God’s mercy is extended to all people of all nations. There is a warning at the end. Those not clothed in Christ who attempt to enter by deception will be punished severely.
Homily:
Today we think first about the orphan. An orphan is defined as “A child who has been deprived of parental care and has not been adopted.[3]” In wealthier and more developed countries orphans are generally institutionalized or placed in foster care where they are provided for – given the basics; food, shelter, and medical attention. They are sent to school when they are of age and, in listening to some of their stories we find that many end up at the poorest end of the social spectrum.
Yet the orphans in developed countries are far better off than those in poorer regions of the world. In Africa (where there will be staggering numbers of orphans due in part to the Aids epidemic social infrastructure is lacking these children are left to fend for themselves, often victims to the most heinous crimes committed against children. Of course this potentially huge population of orphans is off-set by the fact that the mortality rate among children between birth and five years of age is about one in four due to malaria.
The first time we heard these numbers or saw the images we may have been shocked. However, in an ironic twist, thanks to the constant diet of TV ads for financial aid for these disadvantaged children, we have become somewhat unaffected by their plight.
Our consideration of orphans was not to drum up financial support of these unfortunate victims of either fate or institutional ineptitude (definatly prayers though), but rather to draw an analogy between the orphaned state and the adopted state. An adopted child is accepted into the home of caring parents. They are not just given the basics as the best treated orphans receive, but something more; something that makes all the difference – love. And love makes all the difference in the world. Without love the human spirit dies and when this spirit is dead in a child they can no longer feel, see or in anyway perceive God who is love.
We fortunate Christians have been adopted by God through our baptism. Before that adoption we had what the world offered – food, shelter, and the support of people with whom we had contact. Like the orphan in an institution or foster care – we were given what was needed to live. As many orphaned children find, the basics are not enough. Without love, the self becomes hard and existence becomes just a series of events to be dealt with. Happiness is elusive and fleeting.
In our adoption by God we were made new. The Holy Spirit replaced those stony hearts and made them natural hearts. The love of God infuses us with the warmth of a parent who so loves us that He sent his Only Son to us to make sure we knew we were invited into this special relationship.
Today we rejoice in our call to faith and the Baptism by which we were adopted into the community of believers. We now go forward to become what God called us to be and; “Thus the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.”
Pax
[1] The photograph of St. Pius X was taken from a book authored by Karl Benzinger published in 1907. Photographer is UNKNOWN
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
[3] Orphan. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved August 21, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Orphan
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