Friday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

(Optional Memorial for Saint Hedwig, Religious)

(Optional Memorial for Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin)

 

Proper for the Memorial of St.Hedwig

 

Proper for the Memorial of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

“Return of the Prodigal Son” 
by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1667-70

 

Readings for Friday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time [1][2]

 

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

 

Readings and Commentary: [3]

 

Reading 1: Romans 4:1-8

 

Commentary on Rom 4:1-8

 

St. Paul, in this passage, addresses the gift of salvation through faith in the One God.  It is a gift given to Abraham and David who worked to follow God’s command but did not “earn” faith through these actions – it was a gift as was the salvation that flowed through it.

 

This selection may seem to contradict St. James statement that our justification or salvation comes only through faith supported by actions.  However he (St. James) was speaking of extremists who used St. Paul’s argument to support moral self-determination.

 

CCC: Rom 4:3 146

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 32:1b-2, 5, 11

 

R. (see 7) I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.

 

Commentary on Ps 32:1b-2, 5, 11

 

Psalm 32 is an individual song of thanksgiving, rejoicing for the one whose sins are forgiven. The psalmist gives thanks for God’s saving work, emphasizing that only He can deliver man from sin. Placed following here following the Mosaic instruction to cast out the unclean and the understanding that this condition was caused by falling into sin, the song takes on a deeper meaning for those who were healed through God’s mercy.

 

CCC: Ps 32 304; Ps 32:5 1502

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Gospel: Luke 12:1-7

 

Commentary on Lk 12:1-7

 

St. Luke continues to present us with a collection of sayings of Jesus passed on to his disciples.  In this passage he first warns them about adopting the style and attitude of the Pharisees whose “holier than thou” attitude was a veneer for their internal sin.  The Lord tells them that there is nothing that can be hidden from God and that all will be made clear in the final judgment.

 

He goes on to encourage them, telling them that God will watch over them.  He uses the analogy of the sacrificial animals as a metaphor for the attacks they will encounter from the Jewish leadership and how God will uphold them.

 

CCC: Lk 12:1-3 678; Lk 12:6-7 342

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Reflection:

 

Eddie Haskell was a character on the 1950’s TV Series “Leave it to Beaver”.  Eddie was the kid everyone knew.  He was the model of propriety when adults were present, but as soon as those in authority left, he became the devil’s advocate encouraging “the Beaver” and his brother Wally to ignore common sense, parental authority, and even the law in some cases.  Eddie is the archetype of what Jesus lays at the feet of the Pharisees in St. Luke’s Gospel.

 

He sees clearly into the hearts of these supposedly pious men.  He sees their condescending attitudes and twisted values laid bear and he mourns them for they have fallen.  They have fallen and the perch they have placed themselves upon is high up in the moral air.  It is the same claim about which St. Paul speaks as he addresses the Romans.  He explains that the Jews that claim a place in God’s Kingdom based merely upon their ancestry; their relation to Abraham and David, have no rights what so ever if not supported by faith.

 

The message passed on to us today is cautionary.  Just because we call ourselves Christian or Catholic does not secure God’s grace for us.  The Lord sees clearly into our hearts, just as he saw the sin in the Pharisees.  The greater our authority, the higher our perceived rank among the faithful, the higher the bar is set for our interior spirit and the actions that flow from it.

 

We see this evidence so clearly in the saints; the humility and holiness they posses that quite literally overflows the bounds of flesh and cascades as light into the world around them.  We contrast this bounty of grace with our own station in life and see the paradox to which we aspire.  If we wish to lead we must serve; if we would pour out the riches of faith upon others, we must empty ourselves.

 

Today our prayer must be simple; let Eddie Haskell be no part of us.  Today we ask the Lord to give us a heart that is pure and simple that we might offer that purity to others and bring them to his Most Sacred Heart.

 

Pax

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[1] S.S. Commemoratio

[2] The picture is “Return of the Prodigal Son” by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1667-70