Friday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

(Optional Memorial for Saint Lawrence Ruiz, Martyr, and His Companions, Martyrs) or

(Optional Memorial for Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr)

Texts for the Memorial of St. Lawrence Ruiz and his companions may be taken from the Common of Martyrs.

Biographical information about St. Lawrence Ruiz and his companions

Proper for the Memorial of St. Wenceslaus

Biographical information about St. Wenceslaus

“The Handing-over the Keys” by Sanzio Raffaello, 1515

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

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]

Commentary:

Reading 1: Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

Commentary on Eccl 3:1-11

This famous passage from Ecclesiastes begins by emphasizing that there is a correct order of events dictated by God (see also Proverbs 15:23, 25:11). The sequence of events in human life (birth, death, happiness and sadness) are ordered and ordained by God alone (timeless). Mankind cannot change time. As a consequence, the faithful should enjoy what comes to them as a gift from God.

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 144:1b and 2abc, 3-4

R. (1) Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

Commentary on Ps 144:1b and 2abc, 3-4

Psalm 144, taken in its entirety, is difficult to classify. It opens with a lament, however, in the strophes in this selection, it concludes in thanksgiving (v. 12-15). Supporting the theme of the powerlessness of mankind and human frailty, these first verses present a plea, in humility, to an all-powerful creator.

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Gospel: Luke 9:18-22

Commentary on Lk 9:18-22

As is frequently the case in St. Luke’s Gospel, we find the Lord at prayer. When asked by the Lord about the attitude of the people, the disciples answer much like the counselors of Herod did in Luke 9:7-9 with identities of John the Baptist and Elijah. St. Peter answers for the group when asked about Jesus’ identity, pronouncing him the Messiah. (see also commentary on Matthew 16:13-20)

CCC: Lk 9:18-20 2600

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Reflection:

The episode describing Jesus walking with his disciples and asking them who the people say he is has been repeated several times in this past year both in weekday liturgies and Sunday Mass readings.  This is no accident.  The question is important for the disciples and for us.

Today’s iteration of this story was actually set up by, and can be contrasted to, this same question asked by King Herod in the previous verses.  When Herod asked his advisers, they gave essentially the same answers as the Lord’s disciples when first asked.  It is clear from these two sets of responses that, at the time he walked the earth as man, Jesus was known to be something very special.

“They said in reply, ‘John the Baptist; others, Elijah.’” These first two responses are significant in that Elijah’s return, according to Hebrew tradition, would announce the coming of the Messiah.  Many contemporaries of St. John said he was Elijah returned.  St. John the Baptist, in addition to prefiguring Christ, served the same role as Elijah in his time.  By associating Jesus with these two figures, the Gospel sets St Peter up for the revelatory statement identifying Jesus as “The Christ of God,” Christ, the Anointed One, the Deliverer, the Messiah!

This identification for us is anticlimactic.  We already profess Jesus as the Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God.  But saying it with our lips is not nearly as important as knowing it in our hearts.  When we feel that relationship emotionally, as opposed to knowing it logically, something important changes in how we think and act.  We have been taught from our earliest memories (those of us born into a Christian family) that Jesus is the Messiah, born of Mary on Christmas, died on Good Friday, risen on Easter.  We know these facts like we know that parts of the North American Continent were once British colonies.

Asking ourselves Jesus’ question: “But who do you say that I am?” we must look to our hearts and find there the answer.  Not a fact but something more – faith must inform us because only faith can reveal the answer.  Jesus tells St. Peter as much in St. Matthew’s version of this story when he said: “…flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” (Matthew 16:17)

Today we depend upon faith to answer for our hearts as Jesus once more turns to us in scripture asking that remarkable question: “But who do you say that I am?”  We pray our hearts respond in a way pleasing to him, and in doing so motivate us to be true followers as well as believers.

Pax

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[1] The picture used today is “The Handing-over the Keys” by Sanzio Raffaello, 1515.

[2] S.S. Commemoratio

Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest

“St. Vincent de Paul” 
Artist and Date are UNKNOWN.

Proper for the Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul

Biographical information about St. Vincent de Paul

Readings for Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time [1]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]

Commentary:

Reading 1: Ecclesiastes 1:2-11

Commentary on Eccl 1:2-11

The book of Ecclesiastes is concerned with the purpose of human existence. In these introductory verses the author, Qoheleth (thought to be Solomon by some scholars), reflects upon the timelessness of creation, and the continuity of human activity (“Nothing new under the sun [on earth]”). The futility of man's attempt at revelation leads later into the unknowable nature of God’s plan.

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17bc

R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

 

Commentary on Ps 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17bc

The psalm in its entirety is a communal lament. The strophes in this selection reflect on the mortality of humanity, and the brevity of human life. (It is also an example of the human understanding that God’s immortal view of time is not like ours.) The sense of human mortality and the questioning nature of the strophes echo the thoughts of Qoheleth (Solomon) in Ecclesiastes 1:2-11.

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Gospel: Luke 9:7-9

Commentary on Lk 9:7-9

This passage from St. Luke’s Gospel begins a section that assembles incidents from the life of the Lord. In this introduction, King Herod asks the question, “Who then is this about whom I hear such things?” The proposed identities of Jesus coincide directly with the later report of the disciples to Jesus in Luke 9:18-19. Confusion about Jesus’ identity will be clarified in the subsequent passages as his divinity is revealed.

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Reflection:

In our constant struggle to understand God’s will for us, we often feel the desperate emotion expressed in the first readings from Ecclesiastes: “Even the thing of which we say, ‘See, this is new!’ has already existed in the ages that preceded us.” We see the events unfold in the Gospel and say to ourselves, “I see what this means.” Or, “This must apply to my life this way.” Yet we realize later, especially when reading works of the Patristic Fathers, that our revelation was nothing new, and the question we had answered for ourselves had been answered more thoroughly thousands of years before.

The great advantage we have over poor Qoheleth, the author of Ecclesiastes, is that Jesus came to reveal more perfectly God’s intent. While the ultimate plan of God remains unknowable, our intended role in that plan is revealed, in part, by the way Jesus lived his human life, and commanded his disciples to act. In turn, those Apostles took what Jesus gave, recorded it in sacred scripture, and passed it on through people of deep faith, so that we might understand more clearly our own role in God’s eternal plan.

Is that role perfectly clear? In all but extraordinary cases, the answer is no. Our role in God’s plan, the part he intends for us to play, is revealed only slowly, and sometimes only in retrospect. For our part, we are cast in a role something like Herod in the Gospel from Luke today. We want to understand who Jesus is (in our lives), and how we need to apply what he asks of us. Unlike Herod, who is driven by intense guilt over having ordered the death of St. John the Baptist in a lust-filled moment, we seek Christ knowing his divine nature, with faith in his infinite love and mercy.

We pledge this day to continue to seek what Jesus calls us to be. Understanding our great flaws and weakness, we nonetheless apply ourselves to discipleship as best we can. We have faith that, in the final judgment, we will be shown the love and mercy we deserve by the one who came so those flaws and weaknesses might be washed away, and we will enjoy the promise our Savior came to make.

Pax

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[1] The picture is “St. Vincent de Paul” Artist and Date are UNKNOWN.

[2] S.S. Commemoratio

Wednesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

(Optional Memorial for Saints Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs)

Proper for the Memorial of Sts. Cosmas and Damian

Biographical Information about Sts. Cosmas and Damian

“The Twelve Sent Out” by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1851-60

Readings for Wednesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time [1]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]

Commentary:

Reading 1: Proverbs 30:5-9

Commentary on Prv 30:5-9

This passage from Proverbs, part of the oracle of Agur (likely the name of the oracle rather than a person), focuses on humility and trust. Trust in God makes the lived word of God protection from pride and sin. This is followed with an exhortation to never forget that it is through God’s bounty all things come. The oracle prays that great wealth and abundance never come if the recipient forgets God, and instead worships the bounty given.

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 119:29, 72, 89, 101, 104, 163

R. (105) Your word, O Lord, is a lamp for my feet.

Commentary on Ps 119:29, 72, 89, 101, 104, 163

Psalm 119, in this section, is an individual lament asking for God’s support in times of difficulty. From this, the longest of the psalms, the strophes ask for the psalmist to be strengthened in the truth, and given wisdom that comes from the law.

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Gospel: Luke 9:1-6

Commentary on Lk 9:1-6

St. Luke’s description of the mission of the Twelve is also recounted (with some differences) in Mark 6:7-13 and Matthew 10:1-9,11,14. Because of these differences (e.g. Matthew and Luke forbid a staff and sandals but Mark allows them), and assuming that St. Mark’s Gospel was closest to Jesus' words, we can assume that Matthew and Luke were spiritualizing Jesus' instructions to a point. Similarly: “because of the necessity of shaking off foreign dust before entering the Jerusalem temple and the prohibition against bringing profane money into the sacred precincts (John 2:14), the passage can be interpreted metaphorically: in all your undertakings, act as though you are standing in God’s presence; enter the home of each Christian as you would the Temple of God.”[4]

“Armed with the power and authority that Jesus himself has been displaying in the previous episodes, the Twelve are now sent out to continue the work that Jesus has been performing throughout his Galilean ministry:”[5] They are to rely completely on the Lord, being part of the world but set apart from it.

CCC: Lk 9:2 551

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Reflection:

We ask this question: if nothing we own has a hold on us, how much better disciples would we be? Today, secular society places such emphasis on having “things” that we see people from whom those things are taken completely broken mentally, even to the point of taking their own lives. Today we see Jesus sending his disciples into the world, and we note he tells them not to take anything with them.

We consider for a moment why he did this. If they have nothing; if they are completely dependent upon the good will of others for their sustenance, they will certainly be humble (we at this point marvel at the Lord’s humility – him to whom all things from all time belong yet so humble.). Nothing will hold them back from doing the right things. No robber can threaten them; no angry mob could take anything from them. The treasure they carry is in their hearts and souls.

We hear an echo of the need for humility in the reading from Proverbs. The oracle says: “give me neither poverty nor riches; provide me only with the food I need; Lest, being full, I deny you.” Great wealth, great bounty, distracts the faithful if it is allowed to do so. Consider for the moment what many of us consider a basic necessity, our house or home. With homeownership comes responsibility. One must dedicate time to upkeep, to maintain the house; the roof, the paint, the utilities, and appliances within the house. All of these things require time, effort, and money that must be made in some occupation.

There is a good reason religious brothers and sisters take vows of poverty. They pray that nothing may tempt or distract them from service to God. For most of us, poverty is an accident if it occurs, and we are somewhat encumbered by “things.” Our challenge is to maintain an attitude where the things we need to contribute to our own upkeep do not distract us to the point where we become arrogant or consumed by the material world. Our prayer today is that we might focus our efforts on God’s glory and not simply the things of the world.

Pax

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[1] The picture used today is “The Twelve Sent Out” by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1851-60

[2] S.S. Commemoratio

[4] See Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 44:84 p.140.

[5] See NAB footnote on Luke 9:1-6.