There are only two weeks left of the liturgical year, and so our readings will focus on the eschatological or end times. These writings are also called apocalyptic because they unveil or reveal hope to a people in dark times of oppression. They are addressing the issue of where is God in the midst of our suffering.

Their focus is not that we are to know the exact time and hour of the end, as Jesus revealed in the Gospel: “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mk 13:32).

The focus instead is, as recorded in our first reading from Daniel: whose name is written in the book (Daniel 12:1)? and in Hebrews10:12, that Jesus took his seat at the right hand of God forever.

What our readings reveal for us today is that what is important is relationship. We are not written in the book of life by some predestined oracle such that we are merely pawns on God’s chessboard. We are written in the book of life because we have been saying yes to the invitation of building our relationship with Jesus and his Father through the love of the Holy Spirt.

Today, we, as have those in the times of the Bible, are experiencing division, polarization, abuse, and violence, such that it appears like our church, society, and government are coming apart at the seams.

Yet we do not have to give in to indifference, cynicism, despair, or retaliate with hate or violence. We need to remember our first love. We need to deepen our relationship with Jesus who conquered death and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father. We need to be open to building relationships with each other.

Viktor Frankl in his book Man’s Search for Meaning wrote:

“We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in numbers but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: The last of his freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.’

The answer to the growing and present darkness is not to curve in on oneself, to hide in our shell, to put our head in the sand. We can choose to reach out, be present and accompany one another.

Jesus built the Church one person, one relationship at a time. We are to do the same. At our parish, St Peter, for the past two years we have been implementing this model of building small groups of relationships. In these small weekly groups, we come together to learn more about our faith and share our journey together.

A strength of our small group is that we respect the diversity of our own viewpoints. We each see issues in our unique perspectives and do not always agree with each other but we afford one another the opportunity to share our various viewpoints freely and openly, while respecting and loving each other in the process.

By engaging in authentic and respectful dialogue, we can vent, listen, encourage, provide support, share advice, and lean on each other with each of the struggles that we face and the joys we experience. As we do so, we dismantle walls of division and dehumanization and instead build bridges of encounter by broadening our experience, vision and perspective. Daniel shared in our first reading:

“the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.”

We shine like stars in the growing darkness of division and polarization by living out our baptismal call, by listening to, caring for and serving one another, by building relationships of love and support.

Photo: Engaged in dialogue with my brother, mentor and friend Dr. Sixto Garcia.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, November 18, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111818.cfm

Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary (Lk 18:1).

Persistence in prayer is not changing God. We are not wearing him down like the woman did with the judge. God does not need us, we need him. Our persistence, our daily habit of prayer, changes us, helps us to develop our relationship by interacting with him more consistently. Things happening in our lives help us to see that we are fragile and vulnerable and in need of help. Our persistence in prayer, especially when we are in need, helps us to become more patient and to become more aware that, sometimes, what we believe is a crisis is not that much of one when some time passes. Also, when we are dealing with a crisis or very real trauma, our persistence and faithfulness in prayer will help us to experience the closeness of Jesus in our midst as he accompanies us through our suffering.

In fact, the practice of stopping everything and praying for five minutes when a crisis arises, often helps us to resist slipping into a fight or flight mode, helps us to resist reacting, and some breathing while praying helps us to act more prudently than impulsively. We may also come to see that what we thought was a crisis, was more of a problem to be solved than something catastrophic. Our instant reactions to perceived crisis can often escalate an issue rather than de-escalate one.

In the greater scope of things, God does answer all prayers of petition or intercession by saying yes, no, or not yet! Most seem to fall in the not yet or not the way we originally intended category. Remaining patient and faithful can help us to move away from seeking to conform God to our will and instead allowing God to expand our hearts and minds to his will. Our persistence in prayer also helps us to move away from seeking instant gratification to one where we trust in God’s will and timing. Sometimes we become grateful for what appears to be unanswered prayers because with time, hindsight, some distance, we find the original request was more an apparent than an actual good. As Garth Brooks sings, “Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers.”

Persistence in prayer is also a discipline that deepens the roots of our relationship with God. Ready access through our modern technology, higher internet speeds, one click access, overnight shipping can offer plusses, but we have to be careful that this mindset does not shape our mental, psychological, and spiritual growth. Physical fitness, wisdom, or spiritual maturity does not happen in an instant. Development as human beings takes time, experience, discipline, prayer, and trust in God’s plan.

Patience, persistence in prayer, freeing ourselves from attachment, developing an authentic relationship with God and one another are all worth the time and effort. May we take some time to breathe deeply, slow down our pace, discipline ourselves to resist even small acts of instant gratification today. Let us look back upon those experiences in which what we initially sought from God in prayer actually changed over time to something better than our initial request, and be grateful for trusting in his guiding hand instead of our impulsiveness.

May we also recall those experiences where we wanted to give up but instead were persistent in prayer and that persistence brought about fruitful results! Reflecting in this way can also help us to see where God has not abandoned us in our time of suffering, but was accompanying us through it. God has our back, we can trust in that.

—————————————————————————-

Photo: Stopping by the chapel at St Thomas University to pray before a workshop last month.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, November 17, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111718.cfm

In today’s Gospel account, Jesus is continuing his answer to the Pharisees’ question about “when the kingdom of God would come” (Lk 17:20). Jesus reminds them about how during the time of Noah and during the time of Lot many were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, buying, selling, planting, building (cf. Lk 17:26-29). In effect, other than Noah and Lot, and those few listening to them, no one else had any clue about the impending calamity. They were so absorbed in their own pursuits and desires they did not heed the warnings of Noah and Lot.

Another focal point was on those who were attached to material and finite things. When the final hour came, people on the rooftop or in the field were directed not to go back and get their possessions. Jesus pointed out succinctly, “Remember the wife of Lot” (Lk 17:32). Lot left Sodom with his wife, she did so physically, though she could not resist looking back, she was too tied to what she was leaving behind, and so she lost herself to her attachments.

Spending time speculating when the end will come is a pointless pursuit. What is important is to be aware of the kingdom of God in our midst, developing a relationship with God now. Matthew shared in his gospel account that Jesus stated only the Father knows the time or the hour as to when the end will come (cf. Mt 24:36). If we are only going to prepare at the final hour, we may be too late.

Asking, “When will the kingdom of God come?” also misses the point of what Jesus is teaching us. There is an intrinsic value in developing a relationship with God and one another, growing and maturing as a disciple, instead of fulfilling our own self interest. Jesus shared this truth in the first words of his public ministry, that the kingdom of God is at hand. All we need to do is reach right out and grasp his hand and walk with him.

For the Pharisees, this meant letting go of their own power and prestige and instead participate in the living reality of God in their midst. So many of us are caught up in the day to day affairs of existing, we are so busy, that we are barely living. We can be so distracted by false lures and attractions of security and gratification, wealth, power, pleasure, and honor, that we miss what is for our highest hope and good. Jesus is inviting us to wake up, to breathe deep, to slow down, and to be aware that he walks among us. Jesus calls us, as Lot called his wife, to keep our focus on God and the things of heaven.

Lord Jesus, help us to recognize when we are caught up in the busyness of life, when we are choosing to put our self first, and where we are attached and bound up to empty pursuits. Guide us, such that we, in the words of Pope Francis, “understand what faith means when we open ourselves to the immense love of God that changes us inwardly and enables us to see our lives with new eyes” (Costello 2013, 12). Eyes that see the kingdom of God in our midst.

————————————————

Photo: JoAnn, Jack, and Christy hiking ahead of me during our California visit with them in December 2015

Costello, Gwen. Walking With Pope Francis: Thirty Days with the Encyclical The Light of Faith. New London, CT: Twenty Third Publications, 2013.

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, November 16, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111618.cfm

Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, 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” (Lk 17:20-21).

Many of the Pharisees were scrutinizing Jesus’ every word and action, unfortunately, with a hard heart. They were closed to the reality present before them because they were looking for ways to accuse him, to catch him, to have cause to show him to be a fraud. They were closed to the actual events happening around Jesus that the blind saw, the deaf heard, the lame walked, lepers were healed, the dead had arisen, and the poor had the good news proclaimed to them (cf. Matthew 11:5).

They missed the very reality that the Kingdom of God was in their midst. We see this very much today through a mental posturing of “scientism”, the belief that the only reality is that which can be measured empirically, through the five senses. Scientists have brought about many advances and innovations that we enjoy today, yet there is a reality beyond the physical. This is the spiritual, which transcends time and space, transcends the three dimensional reality that we experience and are aware of through our senses. We understand the world around us best when we embrace both the physical and spiritual, as well as our reason and faith.

If our mind is closed to an idea, a reality, and/or a belief we will not only resist believing, we will also seek rationalizations to explain it away as did some of the Pharisees. From a hyper sensitivity to only the physical, we can brush off acts of synchronicity as mere coincidence. While if we are open to a spiritual reality of interconnectedness beyond that which we can measure in a finite way, these incidences can be termed God-incidences.

We cannot solve or prove God like a problem because God is not in the genus of being, he is not an animal, a human, an angelic, spiritual, or even a supreme being. There are no words to adequately describe him. We can say more about what he is not than what or who he is! The best attempts we have are in the phrasing of St Thomas Aquinas, that God is an Infinite Act of Existence. Or as God said to Moses, “I am, who am” (Exodus 3:14). God is completely transcendent, beyond categories, beyond genus, beyond the grasp of our finite minds, yet we can experience him because God is closer to us than we are to ourselves.

The most unique and powerful way we come to know God is through Jesus, who is fully divine as the Son of God and fully human, born of Mary. Jesus reveals the Father to us. As we spend time with Jesus, in personal prayer and communal worship, through the hearing and study of his word, in the sacraments, through our interactions and service with one another, and allowing ourselves to meditate and contemplate in his presence, we come to know Jesus. We also come to know God his Father, and the love shared between them, the Holy Spirit. As Jesus said to Philip, “Whoever has seen me, has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9).

The Kingdom of God is among us because Jesus is who he said he is. Jesus is the Godman in our midst. This calls for a change on our part. We need to let go of anything that prevents us from coming closer to him. May we allow Jesus to be Jesus and resist the temptation to compartmentalize, overanalyze or to limit who Jesus is.

May we be still before his presence so to allow him to free us from our own limitations, sins, fears, doubts, and anxieties. May we not so much seek to bring down, confine and limit him to our finite perspective, but pray for Jesus to expand, our minds, hearts, and souls so our awareness can be broader and deeper such that we experience his presence in our daily life.

———————————————————-

Photo: Roberta Veracruz Mexico by robygfurber at cathopic.com

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, November 15, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111518.cfm

Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you” (Lk 17:17-19).

Bloodline doesn’t matter, gender doesn’t matter, nation doesn’t matter, ethnicity or race doesn’t matter. Ask Mary the mother of Jesus, ask the woman who suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years, ask the Roman centurion whose slave was dying, ask the Samaritan leper what matters. Each of them will share with us that what matters is our faith in Jesus the Christ.

The lifeblood of Christianity is our belief, faith in, and developing our relationship with Jesus, the Son of God, who made his dwelling among us. St Irenaeus of Lyons (born in Smyrna about 135-140 AD and died about 202-203 AD) in his work Against the Heresies wrote: “The Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did through His transcendent love, become what we are, that he might bring us to be even what He is himself.”

That Jesus became one with us in our humanity so that we could be one with him in is divinity is something to be thankful for! May we follow the lead of the leper from today’s Gospel and make some time to thank Jesus today. May we thank him for our very life, his constant presence, and the wonderful gift of his invitation to share in his divinity.

———————————————————————

Painting: The Sacred Heart of Jesus by Charles Bosseron Chambers

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, November 14, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111418.cfm

“When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do'” (Lk 17:10).

This can be a hard verse to digest at first glance, especially with our track record of slavery in the U.S. We need to remember and recognize that this was a teaching that Jesus shared in a different time period, in a different culture, and in a place far removed from any clear modern context. The master/slave relationship is also a theme that Luke returns to often.

Another important point to touch upon when reading the Gospels is that when Jesus made the statement that, “we are unprofitable servants; we have done what we are obliged to do”, we are not to read this verse in isolation from the full context of Scripture. Jesus himself modeled service at the last supper when he washed his disciples’ feet (cf. Jn 13:1-17). This was the lowest of menial tasks. St Paul wrote to the Galatians informing them that in the Body of Christ there is no Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male nor female (cf. Galatians 3:28). The ultimate point, is God is God and we are not, while at the same time, we all have a part to play in participating in promoting the kingdom of God.

The teaching that Jesus conveyed was that as a disciple we are not to seek adulation and glory. We are to serve God without hesitation and one another. We are not to ask in the words of James and John, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left” (Mk 10:37). As disciples, we serve for the intrinsic joy of following the will of God.

When I oversee students in our cafeteria during retreats and other opportunities, as they finish eating, instead of telling them to pick up after themselves, I begin to pick up their plates and trash. I serve them. Some are quite happy to receive the service, some will say thank you, while others will join in to assist. My hope is that if I am willing to serve, so will others.

May we be open to serve God and one another today. No task is too menial or beneath us, nor do we need to be concerned about doing big and grandiose things. We just need to be obedient and act as God leads us. Each chance we have, to smile, to hold a door, to acknowledge a prejudice and be willing to interact with someone who we have considered as “other”, to be patient instead of losing our temper, to listen or be understanding, is an opportunity to say to someone that they have dignity and worth.

Each small act of kindness, is an opportunity to serve and to love. As St Mother Teresa said, we are to be a pencil in God’s hand. In our willingness to be moved by God to serve, we and those in our realm of influence will be better for the effort. Our country and world are in desperate need of some unconditional acts of kindness and service.

———————————————————

Photo credit: L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO/POOL PHOTO VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, November 13, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111318.cfm

“If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him” (Lk 17:3-4).

Forgiveness is a cornerstone of our faith tradition as Christians. If we question or struggle with the degree of forgiveness we engage in, we are in good company with Peter, thinking he was being generous, Peter asked Jesus how many times should he forgive, seven times? Jesus responded, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times” (cf. Mt 18:21-22).

Luke records the exchange of the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray. He taught them the Our Father or Lord’s Prayer. While reciting this prayer often each day or multiple times each day, we say, “Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” or “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” (Mt 6:11-12).

One of the barometers of being a faithful disciple of Jesus is that we are people who practice the sacred art of forgiveness. To forgive does not mean in any way that we justify the offense or even necessarily forget. We are to hold people accountable and lead them to respect our dignity and the dignity of others.

Holding on to grudges, seeking revenge, being unwilling to forgive, can be incapacitating, debilitating, and can lead to a premature as well as an eternal death. What can help is to resist reacting to the offense and instead assume a posture of understanding, as we do not know what another is going through or dealing with. This is not a justification for the harm done, but a way to release the pain and possibly to bring support and healing to the one who has inflicted us.

We are also not expected to forgive on our own will power alone. Jesus himself on the cross sought the aid of his Father: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34).

We may struggle with being forgiving because we have not sought forgiveness ourselves. Advent is coming. This season as we prepare to celebrate the coming of Jesus into our lives, it is a good practice to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Forgiveness is a healing gift of God’s grace. Once we have felt the healing balm of forgiveness, we might be more willing to forgive others. Then we can begin to call to mind someone you have not forgiven.

Find a place of quiet, ask God to help you to forgive, even if your prayer begins, “God, I cannot forgive, I hurt too much, but help me to let go, please help me to forgive, (insert name).” Return each day until you can bring yourself to say, “I forgive, (insert name).” Visualize yourself saying that you forgive the person face to face. If the opportunity presents itself you may want to say that you forgive the person directly, send an email, or write a letter – even if you do not press send or mail it.

With the intent to forgive and the help of Jesus who has forgiven us, even if in the beginning we are unwilling, with time, reconciliation is possible. Let us remember: “Forgive and you will be forgiven”.

——————————————————————–

Photo: One of my quiet places to pray at home and seek forgiveness.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, November 12, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111218.cfm

It appears like our church, society, and government is coming apart at the seams.

What is the answer and what can we to do?

First and foremost, we need to acknowledge that we are suffering. We can’t hide, run, shop, drink or medicate our problems away. We need to realize that we are not alone in our suffering and pain. God is present in our midst, we can find support in him and one another as well as be support for one another.

We also need not buy into fear, hopelessness, or hate.

We need to be faithful disciples. We need to turn to and align our will with God, know and live our faith.

We need to trust as did the widow of Zarephath from our first reading and the poor widow giving her last two coins to the temple treasury in the Gospel,“…she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood” (Mk 12:44).

Each of these women were practicing a spiritual physics that defied what appeared to be the reality before them. Each had barely nothing, one last meal and two coins, yet they gave all they had, trusting that God would provide for them. They trusted in God’s providential care.

Each of us, the baptized, are the Church, each of us have a unique and particular part to play in God’s plan. Gathering together each week to worship, to be encouraged, to learn about our faith, to become holy in our participation in the life of Jesus, and to pray for the needs of our world is a significant counter to the culture of death.

As people of faith we are to aspire to care for one another and creation, to resist the temptation to divide, demean, and define people as other and instead see each other as God sees us, as brothers and sisters. Elijah and the widow of Zarephath saw each other as human beings not people of different ethnicity or faith traditions. Each were in need, trusted in God, and supported one another.

I just read a short piece by Fr. Matt Malone in the October 29 issue of America Magazine, about an account of his recent pilgrimage in northern Spain. At one stop, the mountaintop shrine of Our Lady of Arantzazu, he met Brother Antonio a man of quiet faithfulness who is the keeper of the keys. He leads tourists to experience the shrine and has been doing so for 68 years. What impressed Fr. Malone was his humility, faithfulness and wonder. His smile radiated to such an extent that it appeared that he was seeing the Marian statue for the first time.

We can also experience the joy expressed by Br. Antonio when we too resist the urge to curve within our self from fear or despondency, and instead reach out of our comfort zone and be willing to risk accompanying others in acts of kindness, love, and service. In this way, we can come to see that we are not alone in our suffering. When we are willing to share our struggles and trials, our agreements and disagreements, our joys and successes we can grow our bonds of relationship such that what we face does not weaken us, but helps us to grow stronger.

We are also able to notice God more and be present to others when we are people of prayer. For it is in the silence of our heart that we hear God speak. It is in the silence of our heart that we can feel his gentle leading toward a particular ministry, small group for support, and will be more apt to notice another in need and have the courage to reach out in small acts of kindness and love.

Mark was walking home one day and noticed that a boy had fallen. Books, a bat and glove, a few sweaters, and small tape recorder were scattered about. Mark went to the boy and offered to help. The two middle school students realized they were heading for home in the same direction so Mark offered to help the boy carry some of his things.

As they walked Mark discovered that the boy’s name was Bill. The pair arrived at Bill’s house first and Bill invited Mark in for a Coke and to watch some TV. Mark ended up staying the afternoon, they talked, laughed and enjoyed their time together.
Mark and Bill would interact on occasion at school, have lunch once in awhile and then graduated middle school. They would go on to attend the same high school together and would have some brief interactions over their four years together.

Three weeks before graduation Bill reminded Mark of their first encounter and asked if Mark wondered why he was carrying all that stuff home that day? He then went on to tell Mark, “You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn’t want to leave a mess for anyone else. I had stolen some of my mother’s sleeping pills and I was going home to commit suicide. But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I realized that if I had killed myself, I would have missed that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you did a lot more. You saved my life” (see Schlatter 1993, 35).

How do we address our current Church Crisis, the problem of violence, and the hyper polarization in our country?

We do so in the same way that the two widows from our readings today, Br. Antonio, and Mark did. We become contemplatives in action. We learn our faith, live our faith, and allow ourselves to be transformed by the God of Jesus Christ who is love incarnate. We turn to God in prayer and follow his lead to accompany one another, as brothers and sisters, live out our faith in quiet, yet determined ways, by countering darkness with light, hate with love, by being welcoming, offering a smile, holding each other accountable, and accompanying each other on the grand adventure and journey we call life.

Photo credit: Exercise in trust!

Schlatter, John W. A Simple Gesture in Chicken Soup for the Soul: 101 Stories To Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit. Edited by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, 1993.

Link for the Mass Readings for Sunday, November 11, 2018.

“No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Lk 16:13).

Jesus consistently emphasizes the priority of making God primary in our lives. Anything that moves into the slot of preeminence before God is idolatrous. Anything, even family, as we heard a few days ago. We cannot have two firsts, because either we will “hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.” This balancing act is not an easy discipline.

It becomes especially challenging when we look at mammon, money, or material wealth. Many of us seek our security in having a home, insurance policies, savings, retirement plans, market investments. Setting up this security is often considered prudent. The problem is when material security becomes the foundation of our life, our fulfillment, our god.

This has certainly influenced the Church at times with movements governed by a prosperity gospel. The approach to a faith life that is not so much building up a relationship with our loving God and Father, but one of seeking God as a holy investor. There is a perspective offered on verses such as the Parable of the Sower (cf. Mark 4, Matthew 13, and Luke 8) in which the primary intent in giving is to reap a financial return of ten, twenty, or a hundredfold. God certainly wants us to be good stewards, and he will indeed bless us and wants us to be generous and cheerful with our giving, but again, if in our giving the primary intent is to receive more of our treasure, we are serving Mammon and not God.

Following are two scriptural verses and two Church Father quotes that may help us to see that in giving away and not accumulating the material, thus trusting in God for our security is the prudent path:

“If one of your kinsmen in any community is in need in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor close your hand to him in his need. Instead, you shall open your hand to him and freely lend him enough to meet his need” (Deuteronomy 15:7-8).

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me” (Matthew 25:35).

“When giving to the poor, you are not giving him what is yours; rather, you are paying him back what is his” (St Ambrose of Milan, 340-339).

“If each one of us took only what is necessary for his sustenance, leaving what is superfluous for the indigent, there would be no distinction of rich and poor” (St Basil of Caesarea, 330-379).

Our reactions to the above can be a barometer as to whether we are putting gold first or God first. God is to be our source and our fundamental option. The blessing we receive, the hundredfold we seek, is to be measured in love, mercy, and generosity received and given. Pope Francis, in a 2013 address, expressed his concern “that some homeless people die of cold on the streets [and this] is not news. In contrast, a ten-point drop in the stock markets of some cities is a tragedy. A person dying is not news, but if the stock markets drop ten points it is a tragedy! Thus people are disposed of as if they were trash. Consumerism has led us to become used to an excess and daily waste of food, to which, at times, we are no longer able to give a just value, which goes well beyond mere economic parameters” (Vatican Insider).

Do we place our trust, faith, and security in Mammon, or God? Do we build up treasure for ourselves at the expense of or indifference toward others or build up our treasure in heaven, aware of and reaching out to those who are in need? Were someone to observe us objectively, and closely would they say about us, “There goes someone that lives their life believing: In Gold we Trust.” Or would they say, “There goes someone that lives their life believing: In God we Trust?”

———————————————————————————-

Photo accessed from: http://www.jonathan-quek.com/in-god-we-trust/

Link for a quote from Pope Francis found in Vatican Insider:
http://www.lastampa.it/2013/06/05/vaticaninsider/eng/the-vatican/francis-when-stock-markets-drop-ten-points-its-a-tragedy-when-one-man-dies-its-the-norm-P4qOnknrUS69rbXYT01cDP/pagina.html

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, November 10. 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111018.cfm

When I ask my students if Jesus ever sinned, inevitably, there are those who reference the account from today’s Gospel. In these verses we read how Jesus, “made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area” (Jn 2:15). Jesus is not sinning here, rather, he is acting in line with prophetic tradition. Jesus is making a bold spectacle to drive home the point that the temple is not a marketplace but to be a place of worship and right praise for his Father.

Greater still than the temple, is the people of God. Further down in the text, when those present ask for a sign as to the reason he commits this act, Jesus said: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn 2:19). Clearly he was pointing to his body as the temple of God and referring to his Resurrection that would come.

The temple, the house of God, believed to be the very corporal presence, the very seat of God among his people, Israel, was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans. This left a tremendous spiritual vacuum. Two groups that were intimately tied to the sacrificial cult of the temple, the Sadducees and the Essenes, very soon after the destruction, ceased to exist as a sect within Judaism. The Pharisees, who already were moving to a practice of home worship that mirrored the worship in the temple, would survive and be the ancestral root of Judaism today. The followers of the new way of Jesus would become the Church, the Body of Christ.

Each of us have a unique part to play in the Church. For some, we may be the only Bible someone ever reads. We are called to witness and practice, in our unique way, our faith in our every day experiences. This reality of our call is not to be an invitation to be overwhelmed with responsibility nor an excuse for a posture of elitism. We are no better than anyone else.

Pope Francis wrote: “Believers should not be presumptuous; rather, truth leads to humility. We know it is not ourselves possessing truth, it is truth that embraces and possesses us” (Costello 2013, 14). May we take these words to heart as we mourn again another act of violence resulting in thirteen deaths and eighteen injured at the Borderline Bar and Grill in L.A. To walk the path of peace, not just a striving for an absence of violence, but a recognition of the mutual respect and dignity of each and every person, we need to be possessed by the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus.

We need to resist all that contributes in any way to the violence, hate, and dehumanization rampant in our country and world and turn to Jesus, the living Temple. We need to recognize that we all fall short of the glory of God and on our own we are helpless. We need to be willing to be conformed to the will of God through our prayer, study, worship, and service so as to be empowered by the love of Christ to be instruments of peace, contemplatives in action, and advocates for healing and reconciliation in a wounded and weary church, politics, country and world.

——————————————————–

Photo: Exiting Mass from Mission del Rey, Oceanside, CA.

Costello, Gwen. Walking With Pope Francis: Thirty Days with the Encyclical The Light of Faith. New London, CT: Twenty Third Publications, 2013.

Link to the Mass readings for Friday, November 8, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110918.cfm