Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

November 27, 2008

Reading 1
Rv 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9a

I, John, saw another angel coming down from heaven,
having great authority,
and the earth became illumined by his splendor.
He cried out in a mighty voice:

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.
She has become a haunt for demons.
She is a cage for every unclean spirit,
a cage for every unclean bird,
a cage for every unclean and disgusting beast.”

A mighty angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone
and threw it into the sea and said:

“With such force will Babylon the great city be thrown down,
and will never be found again.
No melodies of harpists and musicians,
flutists and trumpeters,
will ever be heard in you again.
No craftsmen in any trade
will ever be found in you again.
No sound of the millstone
will ever be heard in you again.
No light from a lamp
will ever be seen in you again.
No voices of bride and groom
will ever be heard in you again.
Because your merchants were the great ones of the world,
all nations were led astray by your magic potion.”

After this I heard what sounded like
the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying:

“Alleluia!
Salvation, glory, and might belong to our God,
for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great harlot
who corrupted the earth with her harlotry.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

They said a second time:

“Alleluia! Smoke will rise from her forever and ever.”

Then the angel said to me, “Write this:
Blessed are those who have been called
to the wedding feast of the Lamb.”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5

R. (Rev. 19: 9a) Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
R. Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.
For he is good:
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Gospel
Lk 21:20-28

Jesus said to his disciples:
“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies,
know that its desolation is at hand.
Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.
Let those within the city escape from it,
and let those in the countryside not enter the city,

for these days are the time of punishment
when all the Scriptures are fulfilled.
Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days,
for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth
and a wrathful judgment upon this people.
They will fall by the edge of the sword
and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles;
and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles
until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,
and on earth nations will be in dismay,
perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright
in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
But when these signs begin to happen,
stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.”

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The Daily Reflection

November 27th 2008
by: Andy Alexandcr, S.J.

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation!
It is from your goodness that we gather today in this United States of America to give you thanks and praise for the blessings you have showered upon us.

We thank you this bountiful land – the plains, forests, mountains, rivers, lakes and deserts.
We thank you for the people native to this land – for the lessons we have learned together.
We thank you for the diversity of people you gathered to these shores from around the world.
We thank you for our history – for the freedoms we cherish as well as for the scars that have challenged our integrity.

In the face of many challenges, amid forces that try to divide us, you keep blessing our desires for justice and unity.
You have allowed us to offer hope for many in the world, you have blessed us to defend the cause of liberty and freedom.

We are sorry for the evil of slavery and for the ongoing sin of racism among us.
We are sorry for the times we have been a cause of division in the world, for when our greed and our use of the world’s resources has hurt the rest of the world, especially the poor.
We grieve that we have become a culture insensitive to the absolute dignity of every human life and that we continue to struggle to know how to protect the basic human rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all.
We beg you for the gifts of conversion and healing, for ourselves, and for the sake of the most vulnerable of the earth.

We trust in your mercy, O Lord, our God, and we ask you to renew us with hope and re-dedication to thanksgiving.
May we grow in gratitude today for the many gifts you have given us – gifts beyond what most of the world can imagine.
With our thanksgiving, we ask you to bless us with generosity, that we might welcome the stranger and care for those most in need, because you have been so good to us.

Allow us to be good stewards of the many gifts you have given us.
Bless our families and loved ones. Bless our nation and the whole family of nations.
We know you have given us gifts to allow us to make this nation greater and the world better, and so we thank you.
Grant us greater understanding, solidarity, compassion, unity justice and peace.

We make our thanksgiving and entrust our prayers to you, in the name of Jesus, who himself prayed that we may be one.

Amen.

Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

November 26, 2008

Reading 1
Rv 15:1-4

I, John, saw in heaven another sign, great and awe-inspiring:
seven angels with the seven last plagues,
for through them God’s fury is accomplished.

Then I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire.
On the sea of glass were standing those
who had won the victory over the beast
and its image and the number that signified its name.
They were holding God’s harps,
and they sang the song of Moses, the servant of God,
and the song of the Lamb:

“Great and wonderful are your works,
Lord God almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
O king of the nations.
Who will not fear you, Lord,
or glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All the nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 7-8, 9

R. (Rev. 15: 3b) Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell in it;
Let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy.
R. Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
Before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to rule the earth;
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity.
R. Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!

Gospel
Lk 21:12-19

Jesus said to the crowd:
“They will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents,v brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

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The Daily Reflection

November 26th 2008
by: Tom Bannantine, S.J.

Daily Reflection readers for the past week will know that the gospel reading for today is part of St. Luke’s account of Jesus’ discourse about the end times. In today’s reading Jesus speaks of the persecution that many of the faithful will undergo before the end of their life here on earth. In my reading and meditating upon this gospel, I was struck by the final sentence. “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” The word perseverance has a special connotation for me as one who has been a Jesuit for more than 50 years. From my earliest years as a Jesuit my classmates and I were exhorted to pray for the grace to remain faithful to our vows, in other words to persevere. Those exhortations have resonated with me throughout the years and they are still very powerful. By the grace of God many of us have been successful until now in our prayers for perseverance.

But I don’t think that the words of Jesus about perseverance were addressed just to us or to any one group. The words of Jesus are timeless and are addressed to any persons of any age who will listen and hear them. They are addressed to me and to you and to all who read these reflections and all who read St. Luke’s gospel. These words tell us that if we persevere, that is if we faithfully follow the words and teaching of Jesus, we will be saved. We may suffer in this life, but we will attain eternal happiness in the next.

Jesus also talks about the trials and sufferings that come with persecution. The words: “you are not to prepare your defense beforehand” remind me of the example of so many martyrs. Their stories show us how human they were. They reacted with fear in the face of torture and death. They found it difficult to find words to defend themselves. Yet over and over again the stories of martyrs show us that Jesus gave them a wisdom that confounded their persecutors. Today they provide us with a powerful example of fidelity to the words and teaching of Jesus. And their stories impress upon us that Jesus is faithful to his promises.

Today those of us reading the words of Jesus about perseverance may not be destined for martyrdom, but we are all called to heed the words of Jesus. We are called to persevere in following Jesus and to secure our lives in the happiness of heaven.

Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

November 25, 2008

Reading 1
Rv 14:14-19

I, John, looked and there was a white cloud,
and sitting on the cloud one who looked like a son of man,
with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
Another angel came out of the temple,
crying out in a loud voice to the one sitting on the cloud,
“Use your sickle and reap the harvest,
for the time to reap has come,
because the earth’s harvest is fully ripe.”
So the one who was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth,
and the earth was harvested.

Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven
who also had a sharp sickle.
Then another angel came from the altar, who was in charge of the fire,
and cried out in a loud voice
to the one who had the sharp sickle,
“Use your sharp sickle and cut the clusters from the earth’s vines,
for its grapes are ripe.”
So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and cut the earth’s vintage.
He threw it into the great wine press of God’s fury.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 96:10, 11-12, 13

R. (13b) The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of the forest exult.
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Before the LORD, for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy.
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Gospel
Lk 21:5-11

While some people were speaking about
how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings,
Jesus said, “All that you see here–
the days will come when there will not be left
a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”

Then they asked him,
“Teacher, when will this happen?
And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?”
He answered,
“See that you not be deceived,
for many will come in my name, saying,
‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’
Do not follow them!
When you hear of wars and insurrections,
do not be terrified; for such things must happen first,
but it will not immediately be the end.”
Then he said to them,
“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues
from place to place;
and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.”

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The Daily Reflection

November 25th 2008
by: Ken Reed-Bouley

Sharp sickles reaping a fully ripe harvest; “the great wine press of God’s fury”; the temple destroyed; judgment; wars, earthquakes, famines, and plagues: these are signs of the end times from today’s readings from the book of Revelation, the Gospel of Luke, and Psalm 96.

Scripture scholars inform us that the first generation of Christians often expected Jesus to return for the Final Judgment in their life time, at any moment. 2000 years later, we do not tend to see the apocalypse as so imminent. We have seen many earthquakes, famines, plagues, and wars come and go, and we continue to deal with all four today – so far without total destruction. But our longer view does not excuse us from “being prepared” now. In fact, that is the only time we really do have: now, the precious present. The truth is that we do not have any idea when we as individuals or as a species will reach our “end time.” So what should we do? How should we live?

I recently attended a talk by Philip Mangano, Director of the US Interagency Council on Homelessness. Mangano was in Omaha to help launch our metro area’s “10-Year Plan to End Homelessness.” Mangano anticipated the reaction many of us in the room were at least thinking: “End homelessness? Why not just reduce it? Everyone knows ending homelessness in 10 years is folly!” Mangano challenged and inspired our community and civic leaders to think and act boldly. He recalled others who were ridiculed as “foolish” and “naïve” over the past several centuries in the U.S.: abolitionists who envisioned a day with no slavery, not less slavery; suffragists who envisioned a country in which women could vote, not just men; civil rights activists who envisioned a society with no segregation, not just fewer Jim Crow signs. Next, Mangano introduced us to the vision of Grameen Bank founder and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Muhammed Yunus: a day in the next century when his grandchildren could visit a “Poverty Museum” to see what poverty used to be like in our world. Finally, Mangano challenged us to look at homelessness the same way. “Homes for All.” Some day in the future “Homes for All” will make intuitive sense just as freedom with no slavery, universal voting rights, and full civil rights without segregation make intuitive sense today.

Mangano’s message was clear: envision the world we believe is right and just and desire sometime in the future; live that world today. Live as though that world of justice and love and peace is not only possible but inevitable. Consider the best of who we can be in the future and appropriate it for the present. Envision our best tomorrow; live it today.

As Christians we also follow a visionary who lived out his vision in his own present. Jesus both envisioned and inaugurated the Reign of God. Rather than worry about our potential demise, let us envision what the Reign of God would/could look like and start living it today. The Reign of God is paradoxically here and now and not yet. Let us picture a society of love and peace and justice and do our best to live out of that spirit and vision now.

Memorial of Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, priest and martyr, and his companions, martyrs

November 24, 2008

Reading 1
Rv 14:1-3, 4b-5

I, John, looked and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion,
and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand
who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
I heard a sound from heaven
like the sound of rushing water or a loud peal of thunder.
The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.
They were singing what seemed to be a new hymn before the throne,
before the four living creatures and the elders.
No one could learn this hymn except the hundred and forty-four thousand
who had been ransomed from the earth.
These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.
They have been ransomed as the first fruits
of the human race for God and the Lamb.
On their lips no deceit has been found; they are unblemished.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Gospel
Lk 21:1-4

When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people
putting their offerings into the treasury
and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.
He said, “I tell you truly,
this poor widow put in more than all the rest;
for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”

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The Daily Reflection

November 24th 2008
by: George Butterfield

My baby sister loves science-fiction: Star Trek, the Matrix, you name it. I must confess that this is not “my cup of tea.” The Book of Revelation, a classic example of “apocalyptic” literature, is the first century version of sci-fi. I didn’t “get” the Matrix and I find it hard to “get” the Book of Revelation. On the other hand, Christians believed that it proclaimed the truth about Jesus and his disciples. They did not categorize it as “fiction.” So, I strive to understand it in spite of being apocalyptic-challenged. Many folks seem to get tripped up by it because they think they are reading a newspaper account from the future. I get tripped up because of the fantastic imagery that paints the truths of Jesus and his disciples. I never did think that a picture is worth a thousand words. I’ll take a few good words over a picture any day.

Now that you have read my disclaimer, allow me to choose some words to paint today’s readings (the irony of this is duly noted). Throughout the Book of Revelation there are battles between the forces of darkness and the forces of the Lamb. In chapter 13 John sees a number of beasts. They boast and blaspheme God, wage war against God’s holy ones, deliver wonderful speeches, perform great signs, and brand their followers. The world follows and worships them. Then John sees another picture. A Lamb stands ready for battle on Mount Zion, the holy place of the King and Shepherd of God’s people. He has with him those who have not been branded by the beast but who have had “his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.” They sing a new hymn. They follow the Lamb. The Lamb has ransomed them so they live a pure life in word and deed. There are a hundred and forty-four thousand of them but they are merely the “first fruits of the human race” who have been ransomed “for God and the Lamb.”

Perhaps as astonishing is the picture painted by the psalmist of that same mountain and a people who long to climb it and see the face of God. They believe that God created all things and that everything belongs to him. They know that God is not mocked: only those who are sinless and clean may ascend the mountain of the Lord and stand in his holy place. They also know that if God does not ransom, bless, and reward them, they will never be able to seek him, let alone climb the mountain and stand in his holy presence.

The Gospel reading seems at first to be on a totally different wavelength. It is the story of the poor widow. All she had to give was a couple of coins but Jesus commends her because she didn’t give some of her surplus but offered her whole livelihood to God.

A theologian once said that “purity of heart is to will one thing.” From the Book of Revelation we see believers who are determined to live pure lives even if it leads to their deaths. From the psalmist we see a people who strive to live pure lives so that they are not weighted down and unable to climb the Lord’s mountain. From Jesus we see a woman who thinks not at all of herself but only of the glory of God. These brothers and sisters are simple and pure. In the midst of death, struggle, and poverty they will one thing: to see the face of God.

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King

November 23, 2008

Reading 1
Ez 34:11-12, 15-17

Thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
As a shepherd tends his flock
when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,
so will I tend my sheep.
I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered
when it was cloudy and dark.
I myself will pasture my sheep;
I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.
The lost I will seek out,
the strayed I will bring back,
the injured I will bind up,
the sick I will heal,
but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,
shepherding them rightly.

As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD,
I will judge between one sheep and another,
between rams and goats.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Reading II
1 Cor 15:20-26, 28

Brothers and sisters:
Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end,
when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father,
when he has destroyed every sovereignty
and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
When everything is subjected to him,
then the Son himself will also be subjected
to the one who subjected everything to him,
so that God may be all in all.

Gospel
Mt 25:31-46

Jesus said to his disciples:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
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.’
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Then he will say to those on his left,
‘Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
Then they will answer and say,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?’
He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.’
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life.”

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The Daily Reflection

November 23rd, 2008
by: Larry Gillick, S.J.

PRE-PRAYERING

The Irish-born writer, C. S. Lewis once wrote that the most emphatic noise is the one we are trying not to listen to. A late-night barking dog, an insistent dripping faucet when sleep won’t come, are only a couple of such bothersome noises. A flowing stream makes little sound until it bumps into an obstacle such as a rock.

Prayer is such a stream and our blockages create disturbing noises. We often would rather not listen to these, but actually it is a great freedom to listen to and pray with just what the noise is all about. They become emphatic and persistent, because we pretend that we are ignoring them.

This week as we prepare to celebrate Jesus as the Saving King, turn off the faucet, call the dog-catcher, pray with the noises of your own prevent defense against your personally surrendering to Jesus’ Kingdom. The real prayer of this is to stay positive, hopeful and aware of how God’s grace is quieting your spirit. The most peaceful sound is the silence surrounding the honest heart.

REFLECTION

The religious leaders of Israel get one huge earful from Ezekiel in the verses immediately leading up to the verses we hear in the First Reading for this liturgy. The prophet tells them that they have been feeding themselves on the lambs they were to feed. They have dressed themselves in wool and failed to care for the sick and weak of the flock. Their selfish indulgence has led them to be unconcerned and watchful for the sheep who stray. The shepherds have treated the sheep with violence and cruelty. Their time of shepherding is over!

What we hear is a series of “I” statements. God will now be the Shepherd God who will gather the lost, pasture the flock, the injured God will bind up and the sick God will heal. These are loving and gentle boasts of the more and more personal God.

The very last line begins a judgment against the people of Israel themselves. The nation has strayed from being a community. Some are fat and others skinny. Some have trampled upon others. God loves his people and desires them to live wisely and caringly. God is going to send the great shepherd, David to guide the flock and remind them of who they are and how they should treat one another. There is a judgment to be made between one sheep and the other according to how they have related as sheep with each other.

We are familiar with the courtly-climb. Bravery, conquest, daring-deeds, and impressing others all would move an aspiring younger gallant ever upward. Ignatius of Loyola spent his early years doing just this. He was brought to his knees by a cannonball during a local war. In the ensuing months, he became acquainted with a different king and a different courtly-climb.

We hear of this King and His ways of royalty in today’s Gospel. It is a different set of values set forth on this final day of the liturgical year. As we indicated last Sunday, this is the real final exam. All the teachings, all the parables, all the miracles, all the conversations are summed up in these verses. The question is about whether or not we have been attracted to the person of Jesus so as to see Him in the poorest, the weakest, the less celebrated. This is not so much a “social Gospel” meant to move us out to the fringes of society. It is a simple questionnaire about our identifying ourselves as members of His kingdom. Do we like His ways? Are we attracted to His style of relating?

Mark Twain wrote a humorous novel, The Prince and the Pauper, a delightful story of switched identities. Tom Canty, an abused and ragged lad meets, by chance, Prince Edward, rightful heir of King Henry VIII. The two boys decide to change positions, clothing and living conditions. Edward hides the great Seal of England before leaving the palace. Both lads find out the difficulties of the other’s lives. Edward does not know the ways of London’s streets, nor does Thomas know all the courtly ways. Tom had found the hidden seal and was using it to crack nuts. Henry dies and Edward and Tom are moved to switch back.

In our Gospel-Spirituality, Jesus has ennobled us to be a “Royal Priesthood” and has dignified us with the invitation to live forever in the Kingly domain of heaven. He has taken the place and dressed Himself in the reality of the poor. He has buried Himself in the imprisoned, sick, lonely, homeless and ragged. The hidden seal for this Gospel is the vision which faith provides.

Edward was of royalty, but did not appear so. The other street people could not see past the clothing despite what Edward told them. Jesus is saying, protesting that He is within the easily-avoided. Our greedy eyes do deceive us and our ego-centered hearts are challenged by Jesus’ entering these dress-down days of our lives.

We would rather have Jesus stay up there, over there, within some comfortable confines wherein we could deal with Him in predictable and ritualistic parameters. He has chosen, like Edward, not to be dressed-up but addressed within the adventure of relating with others through the eyes of Jesus. He relates with us in our own raggedy, hunger and our personal poverty. He asks for us to relate with His brothers and sisters in a similar loving and accepting way.

“The Lord will reign for ever and will give his people the gift of peace.” Ps. 29, 10

Memorial of Saint Cecilia, virgin and martyr

November 22, 2008

Reading 1
Rv 11:4-12

I, John, heard a voice from heaven speak to me:
Here are my two witnesses:
These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands
that stand before the Lord of the earth.
If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths
and devours their enemies.
In this way, anyone wanting to harm them is sure to be slain.
They have the power to close up the sky
so that no rain can fall during the time of their prophesying.
They also have power to turn water into blood
and to afflict the earth with any plague as often as they wish.

When they have finished their testimony,
the beast that comes up from the abyss
will wage war against them and conquer them and kill them.
Their corpses will lie in the main street of the great city,
which has the symbolic names “Sodom” and “Egypt,”
where indeed their Lord was crucified.
Those from every people, tribe, tongue, and nation
will gaze on their corpses for three and a half days,
and they will not allow their corpses to be buried.
The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them
and be glad and exchange gifts
because these two prophets tormented the inhabitants of the earth.
But after the three and a half days,
a breath of life from God entered them.
When they stood on their feet, great fear fell on those who saw them.
Then they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, “Come up here.”
So they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies looked on.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 144:1, 2, 9-10

R. (1b) Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
My mercy and my fortress,
my stronghold, my deliverer,
My shield, in whom I trust,
who subdues my people under me.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
O God, I will sing a new song to you;
with a tenstringed lyre I will chant your praise,
You who give victory to kings,
and deliver David, your servant from the evil sword.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

Gospel
Lk 20:27-40

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third married her,
and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
For all seven had been married to her.”
Jesus said to them,
“The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise.
That the dead will rise
even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,
when he called ‘Lord’
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive.”
Some of the scribes said in reply,

“Teacher, you have answered well.”
And they no longer dared to ask him anything.

====================================================

The Daily Reflection

November 22nd, 2008
by: Bob Berry

The concept of darkness versus light brings with it fear versus confidence. With darkness one can be overcome with obstacles which prevents us from seeing our way through. Our way becomes brighter with the light. Light removes or makes visible the obstacles in our daily life. With Jesus in our lives, our paths are made more clear.

In Rev 11:4-14, The olive-trees, or olive branches, (Zec 4:12,) appear in the vision of the prophet to have been connected with the ever-burning lamp, by golden pipes; and as the olive-tree produced the oil used by the ancients in their lamps, these trees are represented as furnishing a constant supply of oil through the golden pipes to the candlestick, and thus they become emblematic of the supply of grace to the church. John uses this emblem, not in the sense exactly in which it was employed by the prophet, but to denote that these two “witnesses,” which might be compared with the two olive-trees, would be the means of supplying grace to the church.

In Psalms 144, David acknowledges the great goodness of God, and prays for help. He prays for the prosperity of his kingdom. God knows that this world is full of War and dangers that confront us on a daily basis, but he wants the best for us so he gives us the victory.

In Luke 20:27-40, it is common for those who design to undermine any truth of God, to load it with difficulties. But we wrong ourselves, and wrong the truth of Christ, when we form our notions of the world of spirits by this world of sense. We must believe that God is an all sufficient God, and is able to supply all of our needs.

Despite the obstacles of this life, God fills us with his spirit so that we may overcome and claim the victory promised to us as Christians, if we only believe.

Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

November 21, 2008

Reading 1
Rv 10:8-11

I, John, heard a voice from heaven speak to me.
Then the voice spoke to me and said:
“Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel
who is standing on the sea and on the land.”
So I went up to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll.
He said to me, “Take and swallow it.
It will turn your stomach sour,
but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.”
I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and swallowed it.
In my mouth it was like sweet honey,
but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.
Then someone said to me, “You must prophesy again
about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131

R. (103a) How sweet to my taste is your promise!
In the way of your decrees I rejoice,
as much as in all riches.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
Yes, your decrees are my delight;
they are my counselors.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
How sweet to my palate are your promises,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
Your decrees are my inheritance forever;
the joy of my heart they are.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
I gasp with open mouth
in my yearning for your commands.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!

Gospel
Lk 19:45-48

Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out
those who were selling things, saying to them,
“It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer,
but you have made it a den of thieves.”
And every day he was teaching in the temple area.
The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile,
were seeking to put him to death,
but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose
because all the people were hanging on his words.

=======================================================

The Daily Reflection

November 21st, 2008
by: Roc O’Connor, S.J.

Does the gospel selection for today rule out the sorts of sales events that crop up in the vestibules or gathering spaces of many parishes today? Are the local Girl or Boy Scout troops damned for selling Christmas trees or magazines or candy? Do the Knights of Columbus risk eternal damnation for selling tickets to their auction or pancake breakfast? And, what are we to say about Bingo!

It seems to me that Jesus speaks to you and me through the words of Luke about the mystery of self-defense. Why self-defense? I want to suggest that self-defense differs from the usual suspect, “selfishness.” Self-defense, as I understand it, not only precedes selfishness, but also flies under our radar, leaving it operative yet unnoticed.

Self-defense describes our capacity, our skill, at warding off whatever information, facts, details, or even truth that we don’t want. Notice how the Lucan passage fulfills what the prophet Malachi said,

Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; and suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek, and the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire, or like the fuller’s lye. He will sit refining and purifying (silver), and he will purify the sons [and daughters] of Levi, Refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.

Does it seem like the chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the people respond appropriately to the cleansing of the Temple? Does their intent to kill Jesus seem fitting?

No, not unless we keep in mind how the passage from Malachi sets the context for Jesus’ action. Part of what’s at stake is the claim that “the LORD” comes to the Temple. The chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the people were strict monotheists.

But, I think, more than that. It seems to me that the threat to these leaders of “being purified” could be enough to draw forth their “inner guardian” who threatens murder in order to defend his/her turf. So, please consider for a moment: To what lengths will you go to defend against purification?

Here’s a hard thing to consider. Sorry.

We stress service and justice here at Creighton University. Part of that involves asking students and colleagues to “see Christ in others.” And people report how consoled they are when they see Christ in helping others. This is good.

I also wonder…

I wonder whether we can see Christ in those whom you and I crucify by words, attitudes, or unobserved deeds. (Ouch!) Can we see Christ in those we persecute or want to threaten with death (implicitly or explicitly).

I’m writing this the day after the national election. But, think back to the day before the election about attitudes toward the opposition, attitudes often based in self-defense. See Christ?

Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

November 20, 2008

Reading 1
Rv 5:1-10

I, John, saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who sat on the throne.
It had writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals.
Then I saw a mighty angel who proclaimed in a loud voice,
“Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth
was able to open the scroll or to examine it.
I shed many tears because no one was found worthy
to open the scroll or to examine it.
One of the elders said to me, “Do not weep.
The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed,
enabling him to open the scroll with its seven seals.”

Then I saw standing in the midst of the throne
and the four living creatures and the elders
a Lamb that seemed to have been slain.
He had seven horns and seven eyes;
these are the seven spirits of God sent out into the whole world.
He came and received the scroll from the right hand
of the one who sat on the throne.
When he took it,
the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders
fell down before the Lamb.
Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense,
which are the prayers of the holy ones.
They sang a new hymn:

“Worthy are you to receive the scroll
and break open its seals,
for you were slain and with your Blood you purchased for God
those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation.
You made them a kingdom and priests for our God,
and they will reign on earth.”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b

R. (Rev. 5:10) The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel
Lk 19:41-44

As Jesus drew near Jerusalem,
he saw the city and wept over it, saying,
“If this day you only knew what makes for peace–
but now it is hidden from your eyes.
For the days are coming upon you
when your enemies will raise a palisade against you;
they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.
They will smash you to the ground and your children within you,
and they will not leave one stone upon another within you
because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

======================================================

The Daily Reflection

November 20th, 2008
by: Tamora Whitney

“If this day you only knew what makes for peace—
But now it is hidden from your eyes”

Hindsight is 20/20. Looking back after something has already happened, it’s easy to see what changes would have been beneficial. It’s easy to find an option that would have led to a different outcome. But once things have been done, it’s hard to undo them. Once you’re in a war, it’s hard to get out. In the midst of a war, it’s tempting to look back and try to figure out how the war might have been avoided. When soldiers and civilians are dying, we want to think, could this have been avoided? Could there have been some appropriate way to keep peace instead of waging war? And the people who start the wars are almost never the same people who fight them! But once it’s started, it’s hard to go back. You can’t unkill the people. And you can’t always just stop in the middle. Once a thing is started, you can’t go back and redo and change the situation. And there is only destruction ahead. The people did not recognize the signs or take the appropriate steps that could have avoided the demise.

This is true in war and peace, and also in a more symbolic sense. Jesus is the peace. He wept for the people of Jerusalem because they had an opportunity to take the peaceful route, but once they passed that option, the downward spiral was inevitable. If today people only realized that what makes for peace is Jesus, they could experience that peace and save their souls. But letting that pass, destruction is inevitable. The people of Jerusalem did not recognize the visitations, and many people today do not either. Those who recognize the signs and know that Christ is peace gain that peace. Those who do not recognize the time of their visitation get destruction. And Jesus weeps for them, knowing they had an opportunity to take the appropriate route but did not.

Wednesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

November 19, 2008

Reading 1
Rv 4:1-11

I, John, had a vision of an open door to heaven,
and I heard the trumpetlike voice
that had spoken to me before, saying,
“Come up here and I will show you what must happen afterwards.”
At once I was caught up in spirit.
A throne was there in heaven, and on the throne sat one
whose appearance sparkled like jasper and carnelian.
Around the throne was a halo as brilliant as an emerald.
Surrounding the throne I saw twenty-four other thrones
on which twenty-four elders sat,
dressed in white garments and with gold crowns on their heads.
From the throne came flashes of lightning,
rumblings, and peals of thunder.
Seven flaming torches burned in front of the throne,
which are the seven spirits of God.
In front of the throne was something that resembled
a sea of glass like crystal.

In the center and around the throne,
there were four living creatures
covered with eyes in front and in back.
The first creature resembled a lion, the second was like a calf,
the third had a face like that of a man,
and the fourth looked like an eagle in flight.
The four living creatures, each of them with six wings,
were covered with eyes inside and out.
Day and night they do not stop exclaiming:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty,
who was, and who is, and who is to come.”
Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks
to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
the twenty-four elders fall down
before the one who sits on the throne
and worship him, who lives forever and ever.
They throw down their crowns before the throne, exclaiming:

“Worthy are you, Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things;
because of your will they came to be and were created.”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 150:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. (1b) Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!
Praise the LORD in his sanctuary,
praise him in the firmament of his strength.
Praise him for his mighty deeds,
praise him for his sovereign majesty.
R. Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!
Praise him with the blast of the trumpet,
praise him with lyre and harp,
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipe.
R. Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!
Praise him with sounding cymbals,
praise him with clanging cymbals.
Let everything that has breath
praise the LORD! Alleluia.
R. Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!

Gospel
Lk 19:11-28

While people were listening to Jesus speak,
he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem
and they thought that the Kingdom of God
would appear there immediately.
So he said,
“A nobleman went off to a distant country
to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return.
He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins
and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’
His fellow citizens, however, despised him
and sent a delegation after him to announce,
‘We do not want this man to be our king.’
But when he returned after obtaining the kingship,
he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money,
to learn what they had gained by trading.

The first came forward and said,
‘Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.’
He replied, ‘Well done, good servant!
You have been faithful in this very small matter;
take charge of ten cities.’
Then the second came and reported,
‘Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.’
And to this servant too he said,
‘You, take charge of five cities.’
Then the other servant came and said,
‘Sir, here is your gold coin;
I kept it stored away in a handkerchief,
for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man;
you take up what you did not lay down
and you harvest what you did not plant.’
He said to him,
‘With your own words I shall condemn you,
you wicked servant.
You knew I was a demanding man,
taking up what I did not lay down
and harvesting what I did not plant;
why did you not put my money in a bank?
Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.’
And to those standing by he said,
‘Take the gold coin from him
and give it to the servant who has ten.’
But they said to him,
‘Sir, he has ten gold coins.’
He replied, ‘I tell you,
to everyone who has, more will be given,
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king,
bring them here and slay them before me.’”

After he had said this,
he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.

======================================================

The Daily Reflection

November 19th, 2008
by: Andy Alexander, S.J.

“Invest this until I get back.”

So much of who we are and what we are called to do is contained in this brief line in the parable of the talents. We are called and gifted. All that we have – all that we are – we have as “gift,” given to us for a very special purpose.

The contrast Jesus uses is amazingly contemporary and is very helpful for our everyday lives. Jesus does not want us to take what we have been given and simply preserve it – to protect the gifts, out of some fear, in a risk free way. Jesus wants us to “invest” our gifts – to take some risk, in order to grow the value of his investment in us.

In many ways, the message of Jesus is very counter-cultural. We resist, even though we know the truth of what Jesus says, from so many examples in life – muscles grow when we use them and they atrophy when we don’t use them. In our self-absorption culture, we are often discouraged from taking personal risks. We are often told – in hundreds of direct and subliminal ways – that we should always choose what will keep us “healthy.” Personal sacrifice – even for a greater good – is not always seen as good for me, and is therefore to be avoided. Being “stretched,” denying myself, serving the needs of others before my own, suffering greatly to stay faithful to a commitment, giving my self away in love, are all viewed with suspicion in a culture adverse to self risk.

Jesus frees us. The one who has given us the gifts we have will give us even more. However, even in the spiritual life, the “rate of return” is directly related to “the amount of risk” we take. Jesus stimulates our desires with this parable, stirring in us a confident desire to make better use of the gifts he has given us, by risking more and more to invest them for a higher rate of return.

Each of us today can go through our day, asking if we are being “overly cautious” with the gifts that have been given us. We can ask how much energy we are expending on avoiding risk, and how “tired” we are, from protecting ourselves. We can imagine ways to take a gift we have and use it to love more, listen more deeply, do something more self-sacrificing, offer forgiveness, spend some time for others we’d otherwise use on ourselves. And, at the end of the day, feeling some of the fatigue that comes from being stretched, we can look at the summary of our investments for the day, and give thanks.

Tuesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

November 18, 2008

Reading 1
Rv 3:1-6, 14-22

I, John, heard the Lord saying to me:
“To the angel of the Church in Sardis, write this:

“‘The one who has the seven spirits of God
and the seven stars says this: “I know your works,
that you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
Be watchful and strengthen what is left, which is going to die,
for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.
Remember then how you accepted and heard; keep it, and repent.
If you are not watchful, I will come like a thief,
and you will never know at what hour I will come upon you.
However, you have a few people in Sardis
who have not soiled their garments;
they will walk with me dressed in white,
because they are worthy.

“‘The victor will thus be dressed in white,
and I will never erase his name from the book of life
but will acknowledge his name in the presence of my Father
and of his angels.

“‘Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

“To the angel of the Church in Laodicea, write this:

“‘The Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the source of God’s creation, says this:
“I know your works;
I know that you are neither cold nor hot.
I wish you were either cold or hot.
So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold,
I will spit you out of my mouth.
For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’
and yet do not realize that you are wretched,
pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich,
and white garments to put on
so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed,
and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see.
Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise.
Be earnest, therefore, and repent.

“‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
then I will enter his house and dine with him,
and he with me.

I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne,
as I myself first won the victory
and sit with my Father on his throne.

“‘Whoever has ears ought to hear
what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 15:2-3a, 3bc-4ab, 5

R. (Rev. 3: 21) I will seat the victor beside me on my throne.
He who walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
R. I will seat the victor beside me on my throne.
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
By whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the LORD.
R. I will seat the victor beside me on my throne.
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
shall never be disturbed.
R. I will seat the victor beside me on my throne.

Gospel
Lk 19:1-10

At that time Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.”
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
“He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.”
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
“Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over.”
And Jesus said to him,
“Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost.”

================================================
The Daily Reflection

November 18th, 2008
by Howie Kalb, S.J

In our first reading from the Book of Revelation, God tells the people of Sardis; “I know the reputation you have of being alive, when in fact you are dead! Wake up and strengthen what remains before it dies.”

Then to the Church at Laodicea he quotes their boast: “I am so rich and secure that I want for nothing.” And God tells them: “Little do you realize how wretched you are, how pitiable and poor, blind and naked.”

One can almost imagine that God is talking to today’s culture; the “culture of death” to which the late John Paul II so often referred. And the greatest cause of this death culture? It is in St. Jane de Chantal’s words: “Our greatest sin is the loss of the sense of sin.” This loss is so clearly seen in the affluence abused and squandered, the addictions to pornography and drugs, the breakup of families, the perversion of sex, the increase of suicides, and countless other tragedies resulting from sin.

In conclusion, God tells us: “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears me calling and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him and he with me.” Notice, it is God who takes the initiative. He keeps calling and waits for a response. He forces no one, but he requires that we open the door. He waits for us to show good will by making an effort to respond.

The same message comes through in the Gospel. We are told Zacchaeus climbed into a tree to get a look at the teacher. No matter how curious and confused this chief tax collector may have been, it was Jesus who initiated their bonding with his invitation. “Zacchaeus, come down quickly. Today I must stay at your house.” It is only when the tax collector descended and pledged to restore any ill-gotten gains along with his support for the poor that he hears Jesus say: “Today salvation has come to this house.”

And what message can we take from this encounter? Jesus tells us. “The Son of Man has come to search out and save what was lost.” He is our Savior but he expects us to accept the redemption he offers. If we would contribute even one-millionth of the effort that Jesus expended in his life, passion, death and resurrection, heaven would be guaranteed for each of us.

The Daily Reflection

Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

October 8, 2008

Reading 1
Gal 2:1-2, 7-14

Brothers and sisters:
After fourteen years I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas,
taking Titus along also.
I went up in accord with a revelation,
and I presented to them the Gospel that I preach to the Gentiles–
but privately to those of repute–
so that I might not be running, or have run, in vain.
On the contrary,
when they saw that I had been entrusted with the Gospel to the uncircumcised,
just as Peter to the circumcised,
for the one who worked in Peter for an apostolate to the circumcised
worked also in me for the Gentiles,
and when they recognized the grace bestowed upon me,
James and Cephas and John,
who were reputed to be pillars,
gave me and Barnabas their right hands in partnership,
that we should go to the Gentiles
and they to the circumcised.
Only, we were to be mindful of the poor,
which is the very thing I was eager to do.

And when Cephas came to Antioch,
I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong.
For, until some people came from James,
he used to eat with the Gentiles;
but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself,
because he was afraid of the circumcised.
And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him,
with the result that even Barnabas
was carried away by their hypocrisy.
But when I saw that they were not on the right road
in line with the truth of the Gospel,
I said to Cephas in front of all,
“If you, though a Jew,
are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew,
how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 117:1bc, 2

R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
Praise the LORD, all you nations,
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
<!–Reading II
Phil 4:6-9

–>Gospel
Lk 11:1-4

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,
one of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.”
He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name,
your Kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test.”

SOURCE: http://www.usccb.org/nab/100808.shtml

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Daily Reflection

October 8, 2008
by Robert P. Heaney

“Pray” and “prayer” in the New Testament almost always means petition – asking God for something. Today’s gospel says that Jesus was in a certain place “praying”. His disciples would have understood that He was asking God – His Father – for guidance. “Show me your will. What is it you want me to do?” Naturally enough, His disciples asked Him to tell them what they should ask God for as well (as John the Baptist had done for his followers). Jesus tells them to ask God to establish his reign on earth. It was the “how to do that” for which He, himself, had been seeking guidance.

“Hallowed be your name” and “Your kingdom come” are simply polite ways of asking God to run things His way. They are not just pious wishes that people would honor God’s name or bring about God’s rule. They are calls for action – for God to act, not us.

The question we must answer when confronted with this Gospel passage – when we pray the Lord’s Prayer – is “Do we mean it?” “Do we really want God to run things His way?” The Gospels are full of Jesus telling us what that would be like. “The Kingdom of God is like . . .” Like the prodigal father who welcomed home his lost son. Like the vineyard owner who paid the laborers who worked only one hour the same wage as those who worked all day. Like the person who gave a feast and invited “…the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind…” Like little children.

These things offend our sensibilities. This is not how the world works. If we were to do this, there would be terrible disruption. Society and business, as we know them, would come apart.

Right.

That’s why the final petition that Jesus gives is “. . . subject us not to the trial” (in some translations “temptation”). Don’t let us succumb to the temptation of saying (and acting as if) it won’t work. Perhaps the reason the Kingdom hasn’t come yet is that we haven’t wanted it to.

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Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

OCTOBER 9, 2008

Reading 1
Gal 3:1-5

O stupid Galatians!
Who has bewitched you,
before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
I want to learn only this from you:
did you receive the Spirit from works of the law,
or from faith in what you heard?
Are you so stupid?
After beginning with the Spirit,
are you now ending with the flesh?
Did you experience so many things in vain?–
if indeed it was in vain.
Does, then, the one who supplies the Spirit to you
and works mighty deeds among you
do so from works of the law
or from faith in what you heard?

Responsorial Psalm
Luke 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75

R. (68) Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; He has come to his people.

<!–Reading II
Phil 4:6-9

–>Gospel
Lk 11:5-13

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Suppose one of you has a friend
to whom he goes at midnight and says,
‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey
and I have nothing to offer him,’
and he says in reply from within,
‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked
and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.’
I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake
when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him?”

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Daily Reflection
October 9th, 2008
by Tom Purcell

St. Paul doesn’t mince words or hold back on his feelings in his letter to the Galatians. I imagine if a teacher or leader today called his followers stupid or bewitched, he or she would find themselves on the receiving end of similar language in a variety of venues, from blogs to Facebook entries to YouTube videos or teaching evaluations. But Paul’s point, which follows closely on his theological explanation of the relationship between justification by reason of following the law versus by reason of faith, is that the Galatians (we) have slipped by regressing into a lesser understanding of how to live, of what faith in Christ means.

According to Benedict XVI, “’Being justified’ means being made righteous, that is, being accepted by God’s merciful justice to enter into communion with him and, consequently, to be able to establish a far more genuine relationship with all our brethren: and this takes place on the basis of the complete forgiveness of our sins.” (General Audience, St. Peter’s, 8 Nov. 2006) Paul remonstrates his new converts for falling back into ways of adherence to the law rather than recognizing that faith in Jesus is the essence of their justification. Through His salvific act Jesus made possible the “complete forgiveness of our sins” and thus a fuller relationship with God and each other. Paul remembers the old ways – the ways of the flesh, the ways of the Talmudic law, and says more is required. The Galatians have seen the sacrifice Jesus made for them – what more do they need? Why do they regress?

In Luke’s telling of the parables on the power of persistence in prayer, Jesus helps us understand the need to continue to ask of God, to petition for help and guidance, to form good aspirations and expect good things from our prayer. These passages on one level help me understand that God will answer my requests with good gifts. But the difficult thing is that God gives us good gifts that only God might see as being good (as when Mom said to take the castor oil because it was “good for you”). I recall a story from deMello where the master reminds his followers that our lives are like beautiful tapestries that God weaves with our talents and gifts, and the events and challenges of our lives. We fail to see the beauty many times because we are viewing the tapestry from the reverse side, while God can see it in all its glory. So too the responses we might receive in our prayer – we fail to see their goodness because we look with mortal eyes instead from God’s perspective.

On another level, though, these passages from Luke help me see the need for my own persistence, and perhaps more importantly, my perseverance. In the first story, the visitor continues asking until he receives what he desires. In the second, those who ask, receive – if you don’t ask (if you don’t try, if you don’t pray), you don’t receive. Persistence – continuing to dialogue – God will answer, but we must initiate and ask. I am reminded of a little story – a man would pray every day “Please God, let me win the lottery.” Day after day, with no results. Finally in exasperation, he prayed “Lord, I ask day after day and I wonder if you hear me.” He listened and then he hear a voice say “Jim, help me out – buy a ticket!”

We, like the Galatians, regress. We fall back, we fall short, we fail to live up to our faith potential, we fail to act as we are called. What then should we ask for, what should we pray for, what should we desire? Paul’s answer is faith, faith in the Lord, faith in the message of Jesus, faith in the sacrifice of Jesus, faith in living in Jesus and thus in each other. Through this faith, and not through rigid adherence to the law, we are justified, and we live new lives.

And so my prayer today is one of gratitude for the faith I have received, for the grace to accept its power in my life, and for the gift of persistence.

Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, religious

November 17, 2008
Reading 1
Rv 1:1-4; 2:1-5

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him,
to show his servants what must happen soon.
He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
who gives witness to the word of God
and to the testimony of Jesus Christ by reporting what he saw.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud
and blessed are those who listen to this prophetic message
and heed what is written in it, for the appointed time is near
.
John, to the seven churches in Asia: grace to you and peace
from him who is and who was and who is to come,
and from the seven spirits before his throne.

I heard the Lord saying to me:
“To the angel of the Church in Ephesus, write this:

“‘The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand
and walks in the midst of the seven gold lampstands says this:
“I know your works, your labor, and your endurance,
and that you cannot tolerate the wicked;
you have tested those who call themselves Apostles but are not,
and discovered that they are impostors.
Moreover, you have endurance and have suffered for my name,
and you have not grown weary.
Yet I hold this against you:
you have lost the love you had at first.
Realize how far you have fallen.
Repent, and do the works you did at first.
Otherwise, I will come to you
and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”’”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6

R. (Rev. 2:17) Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life.

Gospel
Lk 18:35-43

As Jesus approached Jericho
a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging,
and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening.
They told him,
“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!”
The people walking in front rebuked him,
telling him to be silent,
but he kept calling out all the more,
“Son of David, have pity on me!”
Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him;
and when he came near, Jesus asked him,
“What do you want me to do for you?”
He replied, “Lord, please let me see.”
Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.”
He immediately received his sight
and followed him, giving glory to God.
When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.

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The Daily Reflection

November 17th, 2008
by: Cathy Weiss Pedersen

How does each of us hope to be remembered after we have left this earth? It is based in what we accomplished, where we succeeded, who we were or the person we tried to be?

I couldn’t help pondering these questions as I looked at today’s memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. Though listed as religious on the official church calendar, Elizabeth was the daughter of a King Andrew II of Hungary, the wife of Landgrave (Count) Ludwig of Thuringia (Germany), mother of three children, and eventually a member of the Third Order of St. Francis after her husband died. However, it was primarily how Elizabeth lived throughout her short life of twenty four years that calls us to recognize her gift to us in our daily lives. Elizabeth was a devote prayerful woman who continuously cared and provided for the poor from her wealth, ministered to the sick in a hospital she built, and lived the simple life of St. Francis as best she could.

In today’s passage from Revelation, we are told, ‘blessed are those who listen to this prophetic message and heed what is written… ‘I know your works, your labor, and your endurance…and (you) have not grown weary.’ But further on, ‘Realize how far you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at first.’

For me…this somewhat confusing message addresses our everyday life. How often are we caught up with what needs to be done, deadlines to meet, and preparations for what is next? In the midst of all this coming and going, it is very easy to continue to push on ahead…not taking time out to reflect (or pray) about the ‘how’ we are doing and/or discerning what is important to address or let go.

In the Gospel, the blind man has decided what is important…and continues to shout, ‘Son of David, have pity on me’, even though the crowd tries to silence him. As Jesus responds to the man’s plea, “Jesus, please let me see”, the blind man does receive sight, and gives glory to God.

This is a familiar story…and one of the many times that Jesus responds to the needs of the people around him.

But instead of focusing on Jesus’ response, today I am drawn to the blind man’s persistence and response. The man knew that Jesus was near and had faith that Jesus could be with him, perhaps heal him. And then, the blind man could see because of his faith, he opened himself to Jesus.

Perhaps this is the message of the day. We must step back in our lives in the midst of our busy-ness…opening ourselves to God’s presence in prayer. It is then that we can be renewed in our passion, in our call to be God’s presence to one another with the gifts and talents that God has given us.

Elizabeth of Hungary certainly lived her life for and with others, keeping God as her center in the midst of her privileged life…serving others in a way that made God present to all she met. I pray that I also may continue in my day to day works, with a passion that recognizes God as my center and the spirit of my presence for and with others.