Andrew the Apostle, also known as Saint Andrew & called in the Orthodox tradition "the First-Called," was a Christian Apostle & the brother of Saint Peter [22 Feb., 29 June].Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
Andrew was Saint Peter’s brother, and was called with him. “As [Jesus] was walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is now called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, ‘Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him” (Matthew, 4:18-20).
John the Evangelist presents Andrew as a disciple of [St.] John the Baptist [24 June, 29 August]. When Jesus walked by one day, John said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” Andrew and another disciple followed Jesus. “Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come, and you will see.’ So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day” (John, 1:38-39a).
Friends, today’s Gospel reports the Lord’s calling of his first disciples. What is it about this scene that is so peaceful and right? Somehow it gets at the very heart of Jesus’ life and work, revealing what he is about. He comes into the world as the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, a representative from the community which is God—and thus his basic purpose is to draw the world into community around him.Video reflection by Father Don Miller, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
"He said to them, ‘Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.’" There is so much packed into that simple line. Notice the way that God acts. He is direct, in your face; he does the choosing. Jesus is not offering a doctrine, a theology, or a set of beliefs. He is offering himself: become my disciple, apprentice to me.
"And I will make you fishers of men." This is one of the best one-liners in Scripture. God is the Creator, the one who makes us from nothing. And what he makes us is always a reflection of himself: a fisher of men.
Every word of God is tested;Commentary: This is an uncharitable thought, but: *cough* Martin Luther! *cough*
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Add nothing to his words,
lest he reprove you, & you be exposed as a deceiver.
"Sanctify yourself & you will sanctify society."
—St. Francis of Assisi (4 October)
"I'm not the sharpest shard of glass
From this broken window,
But there's a few things that I've learned
That you might want to know:
That misery is a talent you can hone
And sorrow is a product we all can't wait to own.
"But I'm just trying to be
A better man.
"Flesh and blood cover the statues on the street,
They'll treat you like a friend,
But they'll stare at you like fresh meat,
And the porcelain teeth
That smile in your face
Can't wait for you to fall so they can take your place.
"But I'm just trying to be
A better man,
Yeah, I'm just trying to be
A better man.
"Lie and cheat your friends
While you still have time,
And downplay the drama
While you figure out a clever rhyme,
And smile with a semi-sympathetic tone,
Can't appreciated good friends until you find you're all alone.
"But I'm just trying to be
A better man,
Yeah, I'm just trying to be
A better man."
Friends, today’s Gospel passage describes the persecution Christians face before the end of the world. When will the Church stop being persecuted? When the Lord returns, but not before.Video reflection by Jem Sullivan, Ph.D.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
From the earliest days until the present, the community of Jesus Christ has been the focus of the world’s violence. The old principle of "killing the messenger" applies here. The Church will announce, until the end of time, that the old world is passing away, that a new world of love, non-violence, and life is emerging. This announcement always infuriates the world of sin, which explains why the twentieth century was the bloodiest on record—and the one with the most martyrs.
What do we do in the meantime? We maintain a detachment from the world that is passing away, our eyes fixed on the world that will never end. And we speak confidently, boldly, provocatively the message of the Gospel, the dying and rising of the Lord.
The fool gives vent to his anger;Saint Quote o' the Day
but by bidding his time, the wise man calms it.
"When we pray, we speak to God; when we read Scripture, God speaks to us."
—St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church (28 August)
"I don't want much,
I just wanna be a better man
To my baby…
"What can I do? What can I do
To get back to your heart?
I'd swim the Mississippi River,
If you would give me another start, girl…"
"Mama, don't you worry 'bout your daughter,
'Cause you're leaving her in real good hands,
I'm a real good man,
Now the picture of this man is slowly coming into view.
"Papa, don't you fret and don't forget
That one day you was in my shoes,
Somehow you paid your dues,
Now you're the picture of a man that I someday wanna be.
"I know it's hard, watching the changes in our lives,
But I wanna make your daughter my wife…
"…Now you're the picture of the man that I someday wanna be,
And the picture of this man is surely coming into view,
And the picture of my wife is slowly coming into view,
And the picture of this love is surely coming into view,
Yeah, the picture of this love is surely coming into view…"
Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus responds to questions about the end of the world. When will it come? What will happen?Video reflection by Father Robert Agbo: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Why were the first Christians interested in these questions? The simplest and deepest answer is that they had experienced the end of the world—precisely in the dying and rising of Jesus.
Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God, and the nations conspired against him. The old world seemed to conquer this new world that Jesus embodied. But then, in the Resurrection, they saw that the old world—the world predicated upon death and the world that had done Jesus in—was now defeated.
So awed were they by the Resurrection—and you can sense it in every book and letter of the New Testament—that they awaited the imminent arrival of the new state of affairs, the return of Jesus and the establishment of God’s kingdom. Though Jesus did not immediately return, the old world was over, broken, compromised, its destruction now just a matter of time.
"The source of justice is not vengeance but charity."
—St. Bridget of Sweden (23 July)
Friends, today's Gospel tells of the poor widow who gave her last penny to the Temple treasury. Her behavior makes us consider our possessiveness. What do we tell ourselves all the time? That we're not happy because we don't have all the things that we should have or that we want to have. What follows from this is that life becomes a constant quest to get, to acquire, to attain possessions.Video reflection by Monsignor James Vlaun (Telecare T.V.): U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Do you remember the parable about the foolish rich man? When his barns were filled with all his possessions, he decided to tear them down and build bigger ones. Why is he a fool? Because (and I want you to repeat this to yourself as I say it) you have everything you need right now to be happy.
"Charity is no substitute for justice withheld."
—St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church (28 August)
"I'm a good man, food on the table,
Working two jobs, ready willing, and able,
Check!
Good man, love having fun,
Got no kids and I love the Lord,
Check!
I'm a good man, I'm monogamous,
Never did time, well, maybe just once,
Check!…
"(Right now I'm better)
What was I going through?
(Better than ever)
That was the hardest time of my live.
(So much better now.)
But I do understand you got to go through it to get to it.
(My life is better.)
I just didn't think I'd be going through this
(My love is pretty.)
With you.
(So much better now.)
But I'm so much better now…"
This is the last Sunday of the liturgical year. On this day, we contemplate the kingship of Jesus our Redeemer. Our Holy Father (emeritus), Pope Benedict XVI, has spoken of the power of Christ the King in this way:
Friends, our Gospel today is the scene of the Last Judgment. We hear that the specifics are a matter of love concretely expressed: "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." And we know the famous connection that Jesus makes: "Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me."Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
There is something awful about the specificity of these demands. This is not love in the abstract, having affection for "humanity." It is caring for that person who is homeless, for that person who is ill, for that person who is in prison.
We do not take our money, our social status, our worldly power into the next world; but we do take the quality of our love. You might consider doing an examination of conscience at the end of each day, and use as your criteria this passage. Perhaps put it up on your wall or post it next to your bed so that you see it before you go to sleep.
Three or four years ago, my brother Andrew gave me a copy of a book titled Letters to a Young Poet. It is a small book that contains a collection of letters written by the great German lyric poet Rainer Maria Rilke to Franz Kappus, who at the time was a young aspiring poet. In one of the letters, Rilke penned some words that have remained ingrained on my heart since I read & underlined them in that small volume:
"Be patient toward all that is unresolved in your heart & try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms & like books that are written in a foreign tongue. Do not seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer."
"The prudent man considers things afar off, in so far as they tend to be a help or a hindrance to that which has to be done at the present time."
—St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church (28 January)
From a young age she devoted herself to study. A vision of the Madonna & Child persuaded her to become a Christian. When the persecutions began under Maxentius, she went to the emperor & rebuked him for his cruelty.'Tis also the festival of Saint Peter of Alexandria, Bishop & Martyr (died 311, A.K.A. Pope Peter I of Alexandria), martyred in the reign of the emperors Maxentius & Galerius, a victim of the Great Persecution: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Persecution.
Friends, today's Gospel reports a conversation Jesus had with some of the Sadducees, who held that there is no life after death. We could practically hear their speech on the lips of secularists today. But Jesus is having none of it. The dead shall indeed rise, he says. Otherwise, how could Moses have spoken of God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all of whom were long dead by Moses' time? But their risen existence, though in continuity, even bodily continuity, with what has gone before, will be transformed, transfigured, raised up.Video reflection by Sister Annie Bremmer: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Those who hold to the resurrection of the body are those who are most effective at working for justice and peace in this world. If you are a complete materialist and secularist, you hold that everything and everybody, in the end, just fades away. But if you believe in the resurrection of the body, then everything in this world is destined for redemption. Everything matters.
"It is not hard to obey when we love the one whom we obey."
—St. Ignatius of Loyola (31 July)
"Did you see that shooting star tonight?
Were you dazzled by the same constellation?
Did you and Jupiter conspire to get me?
I think you and the Moon and Neptune got it right,
'Cause now I'm shining bright, so bright,
Bright, so bright.
"And I see colors in a different way,
You make what doesn't matter fade to gray,
Life is good and that's the way it should be…"
Andrew was one of one hundred seventeen people martyred in Vietnam between 1820 & 1862. Members of the companions group gave their lives for Christ in the seventeenth, eighteenth, & nineteenth centuries, & received beatification during four different occasions between 1900 & 1951.'Tis also the festival of Saint Chrysogonus, Priest & Martyr (died circa 304), martyred in the reign of the emperors Diocletian & Maximian, a victim of the Great Persecution: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Persecution.
Friends, in today's Gospel we see Jesus cleansing the Temple. What did it mean for a provincial prophet to come into the holy city of Jerusalem and make a ruckus in the Temple? Well, you can probably imagine. To make matters worse, as we heard yesterday, Jesus says something that is as shocking as his actions. He says, "I will destroy this temple and in three days rebuild it." No wonder that it was precisely this act that led to his crucifixion.Video reflection by Paula Trigo-Galan: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
So what was he doing and why? First, in showing his lordship over even this most sacred symbol, he was announcing who he was. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus acts in the person of God. Secondly, he was instituting a new temple, the temple of his crucified and risen body. Jesus himself is the place where God dwells, and we, in the measure that we are grafted on to him, are temples of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is passing judgment on all of the inadequate, corrupt forms of human religion and is establishing the new and eternal covenant, the new temple, in his own person.
"Those who deem themselves to be Christian must be aware of the following obligation that is theirs. They are bound by conscience to the basic, imperative duty of bearing witness to the truth in which they believe & to the grace that has transformed their soul."
—Pope St. John XXIII (11 October)
He is considered to be the first Apostolic Father of the Church. Clement is the intermediary through whom the apostles teach the Church.Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
Clement of Rome was the third successor of Saint Peter (22 February, 29 June), reigning as pope during the last decades of the first century. He's known as one of the Church's five "Apostolic Fathers," those who provided a direct link between the Apostles & later generations of Church Fathers.Wikipedia-link Apostolic Fathers.
Columban was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries from around 590 in the Frankish & Lombard kingdoms.Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
Columban was the greatest of the Irish missionaries who worked on the European continent. As a young man who was greatly tormented by temptations of the flesh, he sought the advice of a religious women who had lived a hermit's life for years. He saw in her answer a call to leave the world. He went first to a monastery on an island in Lough Erne, then to the great monastic seat of learning at Bangor.'Tis also the Optional Memorial of Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro, Priest & Martyr, S.J. (1891-1927), martyred in the reign of the president Plutarco Elías Calles: Martyr-link ūnus, Martyr-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.
Miguel was a Mexican Jesuit Catholic priest executed under the presidency of Plutarco Elías Calles on charges of bombing & attempted assassination of former Mexican president Álvaro Obregón.Bl. Miguel's was the first Christian martyrdom ever photographed (above). His last words were, "¡Viva Cristo Rey!" ("Long live Christ the King!")
Today's readings & psalm may be chosen from the Proper texts "In Thanksgiving to God (Lectionary 943-947) or from the weekday Mass for Thursday of the thirty-third week in Ordinary Time (Lectionary 500, page 153). The following are suggested from among the many options.The Book of Sirach, chapter fifty, verses twenty-two, twenty-three, & twenty-four;
Friends, today's Gospel recounts the Lord's healing of ten lepers, only one of whom comes back to give thanks. Leprosy frightened people in ancient times, just as contagious and mysterious diseases frighten people today. But, more than this, leprosy rendered someone unclean and therefore incapable of engaging in the act of worship. It is not accidental that the person responsible for examining the patient in ancient Israel was the priest. The priest's job was to monitor the whole process of Israelite worship, very much including who could and couldn't participate in the Temple.Video reflection by Father Don Miller, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
What is so important about worship? To worship is to order the whole of one's life toward the living God, and, in doing so, to become interiorly and exteriorly rightly ordered. To worship is to signal to oneself what one's life is finally about. Worship is not something that God needs, but it is very much something that we need.
"Whoever sees God has obtained all the goods of which he can conceive."
—St. Gregory of Nyssa (10 January)
"I'd like to open up by making a suggestion,
One that I suggest you're open to,
And then I'll open up the floor and take a question,
After that it's time to tilt a few (you and you and you).
"A reason to toast,
A reason to cheer,
A reason to celebrate:
It's nice being here!
"You might be wondering just why I called this meeting
And let another moment pass,
Before we move on, please, let's rearrange the seating,
After that it's time to raise a glass.
"I'll raise my glass up high to all the friendly faces,
Here and wherever they may be,
I don't know why I never thought 'til now to say this,
But you mean the world to me.
"A reason to toast,
A reason to cheer,
A reason to celebrate:
It's nice being here!
"Let's raise a glass up high because we're here together,
What better reason could exist?
Hey, lads, let's raise a glass, what could be better than this?
If you're without a glass, then let's see your fist!
(Get 'em up there, boys!)
"A reason to toast,
A reason to cheer,
A reason to celebrate:
It's nice being here!…"
She is the patroness of musicians. It is written that as the musicians played at her wedding she "sang in her heart to the Lord." She is one of seven women, excluding the Blessed Virgin, commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass.'Tis also the festival of Saints Philemon & Apphia, Martyrs (died circa 68), martyred in the reign of the emperor Nero, recipients of the Letter to Philemon: Martyr-link Papa, Martyr-link Alpha, & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Epistle.
Friends, in today's Gospel Jesus uses images drawn from the world of business to instruct us in Christian living. And he especially liked the dynamic of investment, risk, and return as a model of the spiritual life. The reason is clear. God exists in gift form. Therefore, if you want his life in you, you have to learn to give it away.Video reflection by Jem Sullivan, Ph.D.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Think of the coins we read about today as everything that we've received from God—life, breath, being, powers, and so on. Because they come from God, they are meant to become gifts. If you cling to them, in the manner of the third servant, they don't grow; in fact, they wither away.
Notice that the first two servants doubled their wealth precisely in the measure that they risked it. This means that the one who truly has the divine life knows how to make it a gift, and that in turn will make the original gift increase. And the opposite holds true: "From the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." This means that if you try to cling to the divine life, you will, in short order, lose it.
"To love God is something greater than to know him."
—St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church (28 January)
According to the apocryphal "Infancy Narrative of James" text, Mary's parents, [Ss.] Joachim & Ann [26 July], who had been childless, received a heavenly message that they wold have a child. In thanksgiving for the gift of their daughter, they brought her, when still a child, to the Temple in Jerusalem to consecrate her to God.'Tis also the festival of Saint Gelasius I, Pope (died 496), forty-ninth Bishop of Rome: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
Friends, today's Gospel declares in the story of Zacchaeus how quickly God responds to any sign of faith. Zacchaeus' climbing the sycamore tree shows he had more than a passing interest in seeing Jesus. He had a deep hunger of the spirit. His principal virtue was his willingness to go to great extremes. But this is what we do when we know that something of great moment is at stake. When our health is endangered, we move, we act; when our job is threatened, we go to almost any extreme to keep it.Video reflection by Sister Johnice Rzadkiewicz, C.S.S.F.: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
When Jesus spotted him he said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down. I mean to stay at your house today." Christians, God responds to us readily when we show the least interest in him. He doesn't play hard to get; he is not coy with us. When we seek him, he responds, because loving us is his entire game.
Notice how Jesus tells Zacchaeus to hurry. Don't wait, don't hesitate. Seize the moment of conversion when it comes.
"Love to be real, it must cost—it must hurt—it must empty us of self."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta (5 September)
Friends, today in the Gospel passage we see Jesus' mercy toward the blind man as a hallmark of his ministry. Jesus comes as healer, savior, inaugurator of the kingdom. He is the embodiment of hope. Jesus wanted to connect human suffering to the very source of life and health. The energy of God pours through him to the needy.Video reflection by Monsignor James Vlaun (Telecare T.V.): U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Now I realize a question may be forming in your mind: "Well, why doesn't he simply cure everyone, then?" The answer is obviously wrapped up in the mystery of God's will, but the important point is this: Jesus is healer in many senses, but ultimately in the sense that he heals us from sin and death, not only physical maladies. What appears historically in Jesus is an eschatological anticipation, a hint and foreshadowing of what is coming in God's time and in God's way.
"Pray, hope, & don't worry."
—St. Pio of Pietrelcina (23 September)
Friends, today's Gospel gives us the challenging parable of the talents. A man goes on a journey, but before leaving he entrusts his money to three of his servants. To one he gives five talents, to a second, two, and to a third, one.Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The first man trades with the five talents. The second does the same, and both receive a rich return on their investment. The third man cautiously buries his talent. When the owner returns, he praises the first two servants and gives them greater responsibilities, but the third man he upbraids.
Jesus loved to use examples drawn from the world of business. And he especially liked this dynamic of investment as a model of the spiritual life. The reason is clear, and I've said it to you often. God exists in gift form. Therefore, if you want his life in you, you have to learn to give it away. Think of the talents as everything that we've received from God—life, breath, being, powers. Because they come from God, they are meant to become gifts. If you cling to them, in the manner of the third servant, they don't grow; in fact, they wither away.
Mass is not about whom you sit next to. It's not about which priest says Mass. It is not about what you wear or who is there. Mass is not about the music. It's not even about the preaching. It [is] about gathering as a community to give thanks to God for all the blessings he fills our lives with. It is about receiving the Body & Blood of Christ, not just physically, but spiritually. Perhaps you have been receiving the Eucharist physically every Sunday for your whole life. Next Sunday, prepare yourself, be conscious of the marvel, the wonder, the mystery, & receive spiritually.
"To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible."
—St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church (28 January)
Friends, today's Gospel exhorts us to pray with persistence. This command is everywhere in the Bible. We see it in Abraham's steady petition on behalf of the people of Sodom. We see it in today's account of the persistent widow. We hear it in Jesus' extraordinary teaching: "Knock and the door shall be opened to you; seek and you will find; ask and it will be given to you."Video reflection by Father Michael Ackerman: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
One reason that we don't receive what we want through prayer is that we give up too easily. What could be behind this rule of prayer? Augustine said that God sometimes delays in giving us what we want because he wants our hearts to expand. The more ardently we desire something, the more ready we are when it comes, the more we treasure it. The very act of asking persistently is accomplishing something spiritually important. So, when the Lord seems slow to answer your prayer, never give up.
"Let us begin in earnest to work out our salvation, for no one will do it for us, since even He Himself, Who made us without ourselves, will not save us without ourselves."
—St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (16 October)