Blog & Pastor Letters

Every morning as I set out for Mass, many thoughts rise with me from my bed. The faces I saw yesterday at morning Mass are the likely the faces I may see again sitting down, meditating, and patiently waiting for Mass to begin. I find this highly encouraging for my ministry, and above all, for my spiritual life. In my reflections, I always remember this admonishment from the Bible: ‘Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth’ (Ecclesiastes 12:1).

When you find something of value, you are likely to share your findings with others. Unless it is a cache of gold in the Gobi Desert, you are likely to announce your find so that others can share in your joy. Gold can lead to some selfish behavior and you are likely to avoid hasty publicity and, in the process, lead others to plunder the site and cart away your newly found precious metals. Valuable items are guarded jealously. And when we discover something that is most valuable to our lives, we marvel at the discovery and celebrate it like no other in the past.

When Jesus says, ‘the greatest among you must be your servant’, he wants all Christians to add humility in their repertoire of talents while serving others. By itself, leadership in whatever form, is meant to add value to people’s lives and allow them to taste a future reality from the present. Jesus exemplified this by laying down his life for all people. It wasn’t out of weakness that he did this, but out of love for sinful humanity that we may live.

In a world that is gradually secularizing, maintaining the sacred becomes difficult. The Christian is constantly at danger of being attacked for his beliefs, his dogmas, and his teachings about the purpose of human existence. How did we find ourselves here and where are we going after we die? The answer is as varied as our belief systems. For the Christian, the meaning of human existence is completely tied to the purpose of God’s love for the world which man is given a supreme role. It is the duty of man to remember his Creator, for we came from him, and we shall return to him.

(Adapted from the writings of St. Francis de Sales, especially Sermons, L. Fiorelli, Ed.)

In today’s Gospel Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God will be given to those who live the Lord’s way of truth and sacred love. St. Francis de Sales expands on this:

How happy we shall be if we love this divine Goodness that has prepared such favors and blessings for us! God became one of us so that we might become like God. Our Savior gave us His life not only to heal the sick, work miracles, and teach us what we must do to have a life-giving, healthy life. He also used his entire life choosing to shape His cross by enduring insults from those for whom He was doing so much good. He chose to give up His life for His people who rejected Him.

Our modern society and wider world are places of extremes; we have the very wealth and the desperately poor. In our newspapers and on our televisions, we see the many stories of people who have more money, wealth and riches than they will ever need. We also see those who are struggling just to stay alive each day. We are told that our economies are recovering after the serious financial crash. Yet the number of food banks and charity shops are growing daily. Many churches and charities report that more and more people are looking for help and support with the basic necessities of life.

The gospel tells us that if we want to be Jesus’ disciples we must become like children and consider ourselves the slaves of all. The greatness of a Christian consists in serving others, particularly the poorest. In the Christian community who occupies the first place has to put aside all desire of greatness. The church is not a stepping stone to get to positions of prestige, to emerge, to gain control over others. It is the place where everyone complies with the gifts he has received from God, celebrate their greatness in humble service to others. In God’s eyes, the greatest is the one who most resembles Christ, who is the servant of all (Lk 22:27).

Today’s 1st reading (Isa 50:5-9a) a mysterious figure is offered to us. He is a man hit, humiliated, insulted, beaten (vv. 5-6), that God, however, has not abandoned in the hands of the enemy. He glorified him, giving success to his mission and showing everyone that he was a righteous person (vv. 8-9).

It is hard to say if the Prophet was referring to a real man or if he was talking, in a symbolic way, of the people of Israel, destroyed by the violence of the enemy. What is certain is that the early Christians saw in this character the image of their Master, Jesus of Nazareth, rejected by his contemporaries, opposed and defeated by the religious and political leaders of his time, but recognized by God, through the resurrection, as the real winner.

The 1st reading, (vv. 1-2), insists on the absolute value, the inviolability of the law that cannot be changed because it is not the work of men, but of God. Two temptations must be avoided: that of reducing it, rejecting provisions that are more challenging and difficult, and the opposite of adding new requirements dictated by the “wisdom” of men. This second temptation is particularly insidious because it considers the “will of God” those which are only rules of men. In the face of undue addition to the law of the Lord, Jesus invites his disciples to assume a free and serene attitude.

The first reading informs us about the choice made by the people of Israel at the great assembly of Shechem: they decided to choose Yahweh and to reject all idols. At Shechem Joshua exposes his proposal: choose your God. Do you want to go back and serve the gods worshiped by your ancestors? This request for verification is really amazing! It seems impossible that a people who has witnessed many miracles, can abandon the God who has fostered and protected them, indeed, who made them arise out of nowhere. Yet in all this there is nothing strange, it is our history.

THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY’S BODY INTO HEAVEN - With these few words, the Church gave its authoritative teaching to the millions who for generations had believed that Mary’s body was incorruptible but had waited for the declaration to be made by the Vatican. The doctrine of the Assumption was defined as a dogma of faith by Pope Pius XII on November 1st, 1950, in Munificentissimus Deus. While the bodies of the Apostles and martyrs could be preserved and venerated, whereas of the body of Mary, no relic should remain on earth.

In the first reading in 1Kgs. 19:4-8 Elijah denounces those who have abandoned Yahweh to follow Baal, the god of Jezebel. The queen is hunting him down and wants to kill him. He decides to run away, southwards, towards Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. He wants to go to where Moses met God. The feels that his faith needs to be strengthened and wants to repeat the spiritual experiences of the great liberator of Israel. The desert crossing is not easy. He feels too sad, tired, and alone that he can’t walk any further. He sits down under a tree and begs God to let him die.

The central idea that links the first reading and the gospel is the food that God provides for his people. In the desert Israel received manna, a food which could give strength to a perishable body. Now, God feeds his people with the bread of life, with his Word, Jesus Christ our savior.