Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?

 

The scripture readings for this reflection can be found at https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/103020.cfm

In our gospel for today, we see another confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees and the scholars of the law. In Jewish culture the custom on the Sabbath was to avoid most every activity on the day dedicated to the Lord God. Sabbath was to be a day of rest, a day of developing that relationship with the Creator. The focus on the Sabbath was to be on God alone.

Jesus, being God, knows the law better than anyone at that table, yet he decides to proceed and do what is considered breaking the Sabbath rest. During dinner at this Pharisees house, a man suffering from dropsy was brought in and he was laid down in front of Jesus. Jesus did not immediately heal the man. First he addressed the Pharisees and the scholars of the law who were present. He asked them if it was proper or lawful to heal on the Sabbath. They do not reply; they remain silent. Jesus then healed the man and sets him free of his infirmity!

Law is important in our world. The purpose and intent of the law is to insure safety, security and peace for all people. But at times, we may put the law before what is loving and healthy for an individual, family or community. True, we may be keeping the “law” or “rule.” However we may be breaking the greatest commandment: “Love your neighbor.”

When it comes to the law, Jesus makes it clear that all law is subordinate to the one great law: that we are to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. We will never stray far from the path if we keep this commandment.

Jesus, today help us be mindful to use the “law” for the good of others and not just to “keep the rules.” Today and every day may we follow your example!

“I urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received…”

 

The Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102320.cfm

In our first reading for today St Paul is reminding the Ephesians and us of our call to follow Jesus Christ. He says we must follow this call with “all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love…” Ephesians 4:2

Love is central to who we are as followers of Jesus Christ. All throughout his ministry here on Earth, Jesus was teaching the two central commandments: Love of God and love of neighbor. It is through this love towards God and towards others in our lives that we can live, as St. Paul says, “to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.”

Mother Theresa of Calcutta understood this as she was ministering to those in need in Calcutta. Mother Theresa once said, “The fruit of love is service, which is compassion in action.”

Every day we can be with the Lord at Mass and to receive His love through reception of the Blessed Sacrament. It is through this daily listening to Scripture and the reception of Holy Communion that we can do what St. Paul and Mother Theresa teaches us: we can take the love that God has for all of us, and bring it to the world that is so hungry for love and the peace that can only come through the love God has for all of us.

Another saint of our time, Pope John Paul II says of love, “Open your minds and hearts to the beauty of all that God has made and to His special, personal love for each one of you.” God loves each one of us, and loves all those that He has put into our lives. We are called to bring that love to all those we encounter. St. Paul reminds us that we have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all.” Ephesians 4:5-6

Lord Jesus, thank you for the love you had for each of us as you died for us on the cross. Help us to bring that love into the world to bring that peace that can come only from you. Amen.

Beware of the leaven – that is, the hypocrisy – of the Pharisees

 

The scripture readings for this reflection can be found at https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101620.cfm

There’s an old saying that goes, “Honesty is the best policy.” There’s also a saying that goes, “If you talk the talk, you better walk the walk.” I believe that this is what Jesus is talking about here in today’s Gospel. The Pharisees claimed to be good and holy men, following the teachings of God handed down to them by Moses. They were always sitting in the best seats and places of honor at the synagogues. In Luke, chapter 11 verse 43, we hear Jesus say to the Pharisees, “You love the seat of honor in synagogues and greetings in marketplaces. Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk” Jesus saw them for who they really were: hateful and judgmental men who condemned those around them that weren’t following God in the way they felt that they should. The Pharisees were forgetting the two-fold aspect of the commandments: Love of God and Love of neighbor.

Jesus is calling us to something greater than just following out our faith here in Church. It is great that we can be at daily and Sunday mass as often as we are. Daily Mass and frequent time going to confession are important aspects of who we are as Catholic Christians. We get the spiritual nourishment that we need to be able to leave here and to take the love that God has shown us to those in our lives at home and in our families. Our relationship with God needs to be deeper than just what we do daily at church. We need to show others in our lives that God loves them. We need to do this without judging how they live out their lives. Our love for them must be unconditional, as God’s love is unconditional for all of us.

In all our relationships, whether it’s with God or with those we encounter daily, needs to be open and honest. We can’t be hypocritical in how we live out our lives. Part of that honesty is to not only to proclaim that we love God and are doing everything that He expects us to do according to His teaching with regards to the practice of our faith. We are called to bring that love of God to all people in our lives with honesty and respect. Sometimes bringing that love requires just being a good listener to someone going through a hard time, or just by being a good friend to someone who needs a friend.

As you leave here today, remember the words of Jesus in the gospel, “Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.” Bring that love of God to all you meet today.

Those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham who had faith.

 

The following reflection is from my homily on Friday, October 9th, 2020, and the scripture can be found at https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100920.cfm

Over the last several days, our first reading at Mass has been from the letter of St. Paul to the Galatians. There was a dispute that broke out between those who felt that you needed to be circumcised under Jewish law, before you can become a follower of Christ, and St. Paul who indicates that it is through faith, not observance of the law that brings us salvation.

Just as Abraham was justified because he believed what God had said... so we too are declared righteous by faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. God's dealings with Abraham had nothing to do with what Abraham did but rested entirely on that fact that he believed the Word of God.

And God's dealings with the Galatian Christians is no different from God's dealings with the believers of today - that our righteousness has nothing to do with what we do but rests entirely on believing in Christ and what He did. All that we are in Christ and all that we have in Him is not based on our merit. It does not rest on our good deeds or works of the law - our salvation rests on Christ and is ours by faith in the truth of God's Word.

The whole book of Galatians deals with this serious problem that we are not justified by the works of the Law, by physical heritage or an accident of birth. We are justified by faith. However certain Jewish teachers were unable to let go of their religion in the Church in Galatia but Paul taught them that the sons of Abraham are those of faith.

This teaching of Paul may seem to contradict what St. James writes in the Letter of James, chapter 2: “See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” Both what St. Paul is teaching about faith alone, and what James teaches about faith and works compliment each other. Once we have faith in the Lord Jesus, we are called by Jesus to be of service to others, out of love of God. But central to what both Paul and James are teaching is that we need faith to bring us to salvation in the Lord Jesus.

Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of faith that we have in you as our Lord and Savior. Help us to bring this faith to others in our lives in order to bring them salvation! Amen.

Wait for the LORD with courage; be stouthearted and wait for the LORD

 

Today we have a guest blogger. Arlene B. Muller (Arlene Clare Muller, OSF) is a lector and EM at St. Pancras parish, a singer in the choir at St. Margaret's parish, an itinerant speech/language therapist, and a professed Secular Franciscan at St. Adalbert's Secular Franciscan fraternity.  

See Scripture Readings for October 1, 2020: Job 19: 21-27 & Psalm 27

"Wait for the LORD with courage; be stouthearted and wait for the LORD" 

(Psalm 27)

On October 1 we celebrated the feast day of St. Therese of Lisieux, known as "the Little Flower", who is probably one of the most popular Saints in the Catholic Church. She is best known for her "little way", because she learned from the LORD and subsequently taught via her journal (which was eventually published as THE STORY OF A SOUL), that people who grow in love, trust and dependence upon the LORD can become holy by living their everyday lives and simple good works as loving offerings to the LORD, even in the most simple way. For St. Therese, even picking up a pen could be done as an act of love for God. St. Therese believed that in following her "little way" an "army of little saints" could be raised up for the glory of God.

Like many of us St. Therese aspired to do great things, but the LORD showed her as she prayed with Scripture that her vocation was not to be found in any of the ministry gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12. Rather, as she came upon 1 Corinthians 13 the LORD revealed to her that her vocation was LOVE. She realized that her love for God & for people was to be expressed in her simple chores, in simple acts of kindness toward those around her, and in bearing with the various personalities and quirks of the others sisters in her Carmelite monastery with patience, gentleness, humility and cheerfulness.

In some ways the life of St. Therese bears similarities to St. Faustina, the LORD's "secretary" of Divine Mercy, a saint who lived and died a few decades later and whose feast day is celebrated on October 5. Both were contemplative nuns who suffered trials in their religious life. Although St. Faustina was given direct visions of the LORD and St. Therese was not (as far as we know), both saints were given a revelation and a message of the LORD as Merciful Love in contrast to the more rigid concept of God that focused on His justice and judgment. Both were taught by the LORD to come to Him with trust and confidence instead of fear. Both kept journals that were published after death. Both suffered and died from tuberculosis at an early age. I recently read that St. Therese appeared to comfort St. Faustina in a dream, in answer to prayer, at a time when St. Faustina was struggling with difficult trials in religious life. 

In some ways St. Therese, about whom I learned and whom I came to love early in my life because she is my Mom's favorite saint, is associated in my mind with two things from which I recoil in horror and most want to avoid and escape: 1. living a life characterized by ordinariness and mundane chores; 2. Intense physical suffering sometimes accompanied by spiritual and emotional suffering as well. My desire is to live a long, healthy life, active in using my various gifts in Church ministry until the very end, and I really struggle with the mystery of suffering.

Personally I have always sought to avoid and escape mundane chores that seem to take so much time and energy from being able to utilize all our gifts and talents and accomplish more significant things. So I have chosen to live a celibate single life free from most domestic responsibilities in order to pursue ways to use my God given gifts of music, teaching and writing in my career in the secular world and my ministries in the Church. I am a faithful pro-life Catholic and not a radical feminist, but my primary feminist issue is that throughout the centuries women have too often been relegated to a place behind the sink, the stove, the broom and the file cabinets instead of being allowed and encouraged to make use of our intellect, gifts, talents and "feminine genius" in society and in the Church. I thank God that times have greatly changed in the Church and in the world so that we women have been given and encouraged to utilize many more opportunities. So it is difficult for me to accept the idea of being satisfied with doing mundane chores within the walls of either a home or a convent or monastery and offering them to God. However, in accepting this "little way" St. Therese, whose life would ordinarily have remained obscure, was given a way to help others develop a close personal relationship with the LORD and become holy, and during her life time God gave St. Therese the insight to realize that her journal and her "little way" would make a significant impact in the lives of many others. Typical of God's paradoxes, this simple nun who was relatively obscure during her lifetime has become of our most renown saints.

It was good to know (from the many books my Mom read about her) that St. Therese had a personal desire for priesthood, but she was obedient to God and to the Church and allowed God to mold that desire into a ministry of prayer for and correspondence (by letters) with priests and missionaries. St. Therese continues, as she promised, to spend her heaven doing good on earth, ministering to priests and missionaries, and she is known as a patron saint of the missions, along with St. Francis Xavier. Many priests and missionaries have testified to her intercession and her assistance in their lives and vocation.

St. Therese had periods of physical, spiritual and emotional suffering at different times of her life, especially in her final illness of great suffering with tuberculosis. Her trust in God was sorely tested and was not a "Pollyanna" form of trust. She is an example of great perseverance in times of suffering not only physically but with also with accompanying spiritual dryness and darkness. Hers was an enduring faith, a courageous faith, a trust that withstood many battles and conquered her circumstances and trials. She never abandoned God or her "little way" even when she experienced feelings of being abandoned, and the LORD helped her to remain strong spiritually as her physical body was wasting away.

Although there are specific readings designated for the liturgy for the Memorial of St. Therese of Lisieux, this year/cycle the readings of the day in Ordinary Time are very appropriate for our consideration of the life, trials and spirituality of St. Therese.

In the first reading from Job 19:21-27 Job expresses a wish to record his struggles in writing, which St. Therese did in her journal that became the book THE STORY OF A SOUL. Like Job St. Therese could say "my inmost being is consumed with longing", for she had great longing for God. In the midst of great suffering and temptation to lose faith St. Therese fought against temptation by acts of faith and trust, as Job said "But for me, I know that my Redeemer lives" and that one day she, like Job, would see God. Like the psalmist in Psalm 27 St. Therese held on to the belief that she would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living and continued to seek the Presence of the LORD for Whom she longed. Throughout her life, even in death, she was an excellent example of waiting for the LORD with courage. 

No matter what our station in life is--whether we are blessed with opportunities to demonstrate great talent and experience recognition in this life, or if our lives are characterized mainly by doing many little things out of love for God and people--it is our love for God and for people and our allowing the LORD through His Holy Spirit to lead us and to make us holy that really matters. We can be inspired by St. Therese's great love for God that flowed out into her love for people, her longing for Him and her determination to use every experience in her life to demonstrate love for God. As we seek to follow the LORD our faith will be tested in many ways, but although we are often frustrated and baffled because God's ways are not our ways, we will experience His faithfulness, and the LORD will help us persevere in trusting Him.

Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels

 

The Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100220.cfm

“I say to you that their angels in heaven will always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”

These words from today’s Gospel are what the Holy Catholic Church has relied upon throughout the centuries to affirm that we all have a Guardian Angel. It is because of this belief that I’m sure we all remember the prayer that as children we would say to our Guardian Angel: Angel of God, my guardian Dear, To whom God's love commits me here, Ever this day Be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide, Amen.

It is this childlike simplicity, humility, and trust that our Lord is talking about in today’s Gospel. A child’s faith and trust in God is strong and simple. As we get older, dealing with the struggles we face with family and friends, plus with the struggle of just growing up, we tend to lose that childlike faith in God. We become hardened and attempt to put up walls around us to protect us from being hurt. This wall shuts everyone out, including God.

According to tradition, everyone, starting at conception, receives a Guardian Angel to look over us. We need not be baptized Catholic to have an angel, but God in his mercy assigns all of us an angel to help and guide us throughout life.

Throughout the Old Testament, we find numerous Biblical references in support of the fact that angels are not only executors of God's wrath, but they are protectors of individual persons. In Genesis, (chapters 18-19), we read that angels protected Lot from danger. In the book of Exodus (32:34), we read where God said to Moses, "My angel shall go in front of you." 

In the new testament, in the Gospel of Mark, we hear of the angels ministering to the needs of Jesus during his 40 days in the desert. In the Acts of the Apostles, (chapter 5, verse 19), we read of the angel who freed Peter from prison.

I also believe that buildings and objects that we hold dear have Guardian Angels. Our parish has St. Michael the Archangel looking over it. And I am sure there is                 a special Guardian Angel that is before the Tabernacle that holds our Lord in the most Holy Eucharist.

During this special day in honor of our Guardian Angels, let us be grateful for their presence in our lives. Let us ask our Guardian Angels to help us to develop that love and simplicity of faith that Jesus talks about in today’s Gospel.

Angel of God, my guardian Dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day Be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide, Amen.