Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest

Lectionary: 403

(Moses) did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the LORD.


Our first reading from the Book of Exodus describes Moses' radiant face and its effect on his people. If they had regarded him as a powerful, trustworthy leader with only their interest at heart, they now saw a man who stood in God's presence continually. Every time he came out of the Tabernacle Tent he "would tell the children of Israel all that had been commanded."
Despite their love and devotion to the man, some might have wondered. Has he perhaps switched sides in his mediation with God? Is he now more interested in representing God to the people than the people to God?
Anyone with authority in the church -- priest, deacon, catechist, or Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion -- meets that suspicion when they come down off the mountain. Whether the high place was a seminary or weekend workshop, as they reenter the congregation, they will not be asked, "What did you learn? Tell us!"
They will want to convey all that has been commanded; but, more often than not, they will be greeted with, "We've never done it that way."
Eventually they realize, we're not on the same side of the discussion that we used to be. It's a hard lesson to learn.
I sometimes remind my fellow chaplains at the hospital, "There is always an altar between you and the people, even if your Christian denomination never gathers around the altar. If you ever see me stepping around that altar to be just ordinary folks, like everybody else, don't walk. Run!"
The Christian minister cannot put on a veil as Moses did. We have authority, we must respect it.
But, we still belong among the people. Saint Augustine told his congregation,

“Where I’m terrified by what I am for you, I am given comfort by what I am with you. For you I am a bishop, with you, after all, I am a Christian. The first is the name of an office undertaken, the second a name of grace; that one means danger, this one salvation.

If we are tempted by power and authority, we must study and contemplate the example of Jesus. He certainly represented his Father, but he was put to death not for representing the Eminence of God but for representing God's humility. They despised the man who would not defend himself. They hated the man who speaks for them before God.

...when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation, he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.

In the VA hospital people often ask me to pray for them, and very often they have specific concerns. I might not agree with their politics or their causes. Some might beg for the patient to live who is clearly dying. I am tempted to instruct them about what they should be asking. Something more realistic; something more graceful.
But I pray for what they want. I wasn't sent to represent God to them; I should represent them to God, just as My Lord does for me.

Tuesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 402

The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his Kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the Kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear."

Saint Paul warned his disciples, "Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
The Author of Hebrews also warns us, "We know the one who said, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, and again: “The Lord will judge his people."
Of course they are faithfully echoing the ancient tradition heard in Deuteronomy 32: Vengeance is mine and recompense, for the time they lose their footing; because the day of their disaster is at hand and their doom is rushing upon them.

When Saint Paul says, "...leave room for the wrath to come," I suppose he means we should not discount the judgement which must come to every creature. 

Secular culture regards utility as the only limiting guide to a consumer culture. If I can do it and pay for it; if I want it; why shouldn't I have it? An adult who is not content with a dog or cat but wants a real pet, can manufacture a child with the purchase of sperm, artificial insemination, and -- if necessary -- renting a womb. They do not respect the child's right to biological parents who are married, love one another, sacrifice for the sake of their marriage and their family, and raise the child in their household. 

They do not "leave room for the wrath;" nor even for the future resentment of the human beings who must eventually discover they were bred for the purpose of gratifying their parents. How will they integrate that story into their parents' history? Will they remember their parents' many sacrifices for others' welfare, or their parents' narcissism?  

Secular culture regards enemies in the same way. If they oppose what we want they should be removed, eliminated, or "liquidated" -- the Nazi word for the murder of millions of people. America remains as one of the few nations that still liquidates criminals, after a tedious judicial process. 

We forget that "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." That eventuality is never considered. 

It's ironic that the secular culture dismisses God's judgement when, as human beings, we continually judge one another. What could be more human than to watch closely the actions and attitudes of others and judge them accordingly? We are, after all, made in God's image and so our judgement is a godlike behavior, though invariably shortsighted. To judge others is to eat of the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It must lead to heartache and disaster. 

The Lord urges us to refrain from judgement. Even when we must incarcerate someone for their own protection and the safety of others, we must treat them with compassion, and without judgement. We can still provide for their human dignity, respecting their right to the basics of food, shelter, security, health care, education and the ability to give back. 

A nation that idolizes freedom should know better than any other that many people cannot handle too much freedom. That's not judgement; that's common sense. No one can be given total freedom. We have seen what happens when autocrats are given too much freedom; everyone suffers.

And so we live under judgement, realizing that the Lord who created us can strip our freedom from us in the twinkling of an eye. 

"Whoever has ears ought to hear."

Memorial of Saint Martha

Lectionary: 401/607

She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

In our tradition we pay attention not only to what is said, but who says it. Each declaration of faith from apostles, Roman centurions, women, babies and demons sounds differently. Even when the scriptures declare, "There is no god!" it matters who said it: in that case, the fool.

From my reading on the subject, it seems feminist theologians agree that Jesus regarded women as equal to men. He spoke freely with women, healed them, accepted their love and devotion, and sent them on mission. His saving work favored everyone regardless of their status except when he preferred the lowly and despised. When there was a conflict between men and women, he stood with the women -- think of the woman caught in adultery and the woman in the synagogue -- and was prepared to pay the price. He even accepted a rebuke from a woman who demanded more than he was prepared to give. Isn't that what we all demand of one another? Should the Lord not have such demands made of him?

Saint Martha of Bethany stands out as a woman known for her crabbiness; which is to say, for her human nature. Unlike her always-angelic sister Mary, Martha tests Jesus' patience.

Which is what people do when they love and live together intimately. It's easy to be on your best behavior when in public. A consumer-based economy depends on happy customers; it must keep smiling all the time. Our Facebook entries depict happy children and happy parents on happy vacations. But we take off the masks at the front door. Our true selves reappear as we greet our loved ones at home. If we greet them... If  they greet us....

Martha wasn't wearing her company mask when she scolded Jesus and her idle sister Mary. She was upset, disappointed and frustrated and didn't mind showing it. She is also the one who can say, "I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

Many of us, recognizing in Martha more than a sister, a companion, might accept her testimony over that of her silent sister Mary. She knew him as one who welcomed her crabbiness and did not flee from her.

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 111


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.


I cannot hear the story of Abraham without recalling his watching a pillar of smoke rising from Sodom and Gomorrah. This was the day after he and Sarah had entertained this peculiar God with an impromptu banquet; only hours after he had stood dickering with this Majesty over the fate of these towns.

Standing alone on a distant hill, he must have said to himself, "What kind of god has named me as friend? Do I dare to count on his friendship? Do I dare to shy away from him? Who will support me if I avoid him? No one!"

What desperate courage it took to remain as a friend of God! And yet he had no choice. He could not turn back, nor -- in the twin lights of reason and affection -- would he want to.

When I was about ten years old my mother taught me how to ride a bicycle. I had seen her doing it, and every kid in the neighborhood, and I was ready to learn. She put me up on her rusty old "girl's bike", which weighed nearly as much as I did, and we shoved off. She ran along side with one hand on the seat as she urged me to "Pedal!" Pretty soon, I got the hang of it. It's a skill, once mastered, never forgotten.

I think some people, trained as Catholics, never quite got the pedaling part. Their parents or grandparents put them on the "seat" and ran along side with them, urging them to put some energy into, but they started slowing down as soon as the adult let go, and soon toppled like a kid who won't pedal his bike. And they complained, "Catholicism doesn't work for me!"

If you're reading this blog I suppose you did meet that crisis of independence and you decided to stay in the friendship the Church offered you. You have endured a certain amount of grief as a Catholic -- perhaps embarrassment and shame -- and you have discovered the Lord still wanted you as his own and you had no choice but to remain in his love. Knowing what you know, only a fool would refuse the grace and blessing of discipleship. So do we keep the faith from year to year, generation to generation. God calls and we respond.

Today's readings urge us to petition God with confidence for our own needs and the needs of others. Like Abraham, we represent our cities, states and nations. Our prayers must be raised up and they must be heard if God is to bless us. Prayer is a sacred duty, a privilege and pleasure; we cannot imagine life without it, no more than we can imagine bicycling without pedaling.

Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 400

He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds

you might uproot the wheat along with them.

Let them grow together until harvest;

then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,

"First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;

but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

I have heard that the wheat and the weeds in the Palestinian field were basically the same plant. The farmers through many centuries, perhaps by natural selection, had preferred the heavier grains of a native plant. The heavier grain may have fallen from the sheaves and flourished by the side of the path. The farmers then learned to prefer that wayside growth and cultivate it.

In any case, if Snidely Whiplash, for reasons of his own, planted weeds in our farmer's field, they were indistinguishable from the good seed. When the harvest came, threshers would sort them out. First they would beat the sheaves against the ground or something to dislodge the seed. Then they would pile the gathered stalks onto a flat surface, perhaps a wooden floor, and toss everything in the air. The wind would catch the stalks and wispier seeds and carry them away. The good, heavier seeds would fall to the floor and be collected for grinding.

Jesus uses this parable to teach us patience. There's a time for everything under heaven including times for non-judgement and for judgement. And God knows the difference.

We've all had experience of first impressions that proved to be wrong. A silent, aloof Fitzwilliam Darcy may be a prince of a fellow but socially awkward. An Aldonza may be Dulcinea to her Don Quixote, if only we had eyes to see and the patience to wait for that revelation.

During this time of intense division and political partisanship in the United States and many other countries, we should contemplate this parable. Under the intense gaze of television cameras and social media, reputations are sabotaged and careers destroyed by a photo, word, or gesture. People are quick to condemn. Close elections are determined by a last minute insinuation or suggested hearsay. Professional influencers skew words and images to serve their employers' desires, regardless of truth or the greater good. They can switch camps from Democrat to Republican and back again as readily as any English lord switched allegiance during the War of the Roses. When people hear what they want to hear, they hear nothing.

Jesus counsels patience and Saint James warns us not to judge anyone:

Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. Whoever speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save or to destroy. Who then are you to judge your neighbor? 

If this is "the Catholic hour," as some have suggested, when the message of the Catholic church is especially needed, I think our fellows must be reminded of Original Sin. The "weeds among the wheat" teaches us that evil pervades every aspect of our lives and we cannot sort it all out. Nor is there an answer to every problem. "There are no answers, there are only stories!" And, as actors in Salvation History, we try to discern where we are and what we should do next. What is my part? What does the Lord want me to do?

The same Holy Spirit might direct another to do just the opposite. (As, for instance, Catholics fought on all sides of World War II. I was baptized by a German priest who, according to legend, celebrated the Mass every Sunday on both sides of the trenches.)

How it will all be worked out we cannot, and need not, know.

We can be sure that no good end is justified by wicked means. No matter how well intended, certain actions are unconscionable. We don't judge those who do such deeds but we cannot support them. And we will be ready to pick up the pieces and ask the Holy Spirit to show us what to do next. "I told you so!" won't help. Forgiveness, compassion, patience, and mercy will.

There is only one Judge, as the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us; and -- Thank God! -- it ain't me.

Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Lectionary: 399

In those days:

God delivered all these commandments:

"I, the LORD, am your God,

who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.

You shall not have other gods besides me.

You shall not carve idols for yourselves....

Any one of the Ten Commandments deserves a full sermon, and each one has generated libraries of books! This morning offers us the original Exodus version of the Decalogue; another is found in Deuteronomy.

I think it's important to remember the context of these laws. They were given to runaway slaves. And many of those slaves, given the option, would readily have returned to Egypt. If slavery was oppressive and laborious, it was at least familiar. Whereas the sojourn in the desert was equally oppressive and laborious and not at all familiar.

The Ten Commandments spell Freedom; and the first commandment reminds us, freedom is a jealous God. "You shall not have other gods besides me." Rabbi Joshua Heschel wrote: 

"It is strange that modern students of religion fail to realize the constant necessity for the protest against polytheism. The idea of unity is... still beyond the grasp of most people. Monotheism, to this day, is still at variance with vulgar thinking; it is something against which the popular instinct continues to rebel. Polytheism seems to be more compatible with emotional moods and imagination than uncompromising monotheism, and great poets have often felt drawn to pagan gods. The world over, polytheism exercises an almost hypnotic appeal, stirring up powerful, latent yearnings for pagan forms, for it is obviously easier to worship under polytheistic than under monotheistic thought.

Yet, while popular and even poetic imagination is drawn is fascinated by a vision of ultimate pluralism, metaphysical thought as well as scientific reflection is drawn to the concept of unity.  (Man is not Alone: A philosophy of religion, 1951)

Polytheism attempts to satisfy all the demands of a panoply of insatiable gods, including family, career, church, citizenship, and one's own interests.These gods get their energy from popular anxieties and uncertainties. FOMO is only one of its many forms as otherwise intelligent people immerse themselves in obsessive pursuits. Millions of worried people suffer sleep deprivation as they pursue their dreams of more into the night; when they finally retire they are so wired they suffer insomnia. The entertainment industry -- How many remember when TV stations signed off at midnight? -- feeds on and fuels these anxieties with the promise of relief if you'll only buy our products. 

Created in God's image, we always want more, and we always feel as we need more. More money, more assurance, more strength, more ability, more security, more love. Good enough is never good enough. We should only try harder, work harder, eat less, exercise more, be more available. The gods promise to satisfy our needs if we will only fall down and worship them.  

And they're all infallible. The career goals must be attained; family cannot be ignored; the body must be cared for; rules must be obeyed. No exceptions. No doubts. And when you finally need relief, we can fix that with chemicals -- alcohol, nicotine, barbiturates, methamphetamine, heroin. 

Amid this cacophony, Jesus says, "Come to me, you who labor and are heavy burdened. I will give you rest...."

Unlike the Pharaoh, the Lord cares for his servants. He does not exploit or abuse; his discipline heals and satisfies even as we turn away from lesser gods. He assures us, "Your father knows what you need." 

Perhaps the most wonderful paradox is the Lord's assurance to the hesitant, "I will not take your freedom from you! Those gods will always be there!" As God's free agents we can always return to our slavery. The recovering alcoholic can always drink again; the adulterer will always find sexual partners; the reformed conman never loses his ability to deceive. But these gods destroy their slaves. Theirs is the way of bondage and death. The Lord leads us to freedom, breathtaking, frightening, and beautiful. 

Feast of Saint James, Apostle

Lectionary: 605

For we who live are constantly being given up to death

for the sake of Jesus,

so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

Few people have been as aware as Saint Paul of our frail mortality. His metaphor of the human being as an earthen vessel is perfect. It is not just the body that is made of mud, it's the whole person. And yet we hold this treasure within us, the Word of God.

When we thought of the human being as composed of body and soul, we could suppose that the soul retains its intelligence, drive, and decisiveness -- its "will" -- even as the body deteriorates. We did not recognize the long term effects of the most common recreational drugs -- alcohol and nicotine -- on the body. We knew nothing of the powerful chemicals that are used today to alter the brain and its functioning.. Body and soul seemed to inhabit different realms. When the dying body collapsed the soul (or "mind") would leap free and soar like an eagle into eternity! Unless, of course, it was laden with sin in which case it would waddle like the dodo into misery and extinction.

I'm not sure how we imagine the freedom of death anymore, but we've all seen how the mind forgets its place within the aging body. Convictions are confused; places lose their geography; memories fade; and loved ones become strangers. As the brain and its chemistry deteriorate, so goes the mind.

Where medieval doctors believed the four humors --  sanguine (blood), choleric (yellow bile), melancholic (black bile), and phlegmatic (phlegm) -- mysteriously controlled personality, modern physicians attempt to control the personality with antidepressants, anti-anxiety medicines, and other chemicals. Given the right formula you could be a saint! We are, after all, just earthen vessels; and subject to the laws of chemistry. The treasure which we pass to others will endure but we must return to earth.

Saint Paul appreciated our earthy frailty because he was often imprisoned for his service to the Church; and, even more often, severely beaten. Once his enemies left him for dead and, for all we know, he was dead until his friends prayed over him. Surviving these torments, the Apostle found that the Spirit was still eager, joyous,and courageous despite his bruises, aches, and pains.

The Spirit which animated Saint Paul remains with us. God is spirit and lives forever. When we pray we breathe that Everlasting Life which endures as our bodies return to clay and our breath returns to the atmosphere.

Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 397

The children of Israel said to them, "Would that we had died at the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread! But you had to lead us into this desert to make the whole community die of famine!"

Because I am still trying to finish my formal education, I have lately been reading the letters and stories of Flannery O'Connor. There is little romance in her writing and, seemingly, in her disposition. Anyone who likes peacocks enough to raise them has gotten well beyond romantic illusions. She surely recognized the grumbling of the children of Israel in the desert of Sin. She would not be at all surprised by the discontent of people who should be grateful. 

We have these weird notions about people. Parents think their children will love them and be grateful and never take them for granted. But they don't, and aren't, and they do. People think the wealthy must be happy in their security, and they enjoy neither. People who give to the poor think the poor should be happy for what they get, and they're not. They only want more. Children think their parents have it easy because they're not in school, and they don't. People believe if they really saw a miracle they would absolutely believe in God. Nope. It doesn't work that way. 

No sooner had the Hebrews escaped the Egyptian army by a miraculous passage through the Red Sea than they were complaining that God and his prophet Moses had brought them all this way to die of thirst and famine. Because they cannot imagine what God will do next, they assume he has no plan whatsoever, unless its to leave them stranded.

There really is no point in God's doing Wonderful Works if we're not willing, able or ready to see them. We're like the duffer who expects to beat Tiger Wood in golf if his luck holds. Without talent, dedication, and many hours of intense study and practice, luck doesn't happen. The best golfers have created and "own" a very small window where good things happens. Within that space the ball stops within inches of the cup, and sometimes drops into it.  

Faith is like that. If you can hear the march of the saints and the songs of the angels and the Mercy of God in the Sunday Mass, even when a third of the congregation comes late and another third leaves early, and the children are puling, and the teens are passing notes, and  the priest's "brief homily" goes on for twenty minutes, you will see God's wonderful works in every direction. 

Flannery O'Connor saw God's image in the characters who appear in her writing. Some of them are dreadful; some are nasty; all are restless until they rest in God. 

Optional Memorial of Saint Bridget of Sweden

Lectionary: 396

The Egyptians followed in pursuit; all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and charioteers went after them right into the midst of the sea. In the night watch just before dawn the LORD cast through the column of the fiery cloud upon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic; and he so clogged their chariot wheels that they could hardly drive. With that the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel, because the LORD was fighting for them against the Egyptians.

You would think the Egyptians, watching their Hebrew slaves rushing into the cleft water of the Red Sea, might pause at least for a moment before rushing in after them. Had they perhaps seen a passage open in the sea before and thought it was safe? I don't think so. Could it possibly mean the God of these miserable people was fighting for them? You would think so! But neither Pharaoh nor his bloodthirsty army nor his eager horses hesitated to throw themselves unto the breach.
There's no cure for stupid.
I recently read the essay of a young man who has sought out each of his 32 half-brothers and -sisters. He did not know them before; they had no acquaintance with each other. Their only connection was a sperm donor whose sole message to them, as he pocketed his cash, was, "I wish them all the luck."
These isolated siblings were bred by what he calls a "huge, inadvertent social experiment." Their mothers -- he claims two without differentiating biological from spiritual -- preferred a safer, asexual breeding to the complexity and mystery of marriage.  

This author does not condemn his mother's decision. He has no choice but to accept the social experiment as normal. He does not ask if his mother's decision should be considered moral or immoral, good or bad. Her ability to conceive asexually, with the support of an indifferent society, made it right. Might makes right. 

He never mentions his grandparents. Did they come around to their daughter's point of view? They had little choice but to love their grandson. Or perhaps they were estranged from their daughter by that other social experiment we call divorce; and never knew the boy. 

The scriptures tell us the Hebrews saw the Egyptian army and its horses washed up on shore after the catastrophe. Egyptian historians make no mention of it. If it happened as the Bible says it did, they obviously preferred not to remember it. They would forget the stupid move, and not have their descendants reflect upon it. 

The Church, with its foundation in the Word of God, remembers both catastrophes. We will not forget that a human child has a right to live in the home of his biological father and mother, a married-for-life couple in a sexually-monogamous relationship. This is how God intended it from the beginning. 

Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene

Lectionary: 603

She thought it was the gardener and said to him, "Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him."
Jesus said to her, "Mary!" 
She turned and said to him in Hebrew,
"Rabbouni," which means Teacher.


I met a fellow in the VA hospital several years ago who admired the Christian religion for the personal affection we feel for Jesus. We feel great satisfaction as God's chosen people, in the privilege of saying, "We are his people, and he is our God!" We take even greater pleasure as we hide in the secret clefts of his Sacred Heart. 
Our knowledge of God is not simply a public relationship. It surpasses the sense of belonging we might feel in a crowd or audience. It's great fun to join a mobbed football stadium and cheer for the home team. Attending a political rally and hearing the very ideas and philosophy we espouse is empowering; leaving that space we feel confident that this politician and our movement will conquer the world! Surely God is with us! 
A church service should have at least that much impact, especially as we attend week after week and year after year. The practice of faith shapes our imagination and, after many years, we dream the dreams of our coreligionists. 
But Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of God remind us that our faith must surpass that of the scribes and pharisees. 
With these women we feel shattered and brokenhearted on Good Friday. Our grief is inconsolable. We turn away from angels in white who might be sitting within his empty tomb. What use have we for angels when we search for Jesus? Can they stroke our face or kiss our tears? Can they hold us until the sobbing passes? 
We want to know the Crucified Lord who has been raised. With Saint Paul we say, 

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 

Only then will our hearts be healed. 

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 108​

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,

and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ

on behalf of his body, which is the church,

of which I am a minister...

Saint Ignatius of Loyola, a systematic spiritual master, explained how repentant sinners pass through a series of transformations. First, by the grace of God, they choose not to commit mortal sins. And then, perhaps realizing their venial sins lead inevitably to mortal sins, they choose not to commit venial sins. Eventually, as they begin to choose the Good, they will avoid "near occasions of sin." (For most of us that laborious course follows the track of our aging and there seems little difference between them. Did I become a better person, or just too old for that stuff?)

Continuing in the way of grace, they make small sacrifices like attending a Sunday service; and then, courteously attend to the needs of others.

Eventually, should they heroically pursue the Way of the Gospel further, they might be called upon to make very great sacrifices cheerfully! Even of life itself, as the martyrs have.

The process does not happen overnight and rarely does anyone run the entire course. Fortunately, not many are called to martyrdom.  A true conversion takes time as grace penetrates more deeply day by day.

A similar path might be  charted for the practice of hospitality, which is celebrated in today's readings. At first we invite only the most desirable people: the safe, comfortable, desirable beautiful, popular, successful, wealthy, and so forth. A lot depends upon our comfort zone. But grace teaches us, in the course of time, to welcome even the least among us. 

This openness, however, is about more than people. It concerns our availability to life itself. We may welcome experiences and adventures, ideas and sensations. 

Our first and third readings of this Sunday describe hospitality to God. Abraham and Sarah welcomed God in the appearance of three angels; Martha and Mary welcomed the Lord Jesus.

And, in the second reading, Saint Paul describes his welcome to the "afflictions of Christ."  He was in prison someplace. This tireless missionary, moving restlessly from city to city, always eager to speak of Jesus to friends, acquaintances, and strangers, was confined for weeks at a time with little more to do than pray and write letters. Eventually the Holy Spirit would arrange for his release and he would move on. In the meanwhile, he filled up in his flesh what was lacking in the afflictions of Christ, on behalf of his body, which is the Church.

Prison was not wasted time for Paul. He believed in what he was doing and was sure that God himself had directed him into the places and moments and relationships that led to his arrest. If God wanted him in prison then he would pray in prison, thanking God all the while. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

On the way to salvation we learn to prefer God's will. My own preferences, desires, whims and wishes have too often led to trouble for me and everyone else. Let me do God's will in God's way and God's time.

This is the hospitality that welcomes whatever may come, including the people who interrupt our set patterns and demand what we cannot afford to give. Anyone who lives very long will face disease, disability and disappointment. The last comes in too many forms to name. I sometimes ask the patients in the VA hospital, "Is this the worse thing that's ever happen to you?" Very often, they remember much worse. I hope that thought actually eases their present suffering. 

The wise man Job declared, "The Lord gives; the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." 

Saint Francis especially taught his disciples to expect and experience hardship and to convert them to prayer. For his trouble, after a long career of fasting, night vigils, hard travel and failure, he was rewarded with the stigmata, a most painful condition which he revealed to no one before he died. 

No one gets to choose their own cross; these are allotted by the Lord himself, according to an inscrutable wisdom. Inevitably we ask, "Why me?" Eventually we ask, "Why not me?" As we accept them graciously, the Holy Spirit reveals them as entries into Eternal Life. Invariably, those who choose this path of life, declare they are much happier than before.

Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 394​

Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.

Saint Matthew places this passage from the Prophet Isaiah in the context of Jesus' healing all the sick, and the conspiracy of the Pharisees. The more good he does, the more they hate him.

And yet, historians tell us, the Pharisees were not really the bad guys in Jerusalem and Judea. The Herodians and Sadducees worked more closely with the Roman oppressors, and profited more by their collaboration. It was they who arranged for Jesus' execution, rather than the less powerful Pharisees. And Zealots supported the terrorists!

The Pharisees were devout Jews; they were desperate to retain God's favor in the face of foreign oppression and exploitation. They believed they must maintain the integrity of their religious traditions at all costs. When the final catastrophe fell, later in the first century of the Christian era, the other Jewish parties disappeared. Only the Pharisees survived. Like some "conservative" religious communities today who wear traditional habits in public and private, their clinging to tradition gave them a strong sense of identity when the more adaptable syncretists lost theirs.

But the Gospels tell us the Pharisees did plot against Jesus. Despite their admirable fidelity to a beautiful tradition, they were driven by fear. Everything they did was calculated to avoid a Roman reaction. If Jesus represented change and aroused controversy, he might cause trouble. He should be neutralized. While powerful interests are looking for an excuse to strangle us we cannot afford to think thoughts of freedom, or to sing songs of joy.

Jesus was a free man. Conscious of God's love and election, he could approach Jerusalem and Calvary with utter abandon. He understood the wrath of his opposition, and how his manner enraged them, but he could not be deterred from healing the sick, feeding the hungry and raising the dead. His Father had sent him to demonstrate God's infinite mercy and that is what he would do. There were many things more important than his life.

Expect nothing good from fear. Frightened people do stupid things and blame others for it. We have better things to do, and a better life to live.

Friday of the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 393

If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,

you would not have condemned these innocent men.

For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath."

First century Christians, hearing and taking to heart this teaching of Jesus, reluctantly pulled away from the Jewish religion, taking with them the Pentateuch, the Prophets, Psalms and Wisdom literature. They also retained many Jewish customs, adapting them to their new beliefs and practices, especially the prayers for daily meal which became the Mass. Eventually, by the fourth century, the One Church of many eastern and western churches, despite the "heretics," had largely agreed upon the canon of the New Testament, the Creeds, the Liturgy and Sacraments, and essential structures of church government.

But, lest we be distracted by the many differences between Judaism and Christianity, we should appreciate today's gospel and the one essential difference: Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath. All the other distinctions are just window dressing compared to that Rock of Faith.

We should understand that the Lord of the Sabbath also directs his disciples in those remote places where Judaism does not exist. Jesus sets his disciples apart from Asians, Africans, Europeans, and Americans. Our worship of the One God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- requires time and energy that is not dedicated to supporting the values of a nation. We're delighted when the nation espouses our values even as we model the way those values are lived. 

Does the nation support family values? We celebrate a daily family meal. Does the nation love children? We do not abort any unborn child, including those who might be afflicted with "defects." They are beautiful and desirable in God's eyes, and in ours. Does the nation thrive on competition? We celebrate cooperation without which competition is savage barbarism. Does the nation fantasize about romantic relationships? We practice marriage until death do us part. Does the nation defend itself against its enemies? With our long view of history, we recognize the human dignity of all peoples and nations, and honor their legitimate demands upon us. No one should be deprived of food, shelter, health care or opportunity by our excessive way of life, for we must all stand before the same Judge. 

We might speak their languages, dress in their clothes, and  celebrate their holidays but we cannot conform entirely to any national or local culture. When Christianity becomes a national religion it loses its essential character, for the Lord serves no king, dictator or democracy. 

Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 392

Then you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him: "The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word. Permit us, then, to go a three-days' journey in the desert, that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God. "Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless he is forced.

Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, greeted his new born son with a song, which included the hope that,

"...rescued from the hand of enemies, without fear we might worship him in holiness and righteousness before him all our days...

The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States guarantees freedom of religion as the first of its four freedoms. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt included "freedom to worship God in his own way, freedom from want and freedom from fear," along with freedom of speech and expression among his four freedoms. The President offered these four as reasons to set aside isolationism and engage the Nazi terror.

But freedom is inherently anxious as it necessarily involves the expectations, wants and demands of other people. Rarely is anyone allowed to do whatever they want and no one much cares.

The free expression of religion, for instance, is often regarded as suspicious in public, if not downright intrusive. Americans might tolerate a cross on your lapel but can be uncomfortable around a turban, yarmulke, abaya, or burka. Most Catholic religious shed their religious habits and veils fifty years ago, wearing them only on ceremonial occasions. When we do go public we like to do it en masse, preferably with thousands of others where we don't hear the muttering about "shoving religion down my throat."

How fascinating then, that the Lord instructed Moses to excuse himself and his Hebrew flock from Egyptian slavery with a religious ceremony in the desert. Pharaoh immediately suspected a ruse. He feared (rightly) that they would not return.

When Muslim employees want to gather in a private place for Rakat, their Christian employers -- who long ago forgot the Angelus -- often get incensed.

Freedom is what we give to one another; it begins with the right "to worship God in his own way."

Some people cannot pray; or they say they cannot, which is the same thing. Just as some people cannot sing, dance, or walk, they cannot pray. In other words, they do not have the freedom to pray. They were not taught and they never learned. In many cases, they regret that loss and envy it among those who practice prayer.

If the saying "Use it or lose it!" is true of freedom, it's all more true of prayer. The one who neglects Sunday worship cannot expect to pray when misfortune strikes. Like King Claudius, he will find

My words fly up, my thoughts remain below:

Words without thoughts never to heaven go.

Periodically we must turn away from the pharaohs who demand continual service under pain of.... whatever. We must go into the wilderness and make sacrifice to God, so that he will lead us to the Promised Land.

Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 391

I am the God of your father," he continued,

"the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.

The cry of the children of Israel has reached me,

and I have truly noted that the Egyptians are oppressing them.

Come, now!  I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people,

the children of Israel, out of Egypt."

The seminarian crept into his classmate's bedroom and placed an incandescent chemical tube behind the small statue of the Virgin. An hour later, when the fellow saw a heavenly glow in his darkened room he immediately jumped out of bed and fell to his knees, thinking, "I hope I don't have to build a chapel on this spot!" The story would be told often throughout his priesthood.

Angels don't make social calls; divine visitations are not rewards for piety. On those rare occasions when Heaven appears on Earth, you know things are going to change. They will be challenging, frightening, difficult -- and for the better. We will discover, as if for the first time, the Lord remembers his people.

Today's first reading recalls that signal moment in human history when the Lord appeared to Moses and commissioned him to lead the Children of Abraham out of Egypt, the Pharaoh, his chariots and charioteers notwithstanding. Moses can entertain his doubts about God's power, if he chooses, but the Lord has decided and it will be done.

Many centuries later, Jesus, reflecting this tradition of confidence in God, prayed,

I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,

for although you have hidden these things

from the wise and the learned

you have revealed them to the childlike.

If Americans still favor the underdog it's partially due to our religious roots, God's people are not the rich and beautiful. Despite all appearances -- which are only skin deep -- God's favor rests upon the despised, the helpless, the marginalized -- the least among us. Those who would curry God's favor notice the divine preference and show deference to them. The Apostle James warns us in his second chapter:​

My brothers, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. For if a man with gold rings on his fingers and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here, please,” while you say to the poor one, “Stand there,” or “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs? Listen, my beloved brothers. Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him? But you dishonored the poor person. Are not the rich oppressing you? And do they themselves not haul you off to court?

This story of God's preference began with Cain and Abel and continued with the Resurrection of the Crucified. We pray that it will conclude when the Lord finds you and me preferring the company of pariahs, aliens, and the despised.