Sunday August 23rd. to Saturday August 29th.
Reflections on the Mass Readings for the week of Sunday August 23rd. to Saturday August 29th.
Sunday August 23rd. Twenty First Sunday in Year One.
Many of the problems in the history of the
Church have arisen from the position of the Bishop of Rome and his claim to be
the successor of Peter. Over the centuries this has, for many of the churches,
become a stumbling block because the Bishop of Rome has assumed worldly
authority over all the churches in a style which seems very far removed from that
which Jesus might have intended for his followers.
It is the way in which the Western Church has
seen the role of the Bishop of Rome that has been an obstacle to reunion
between itself and the great Eastern churches and it was this that gave rise,
in large part, to the terrible break-up of the Western Church at the time of
the Reformation.
Pope John Paul, in spite of his own
authoritarian stance, tried to begin the process of resolving this issue by
addressing a letter to all the churches asking them how they might see the role
of the Bishop of Rome in some future united Church. Some did reply but
generally his appeal was not taken up.
The reason for this rather lengthy introduction
is because, in today’s Gospel reading, we have the passage which is found only
in Matthew’s Gospel and which has partly given rise to the unique position of
the Bishop of Rome in the history of the Western Church.
The extract which we read today though it is
found only in Matthew’s Gospel, is based partially on Mark’s account of the
same episode. (Mark 8/27-9/1) Matthew takes the passage from Mark concerning
Jesus’ identity and only changes the details by adding Jeremiah to the list of
those who people believe Jesus to be. The major change is in the development of
Peter’s confession of faith for which there is no parallel in any of the other
three Gospels.
Biblical scholars are divided about the source
of this material and some believe that it comes directly from Jesus given the
style of the conversation and the role which Peter assumes among the
Twelve. The language of this passage is
very Semitic with Simon-bar-Jona, ‘flesh and blood’ and the pun on the
Peter-rock all suggesting that this piece originally circulated in Aramaic or,
at least, in a highly Semitized Greek. This would then most likely be a
tradition that pre-dates Matthew’s writing of his Gospel and which he inserted
into his text.
Other Biblical scholars argue that this text
comes from the church in Antioch where Peter was looked up to as their founding
Apostle. Yet others would trace this back to a post-Resurrection appearance of
Jesus which is mentioned in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor.15/5)
Matthew’s Gospel has no mention of this
post-Resurrection appearance, whereas it appears in both Luke and John (Luke
24/34 and John 21/15-17). Has Matthew moved this episode back into the life of
the earthly Jesus? We don’t know, but what is striking is the continuing
interest in Peter who had probably died about the year 60 C.E. while Matthew only wrote about 85 C.E.
Whereas in Mark’s account, Peter’s confession
of faith is rejected or, at least, corrected, in Matthew’s Gospel it serves as
the basis for Jesus’ blessing of Peter. In Matthew’s Gospel Peter is the one
who gets involved whenever problems
emerge (Matthew 15/15, 17/24-27, 19/21-22) and in this episode, Peter is the
recipient of divine revelation (16/17) and is called the foundation of the
Church (16/17) and is given special authority (16.19).
The location of this episode is at Caeserea
Philippi which is to the north of the Sea of Galilee and not far from Mount
Hermon. This was, traditionally a place
of revelation. Jesus poses his question in a significant way and speaks of
himself as ‘the Son of Man’. He goes on to use the phrase ‘Who do you say that
I am?’ which has overtones of the Divine name (Exodus 3/13-14) and divinity.
Peter is the first of the disciples to use the title ‘Messiah’ of Jesus and
adds to it ‘the Son of the living God’
as if to make sure that the true identity of Jesus is understood.
Jesus addresses Peter as Simon, son of John
(the translation ‘Jonah’ is a mistake). Then, in typical Jewish fashion he
confirms Peter’s insight and tells him that it was the Father who had revealed
this to him and not any human person.
The idea of Peter as ‘rock’ was probably
something to do with his character and may well have been a nickname, ‘Rocky’.
This preceded the idea of Peter being a foundation for the Church but there are
many instances of the use of the image of the rock for the foundation,
sometimes used of Christ himself as in 1 Corinthians (1 Cor. 3/11) but also of the
Apostles, as in the letter to the Ephesians (Eph. 2/20).
The motif of the keys is rooted in the prophecy
of Isaiah which we read in the first reading today. Eliakim is to have charge
of entry and exit from the royal palace and in the same way Peter is to have
charge of the entry into the Kingdom of Heaven, he is a sort of major domo.
The use of the word ‘church’ may indicate that
these Jewish Christians for whom Matthew was writing, preferred the use of the
Greek word ‘ekklesia’ for their community whereas other Jews used the term
‘synagoge’ for theirs, but the word does not have the significance that we now
attach to it in any case.
It is hard to be sure about the role of Peter
in the controversies of Matthew’s community in the first century C.E., but he
was, obviously, still of great importance
to them. Maybe, Peter was seen by them as their founding Apostle and,
perhaps, their leaders traced their spiritual pedigree back through Peter to
Jesus.
What is important in all this is to recognise
that, although Peter obviously had a special place in the thinking of Matthew’s
Gospel and in the life of his community and he emerges as the leader of the
Twelve, we cannot draw any conclusions
from this passage that would warrant the later claims made for Peter’s
successor in Rome. Here we must turn to
history and recognise that the importance of Peter among the Twelve and his
obvious leadership resulted in the
important place given to the Roman church. Peter was believed to have gone to
Rome in the year 42 and is believed to have been martyred there under the
Emperor Nero around the year 64. The
pre-eminence of the Roman church, due to its association with Peter and with
Paul led to it being seen as a reference point of orthodoxy and its bishop
gradually assumed importance, due to his being the successor of Peter. There is
no evidence for thinking that Jesus suggested this.
The real sticking point about all this is whether
the position of the Roman church and its bishop gave it the right to ‘rule’
over the other churches. All the great churches of the East are ready to accept
that the Roman church is the ‘first among equals’ as is its bishop and the Reformed churches
see, more and more, the need for some central point of unity.
Over the centuries the Roman church has taken
to itself much of the worldly honour and importance that belonged to the Roman
Emperors and it is obvious that if any sort of unity is to be achieved, all of
this must be abandoned. Pope Francis has adopted a much simpler style than that
of his predecessors and so we may see the beginnings of some sort of
‘rapprochement’ during his time as Pope but, given the power of the Roman
Curia, we must pray that whoever succeeds him has the same will to reform as
Francis has.
The whole area of ‘infallibility’ is another
stumbling block on the road to unity but that is another subject which deserves
separate treatment. What we must
continue to do is to concentrate on the Bishop of Rome being a centre of unity
rather than some sort of infallible oracle. A good point at which to start
would be to drop the use of the title ‘Holy Father’ which surely, in view of
all that Jesus teaches us, is blasphemous since we have only one Father and
that is God.
The short extract from Paul’s Letter to the
Church in Rome is really a prayer of wonderment and awe at the total
‘otherness’ of God and is a good way of counteracting all the theological
speculation to which the Gospel reading gives rise. We are privileged to have
the faith passed on to us by the Apostles, Peter and the others with Paul. All
we can do is to bow down in wonder and awe and cry out with him ‘All that
exists comes from him, all is by him and for him. To him be glory for ever.
Amen!’
Monday August 24th. Feast of the Apostle Bartholomew.
We know almost nothing of the life of Bartholomew.
He is mentioned in the list of the Twelve in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and
Luke but in John’s Gospel, the name Nathanael is mentioned and not Bartholomew
though it is generally believed that these are one and the same person.
Bartholomew is also there with the Twelve on Pentecost day when the Spirit
came.
In the second century a legend developed that
Bartholomew went to India to proclaim the Gospel and he is also associated with
Armenia where he said to have been flayed alive before being beheaded.
Bartholomew was very popular in England, due,
perhaps, to a relic of his arm having been given to Canterbury in the 11th.
century by Queen Emma, Cnut’s wife. This would account for the fact that one
hundred and sixty three ancient churches were dedicated to him in this country
before the Reformation.
The manner of Bartholomew’s legendary death
appealed to the popular imagination and because of this he became the patron
saint of tanners and all who work with animal skins!
A day to pray that the ghastly habit of wearing
animal skins may soon be ended and people may recognise the enormity of this,
since so often the skins are procured in the bloodiest and most cruel way.
There are special readings for the feast of
Bartholomew.
Readings
Apocalypse 21/9-14 :
John 1/45-51
The reading from Revelation describes a vision
of the new Jerusalem, the Church built upon the Twelve Apostles who are the
foundations of its walls. It is good to remember how those twelve men and
others went out to proclaim Jesus’ message , travelling far and wide and
founding communities of Jesus’ followers all around the Mediterranean and even
further. They are truly the foundation stones upon which the Church is built
and today we give thanks for them. Whenever we say that we believe in an
‘apostolic church’ this is what we mean. They handed on the Gospel to us.
The Gospel reading tells the story of Jesus
calling Nathanael, through the other Apostle Philip to follow him. Nathanael
is, at first, doubtful that Jesus might be the Messiah since he came from
Nazareth but he goes along with Philip. Jesus welcomes him with words of
praise, ‘Here is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit’. Nathanael is someone
who is honest in his frankness and he is worthy to recognise all that has been
promised in the Scriptures.
The Gospel writer has already emphasised the
idea of ‘finding’. Jesus ‘found ’Philip, Philip ‘found’ Nathanael and
previously, Andrew had ‘found’ Simon Peter his brother and told him that they
had ‘found’ the Messiah and Nathanael is worthy to ‘find’ the One promised by
the Scriptures. This leads Nathanael or
Bartholomew to ask Jesus how he could possibly know him. Jesus answers,
somewhat mysteriously, that he saw him ‘under the fig tree’. Whatever that
could mean, Nathanael is persuaded that something mysterious is happening here
and he confesses that Jesus is ‘the Son of God, the King of Israel’. This
concludes the episode of the calling of the Twelve and is seen as their
confession of faith in Jesus. Jesus then tells Nathanael that he will see even
greater mysteries and alludes to the dream of Jacob and the link between heaven
and earth which is established in himself.
Today we give thanks for the Apostles who have
handed on the faith to us and who were ready to lay down their lives for that
faith. We pray that we may be faithful to that Apostolic faith which they have
handed down to us and that we may be able to hand it on to others.
Tuesday August 25th. Tuesday in Week
Twenty One in Year Two. Memory of Louis
(1214-1270)
Readings
Second Letter to the Thessalonians 2/1-3,
14-17 : Matthew 23/23-26
Had it not been for the feast of Saint
Bartholomew, we would have begun to read the Second Letter to the Thessalonians
yesterday and so we do so today.
Scholars are almost equally divided about
whether Paul was the author of this letter although the view that he was not
the author is gaining ground, even among moderate scholars.
If Paul was the author then the letter was
probably written around 51-52 C.E. after the first Letter to the Thessalonians.
If the letter was written by someone else who ascribed it to Paul then it was
probably written in the late first century C.E. when increased apocalyptic
fervour was about.
If the letter was written by Paul himself then
it was written to the Thessalonian Christians. If it was written by someone
else using Paul’s name, then it may still have been to the Thessalonian
Christians or the address to the Thessalonians may have been borrowed from the
First Letter. There is little dispute about the Letter not being one but made
up of different parts. Its purpose seems to be, though, to tone down the
expectation of the End which was more pronounced in the First Letter.
In the extract which we would have read
yesterday (2 Thess. 1/1-5, 8-10) we have the opening formula which is identical
with that of the First letter and has Paul with Silvanus and Timothy although
Paul is the one who is communicating. The author congratulates the Thessalonian
church for its faith and love as well as its steadfastness in the sufferings
imposed upon its members. The extract ends with a prayer that God will make
them worthy of their call.
In today’s extract Paul seems to be warning the
Thessalonian Christians against messages
purporting to come from him, especially about the immediacy of the Day
of the coming of the Lord. They must be careful not allow themselves to be
deceived by these false messages. In the verses omitted from our extract, the
writer says that the Thessalonian Christians can relax because the apocalyptic
signs which must precede the coming of that Day have not yet occurred. These
signs are the great apostasy, the appearance of the lawless One, the antigod
and the activity of Satan with pretended signs and wonders. Even so, the author
says, the mystery of lawlessness is already at work but is being held in check
mysteriously until that Day comes. We don’t read these verses for obvious
reasons but it is interesting to see something of how Paul saw the situation
and how we no longer see things in the same way. The reflection of the Church
goes on and develops over the centuries and we must recognise that there is
always need for what Pope John XXIIIrd, called ‘aggiornamento’ or bringing
things up to date.
In today’s reading then, Paul thanks God who
chose the Thessalonian Christians from the beginning, he exhorts them to be
faithful to what he has taught them and he prays that they may be both
comforted and strengthened.
This may well be a warning to us today when we
hear of so many visions, manifestations, messages and wonders all over the
world often involving the Lord’s mother, Mary, Paul would tell us to stick fast
to the Gospel and not let ourselves be influenced by all these, often weird and
wonderful, things that purport to come from God.
In the Gospel reading which we missed yesterday
(Matthew 23/13-22) Matthew has grouped together several accusations against the
Scribes and the Pharisees who quite probably represent the leaders of the
Jewish groups who opposed the Jewish Christian community for whom Matthew was
writing his Gospel.
These accusations are known as Matthew’s ‘woes’
since each one begins with ‘Woe to you’ which is a better translation than
‘Alas for you’ as we have it in our Lectionary. In these ‘woes’ Matthew focuses
on points of conflict between the Jewish Christians and the early Rabbinic
movement amongst the Jews. In doing this Matthew follows the tradition of the
prophets who denounced the current evils of their society. In yesterday’s
extract we hear Jesus accusing his opponents of hindering the spread of the
Gospel, of raising up enemies against it and engaging in foolish arguments
regarding oaths.
Some of these accusations still ring true
today. The Church often seems to be excluding people from the Reign of God and,
indeed, from the Church instead of making all welcome. Sometimes, instead of
freeing people by the Gospel we make them more anxious and worried than they
were before with all sorts of minutiae of little importance.
Once again, Jesus’ condemnation of the
religious authorities of his day might well be addressed to those of our church
today. It might be worthwhile reflecting on Jesus’ words and asking ourselves
how far they are true in the Church today and whether there is anything we
might be able to do to change things, not least by speaking out about them.
In today’s Gospel reading Jesus continues his
assault on the Scribes and the Pharisees, the religiously powerful, who seem to
concentrate on the trivia of the Law. Jesus uses the word ‘hypocrite’ to
denounce them, the true meaning of which is ‘actor’. They are not serious about
things but just acting a part.
The tithing of which Jesus speaks is the
Biblical injunction to set aside one tenth of grain, wine, oil and flocks
(Deuteronomy 14/23) to be eaten together in thanksgiving for the whole of the
produce. A tendency had begun to spring up of making this tithing apply to all
produce, even spices. It is this that Jesus criticizes because, while imposing
such legislation, those who do so neglect what Jesus regards as more important
matters, justice, mercy and good faith.
The camel was an ‘unclean’ animal according to
the Law (Leviticus 11/4, Deuteronomy 14/7) and so Jews were not allowed to eat
it. Jesus exaggerates by suggesting that while sifting out a gnat they swallow
this unclean beast. In other words they have missed the point altogether.
The cleansing of vessels may allude to an early
controversy among observant Jews about the purity of drinking vessels. Jesus
turns this into a moral exhortation about the importance of interior purity. In
other words, it is what is in the heart that matters.
One cannot help thinking of the exaggerated
concern of some these days in the cleansing of the Eucharistic vessels or the
receiving of Communion on the tongue to avoid any crumbs being dropped. Respectful
washing-up is one thing but the amount of scrubbing and wiping that goes on
sometimes makes the observer question the motive behind such activity. In any
case, should the washing up not be left until after the Mass has finished? It
would be the height of bad manners for the hostess to get up and start the
washing up while all the guests were still at table!
As to reception on the tongue, this is a vile
and unhygienic practice where, with all the caution in the world, the minister
cannot help taking the saliva from one tongue to another and it makes the
recipient receive like a baby bird
instead of a human being. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (315-386) instructed
those who were to receive the Eucharist as follows, ‘Make your left hand a
throne for the right and your right hand a throne for the Lord’ which says it
all beautifully. The exaggerated concern about crumbs springs from an
over-scrupulous mind and forgets the way in which the table at the Last Supper
must have been left!
There seems to be much too much concern about
trivialities rather than those things which really matter, justice, peace, the
poor and the needy and so on Memory of Louis of France (1214-1270)
The son of Louis VIIIth of France, Louis became
King when he was only fourteen years old. His mother, Blanche of Castile, who
was half English, became Regent until Louis reached his majority. In 1234 Louis married Margaret of Provence and
they had ten children. In many ways, Louis was the ideal of Christian kingship
though he was by no means perfect and politically his reign was not a great
success. However, Louis reigned at a time of great cultural achievement as
shown in the building of the great Gothic Cathedrals and the development of
Universities including the Sorbonne in Paris. This latter was the first
University to offer accommodation to its students and its founder, Robert de
Sorbon, was Louis’ personal friend and his confessor. Thomas Aquinas and other
Dominicans were frequent guests at Louis’ table.
Louis was also famed for giving alms and he
founded a hospital in Paris for the poor , the’ Quinze Vingts’ for three hundred inmates, which still exists
to this day.
Louis was also known for his impartiality, he
forbade private wars between the feudal Lords and he was renowned for keeping
his word in treaties and other undertakings.
Louis’ most famous church was the ‘Sainte
Chapelle’, built to house the relic of
the Crown of Thorns which had been given to Louis by Baldwin, the Latin Emperor
of Constantinople. Besides this Louis founded several monasteries and his
devotion was genuine.
Sadly, on the darker side, Louis was also
involved in the last two Crusades from 1248 to 1254 and again in 1270. Both
ended in failure and in the last Crusade, a landing was made in Tunis where
both Louis and his son Philip caught Typhoid. Louis died after urging the Greek
ambassador to seek re-union with Rome!
Louis was canonised in 1297 and was the patron
and example of the French monarchy and he is still much venerated in France.
We pray today for the people of France, for
their government and for the French church and we remember all governments and
leaders of nations that they may govern justly and for the good of all the
people whom they are called to serve.
There are proper readings for Louis but almost
certainly those of the day will be used. Those for Louis are:
Isaiah 58/6-11 :
Matthew 22/35-40
The reading from Isaiah speaks of those virtues
which were Louis’, concern and love for his people.
The Gospel reading is Jesus’ summary of the Law
by which Louis tried to order his life in spite of his faults and failings.
Memory of Joseph Calasanz (1550-1648)
We also remember Joseph Calasanz today, a
Spaniard who came from an aristocratic family and who, after being educated at
Estadilla, Lerida and Valencia was ordained priest in 1583. Some years later he
was appointed Vicar General of Lerida diocese and commissioned to improve the
religious standards of the valleys of Andorra. Feeling himself called to
educate the poor in the cities he resigned his office in 1592 and set out for
Rome. For a time he nursed the sick and helped Camillus of Lellis in his work.
In 1597, he started a free school with several companions and the work
gradually grew until his institute became a religious Congregation with him as
its Superior. Due to internal disputes within the congregation, Joseph was
denounced, arrested and almost imprisoned, suffering enormously though not
dying until the age of ninety. It was
only after his death that his Congregation was re-constituted in 1669 as a
religious Order known as the Piarists their proper name being the Clerks
Regular of the Christian Schools. The Congregation continued to flourish and
has houses in Italy, Spain and South America. Joseph was canonised in 1767 and
in 1948 he was declared the patron saint of Christian schools.
We pray for the Piarists and for all Christian
schools and for all those who suffer from the internal quarrels within
religious institutes.
There are proper readings for Joseph, though
those of the day will almost certainly be used. Those for Joseph are as
follows:
1 Corinthians 12/31-13/13 :
Matthew 18/1-5
The first reading is Paul’s great song in
praise of love which was, obviously, the leitmotiv of Joseph Calasanz’ life,
especially his love of children and of the poor.
The Gospel reading is one we know well and in
it Jesus emphasises the importance of children and of welcoming them and the
virtue of childlikeness.
Wednesday August 26th. Memory of
Dominic Barberi. Wednesday Week Twenty One Year Two.
We remember today in this country, Dominic
Barberi. Dominic was born near Viterbo in Italy of devout farming people in
1792. In 1814 he joined the Congregation of the Passion, the Passionists, who
had been founded by Paul of the Cross some time earlier in the century. Dominic
was ordained priest after only four years and became a distinguished member of
the Congregation. Paul of the Cross had had a great desire to come to England
and he was passionate about the reconciliation of the English Church with Rome.
He had not been able to fulfil his wish but Dominic was able to do so and came
to England in 1841 to work for the Catholic Church in this country. He believed
that the surest way to Church Unity was through the example of Christian living
and his own life was an example to all who knew him. He lived in great
simplicity and poverty and during the seven years of his ministry in England he
preached missions and retreats all over the country and founded four houses of
Passionists. His writings and his personal zeal brought many to join the Roman
Catholic Church and he was instrumental in reconciling many distinguished
people. He is best known for having been the one to bring John Henry Newman
into full communion with our Church on October 9th., 1845. Newman
said of him that he was one of the holiest people he had ever met!
Broken by his labours,
Dominic died at Reading on August 27th., 1849 while on one of his
many journeys, waiting for a train! He
was only fifty seven. He was beatified by Pope Paul VIth. in 1963 during the second Vatican Council ,
probably because of his connexion with Newman who became one of the most
important theologians of the Council.
We pray today for the
reunion of the churches of this land and especially for all those who work
towards this end. We remember too the Passionist Congregation and their works
all over the world together with the Passionist Sisters who support their work
by their prayer.
Readings
Second Letter to the
Thessalonians 3/6-10, 16-18 : Matthew 23/27-32
The extract from the
Letter to the Thessalonians today has the author giving very practical advice
to the Thessalonian Christians. It would seem some of the members of the
Christian communities had given up working because they expected the imminent return
of the Lord. The author reminds them that Paul had always worked for his living
so as not to be a burden to anyone and he sets out a rule which had already
been given them, that those who did not work should receive no food. The
extract ends with a word of farewell and then the assurance of Paul’s being the
author of the letter by his own personal signature. This is, perhaps, one of
the strongest arguments in favour of Paul having been the author of the letter.
Although Dominic did not do any particular job of work, this reading would seem
very appropriate for him since he came from a simple background and would have
understood Paul’s injunction of no work, no food. Dominic worked enormously
hard at proclaiming the Gospel and in attempting to bring the churches closer
together. The Gospel reading is another of Matthew’s ‘woes’
in which Jesus again condemns the Scribes and the Pharisees using an expression
which has become part of the English language, calling them ‘whited
sepulchres’. It is a powerful image of something which is white and shining on
the outside but is full of rotting corpses. Though apparently ‘good honest men’
they were corrupt in themselves not keeping the Law which they so zealously
advocated and being ‘full of hypocrisy’. Jesus
uses the image further to remind the Pharisees and the Scribes that although
they honour the tombs of the prophets and holy men, and they say that they
would never have been among those who murdered them, they are in fact sons of
those who did so and Jesus tells them to ‘finish off the work that their
fathers began’, in other words, he foresees that they will be the ones who
condemn him to death. Again, this reading does seem appropriate for Dominic
because he was so obviously a man of transparent honesty who truly lived what
he preached and this must be true of us also.
There are special readings for Dominic but, almost certainly, those for
the day will be used.. Those for Dominic Barberi are the following:-
First letter to the Corinthians 1/18-25 :
Mark 1/14-20 The first reading is appropriate for
Dominic since his whole purpose as a Passionist was to proclaim the crucified
Christ and he saw in this a way to the reconciliation of the churches since all believed in the same crucified
Lord. Dominic lived out the mystery of Christ crucified in the simplicity of
his life and we are called to follow his example in ‘taking up our cross’ day
by day and living the life of death and resurrection as he did, dying to our
selfishness and sin and rising to the life of love each day. The Gospel reading
is the call of the Apostles, a call to which Dominic responded, leaving his own
country to come to a foreign land where he became very truly a ‘fisher of
people’. We too are called to fish for people, not by our words but by our love
and the way in which we live, bringing them into the Reign of God’s love.
Thursday August 27th. Memory
of Monica. Thursday in Week Twenty One in Year Two.
Had it not been for
her famous son, Augustine, we might never have heard of his mother, Monica. She
is, however, a powerful example of a good Christian wife and mother and her
life was not an easy one. Born
in Tagaste in 332 C.E. in what is now Algeria, Monica was married to a pagan or,
possibly, a non-practising Christian , Patricius, who was both hot-tempered and
unfaithful. To add to Monica’s problems her mother-in-law lived with them! It
seems that Monica may well have had a drink problem in her earlier years but
this she overcame and by patience and persistence she won over both her
mother-in-law and her husband to the Christian faith and Patricius was baptised
in 370, the year before he died. Monica
was not so successful with her son, Augustine. Although he had been brought up
in a Christian home, Augustine stole, missed classes, lied and engaged in
casual sex. At first Monica tried to persuade Augustine to change his ways but
this only seemed to make things worse. Eventually, she resorted to prayer and
fasting and left the whole matter in God’s hands. Without telling Monica, Augustine decided to
make his way to Rome and, eventually, to Milan where Ambrose was bishop.
Ambrose helped Augustine to change his way of thinking and, with his son
Adeodatus, he was baptised in 386-7. Augustine had been living with a woman for
some fifteen years, hence his son, Adeodatus. Monica
had followed Augustine to Italy and a wonderful relationship then began to
develop between them. After Augustine’s baptism, Monica set out to return home
with him but she died at the age of only fifty five on the way at Ostia where
she was buried. Most of what we know of
Monica comes from Augustine’s ‘Confessions’ where we find their final
conversation. Monica told her son that she had achieved what she had most
prayed for when he was baptised and had turned to follow Christ and that she
was ready to die.
Monica is a great example and encouragement to women in difficult
marriages, who have difficult in-laws, difficulties with their children or even
a drink problem. She is rightly the patron saint of mothers, especially those
with problem children (but, perhaps, that means all mothers!) There
are special readings for Monica but, almost certainly, those of the day will be
used.
Readings First
Letter to the Corinthians 1/1-9 :
Matthew 24/42-51 We
begin to read from Paul’s First Letter to the Christians of Corinth today. Corinth
was an ancient city, dating back some four thousand years but more recently
conquered by the Romans in 146 B.C.E. It is connected to mainland Greece or
Achaia, as it was known, by a narrow four mile wide isthmus with the Aegean Sea
to the East and the Adriatic or Ionian Sea to the West and it is situated on a
plateau controlling the whole area. It was a place where many people came and
went and where an outsider would not be rejected. Although in Greece, Corinth
had a reputation for sexual licence. Roman Corinth had all the problems of a
rough, relatively boom-town, adjacent to two sea ports.
The first letter we have to the Corinthian Christians seems to have been
written from Ephesus in late 56 or early 57 C.E. and is addressed to a mixed
community of Jews and non-Jews who had been converted by Paul in 50 or 51-52 or
even as early as 42-43. No
Biblical scholar seriously disputes the authenticity of this letter though some
would see it as a letter composed gradually as bits of information and then a
letter came to Paul from Corinth. Paul’s known contacts with Corinth lasted
nearly a decade and there is more correspondence from Paul to Corinth than to
any other place. Scholars tell us that traces of as many as seven letters have
been detected and the reason for this was the disturbed state of the Christian
community in Corinth. The range of problems in that church included rival
‘theologians’, factions, problematic sexual practices, marital obligations,
worship and roles within the community This makes the correspondence
exceptionally instructive for the troubled Christians of the churches of our
own day.
Attempts to live the Gospel by the Corinthian Christians in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society are
particularly relevant for us today.
In the extract we read today, Paul joins himself with Sosthenes. He is
probably the same man, now a Christian, who had been a ruler of the Synagogue
and who was beaten when Gallio refused to pass judgement on Paul (Acts of the
Apostles 18/17)
In the first nine verses which we read today, Paul mentions Jesus, the
Christ, repeatedly to emphasise that the Corinthian Christians had all been
baptised in his name and to counter their
having broken into factions. This is a powerful message for today’s
Church, separated and divided as we are. We are all baptised into the one Lord Jesus
so why cannot we overcome our differences and agree to differ about the details
and, above all, work together as the Body of Christ? Paul goes on to give
thanks for the gifts which are in the community of the Church and, again, in
the churches today there are such great gifts and no one church has a monopoly
of them. Were we to come together to share these gifts what an impact that
would have! In the Gospel
reading Jesus has finished castigating the Scribes and the Pharisees and turns
his attention to the disciples, warning them that they must ‘stay awake’ and be
on the watch because they cannot know when their Master is coming. He gives
them the example of a householder who, if he had known that he was going to be
burgled, would have been ready. But he didn’t know! They too do not know the
moment of the Master’s coming and so must be always on the alert. Jesus then
gives another example of the servant who is given responsibility over his
master’s household. He can either be always ready and waiting for his master’s
return or he can take advantage of his delaying and take things easy. For
Matthew’s community, the coming of the Son of Man, Jesus, was something that
they had anticipated as imminent but this had not been the case. The warning
then is to still be on the alert because they know neither the hour nor the
day.
For us, these warnings
seem irrelevant since Jesus’ coming at the end of time seems very remote.
However, Jesus has made it very clear that he does come to us each and every
day in our neighbours and, especially, in those who are in need. The challenge for us is to be always on the
alert and ready to recognise him when he does come, whether it be in the person
we meet in the street or on the ‘bus or whatever. We must be always ready
because we never know when or how he will present himself to us in the guise of
a sister or brother. We
pray that we may develop this alertness and be ready to love all who come our
way.
There are special
readings for Monica though, almost certainly, those of the day will be used.
Those for Monica are the following:
Ecclesiasticus 26/1-4, 13-16 :
Luke 7/11-17.
The reading from Ecclesiasticus extols the virtues of a good wife which
Monica so wonderfully exemplified. The
Gospel reading is that of the widow of Nain where Jesus raises the woman’s dead
son to life. A reminder of how Monica’s prayers and patience brought Augustine
to the fullness of life in the Church.
Friday August 28th.
Memory of Augustine of Hippo. Friday in Week Twenty One in Year Two.
Augustine, like
Monica, his mother was born in Tagaste in what is now Algeria in Northern
Africa in 354 C.E. Monica gave her son a
basic Christian education though he was not baptised, perhaps because his
father, Patricius was not a believer. Augustine studied in Carthage to become a
lawyer but gave that up to become a teacher and to pursue his studies,
especially in philosophy and particularly Plato. Later he became involved with
Manichaeism, which taught that there are two eternal principles, the one good,
the other evil and that these are always in conflict one with the other. This
led him to renounce the Christin faith. During this time Augustine had taken a
mistress and had had a son, Adeodatus. Augustine
moved then to Rome to teach and later moved on to Milan, by which time he had become dissatisfied with
Manichaeism and came under the influence of the great bishop Ambrose of Milan.
After a long interior conflict which Augustine describes vividly in his
‘Confessions’, he finally became convinced of the Christian faith and was
baptised with his son in 385/7.
Augustine
then returned to North Africa where he established a quasi-monastic community
with some friends, being ordained priest in 391. In 395 he was made assistant
bishop of Hippo and from 396 he became bishop of the diocese where he remained
until his death in 430. Augustine lived a simple life with his priests and
preached on an almost daily basis. Besides this Augustine wrote
copiously and he had an enormous influence on succeeding generations of
Christian thinkers in the Western Church. Although most of his writings have
influenced Christian thought for good, his obsessive concern with sin led him
to a pessimism which would consign the unbaptised, even infants, to eternal
punishment. His thinking about marriage was an improvement on that of some
other early Christian thinkers such as Jerome in that he laid great emphasis on
the family, on marriage as a sacrament and on marital fidelity. However his
understanding of Original Sin led him to believe that this was passed on by the
act of sex. This led him to the view that the sexual act is sinful except when
it is used for the purpose of conceiving a child and then only marginally less
sinful! Although this view was not maintained and was widely rejected, it has
influenced generations of Western Christians and has led to an ongoing
suspicion of sex and a great deal of suffering and unhappiness. Augustine’s
writings on Charity, on the Holy Trinity and on the Psalms have few equals
among Christian writers. Augustine lived at a time of great upheaval as the
Roman Empire disintegrated and, at the time of his death in 430 C.E., the
Vandals were at the gates of the city of Hippo. In such difficult times,
Augustine was an upholder of order and he was renowned for his care of the
poor. His preaching and his writing made him famous and he even acted as a
judge in civil as well as ecclesiastical cases.
On his death, Augustine’s remains were taken from Sardinia to Pavia
where they have remained until this day and he was early recognised as a saint.
He is one of the four great Doctors or Teachers of the Western Church. Augustine’s Rule of Life which
was based on three of his writings was adopted by Canons living in community,
as Augustine himself had done. These were known as Canons because they lived
according to a canon or Rule and they became known as Canons Regular to
distinguish them from other Canons who served Cathedrals and major churches but
who did not live a monastic life. Many Orders of Canons Regular followed
Augustine’s Rule and they flourished in the later history of the Western
Church. Dominic also adopted Augustine’s Rule for his new Order of Friars
Preachers and it became influential in many religious Congregations. We remember today the
remnants of Christian communities in North Africa where the Church once
flourished and we pray for better relations between Christians and Muslims. We
remember too all the Orders of Canons Regular who look to Augustine as their
founding father.
Readings
First Letter to the Corinthians
1/17-25 : Matthew 25/1-13 In today’s extract from
the first Letter to the Corinthians Paul reveals that members of Chloe’s
household have made him aware of the factions
that exist among them. ( 1 Cor. 1/11). Chloe’s household was obviously a
‘house church’. The factions reflected their different personal loyalties to
various leaders, Apollos, Cephas or Peter and even Paul himself. In today’s
reading Paul tells his readers that however eloquent their particular leader
may be, what he, Paul, had preached was
a ‘foolishness rather than human wisdom’ and not some eloquent message. The
foolishness is the mystery of the Cross, the mystery of God’s weakness which is
stronger than any human strength. For those who follow the philosophy of Plato
or Aristotle this is, of course, an absurd proposition and it is equally
unacceptable to the Jews. This is the
mystery that we must appreciate just as much in our time and in our church
today. We are not meant to be a powerful world-wide organisation with
charismatic leaders and preachers but a communion of communities who are trying
to live the Gospel in our everyday lives. In these communities is the power of
God’s goodness, changing the world by our love and not by any human
strength.
In the Gospel reading Jesus
repeats yesterday’s message that we must be on the alert and ready for the
coming of the kingdom of God. Jesus compares the Kingdom to a marriage feast,
though it is not immediately obvious that this is intended by the Gospel writer.
At first the reaction of the ‘sensible’ bridesmaids may seem insensitive until
we realise that their task is to go out and escort the bridegroom. The term
‘bridesmaids’ is a misnomer since their task was to escort the bridegroom back
to his house when he arrived and the Greek word here means simply ‘maidens’.
Had their oil run out they would have been unable to do the task which they
were supposed to do. The delay may have been due to the bridegroom having to
negotiate terms with the bride’s father
at her house. These maidens would
normally be members of the bridegroom’s family and friends but since the
foolish seem to be unknown they may well be members of the bride’s entourage.
The point of the story is not quite the same as that in yesterday’s Gospel
reading, since both the wise and the foolish maidens fall asleep! The real
point is that the sensible maidens made provision for a delay. Even though
there may be moments of distraction, we ought always to be ready for an
emergency. The Kingdom or Reign of God is wherever there is love, kindness and
community but sometimes we fall asleep, as it were, and are not quite on the
ball. However, if we are basically prepared then we will always be able to
respond with love and generosity when something unexpected happens. The moral
is that the Lord comes at unexpected times and in unlikely people and,
sometimes, it will take a moment before we realise what is happening.
There are proper
readings for Augustine though, almost certainly, those of the day will be used.
Those for Augustine are :
First Letter of John 4/7-16
: Matthew 23/8-12
The
first from John’s Letter is appropriate since is all about the God who is love
and this was very much at the heart of so much of Augustine’s writings and
teachings.
The Gospel reading is Jesus’ teaching on who is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven. Although Augustine was such a great Teacher, our Teacher is
Jesus himself and this was something which Augustine appreciated intensely as
he is famously quoted ‘For you I am a bishop but with you I am a Christian’.
All are equal in the family of the Church as they are in the Kingdom of God.
Saturday August 29th. Memory of the Beheading of
John the Baptist.
Today is unusual in
that it is not, for some reason, a feast but it is treated as one with proper
readings which displace the ordinary weekday ones. John the Baptist is unique
in that, apart from the Lord’s mother, he is the only saint for whom we
celebrate both his birth on June 24th. and his death today. The
feast of John’s birth has been celebrated on June 24th. from the
late fourth century and that of his death or ‘beheading’ from about the fifth .
Marks’ Gospel which we read today, gives a detailed account of John’s tragic
death. It was the result of the anger of the ambitious Herodias, the weakness
of the tyrant King, Herod and the seductive dance of a young woman, Salome, in
what we would probably call a ‘striptease’ before a drunk and corrupt male
audience. Although this is ancient history it is still something which is
played out century after century with corrupt and weak rulers in every
generation and place.
Today is a day when we ought to remember all those in authority that they
do not abuse their power and that they act with wisdom and in justice for the
good of all. Today we
ought also to remember all the many who are unjustly imprisoned, whether it be
for faith or convictions and whose lives depend, so often, on the whim of those
who have imprisoned them. This is not something which belongs only to so-called
backward nations, we think of Death Row in the United States and Guantanamo Bay
to say nothing of those who are unjustly imprisoned in other apparently more
enlightened nations. Pray for the work of Amnesty International and Reprieve
and many other similar organisations who work to free those unjustly in
prison.
John
the Baptist was enormously popular in England and nearly five hundred ancient
churches are dedicated to him. For us John is a reminder that we too are called
to prepare the way of the Lord, sometimes by standing up for what we believe to
be right and true, even when it may be dangerous or difficult to do so, though
that is rare in our society.
Of course, what is true in society is also true in the Church. We have a
right and a duty to stand up for those things that we believe to be right such as the ordination of married
men or women or the wrongness of some Papal teaching such as that on artificial
contraception or the re-marriage of divorcees. Unless we make our voices heard
nothing will change. This may make us unpopular with Church authorities at
least but that is the price we must be ready to pay.
Readngs
Jeremiah
1/17-19 : Mark 6/17-29
The reading from the prophet Jeremiah applies well to John. He stood up
to Herod’s authority and had reproached him for his evil ways since he had
disobeyed the Law in marrying his brothers’ wife. When the time came we may
presume that John found strength in the prophet’s words ‘they shall not
overcome you, I am with you to deliver you’. We pray for all those in similar
conditions today, especially those on Death Row and those awaiting
execution. The reading from
Mark’s Gospel tells the sad story of John’s imprisonment and death in vivid
detail.
It is possible for the
First reading to be that of the day which is 1 Corinthians 1/26-31 and in it
Paul reminds the Corinthian Christians that God has not chosen them because of
any merit of their own for God chooses those who are foolish and weak by human
reckoning, those that are common and commonplace and are reckoned as nothing in
the eyes of the world so that it may be all the more apparent that it is God,
working in us, that fashions us into the image of Christ himself and makes of
us his Body in the world. How grateful we ought to be for that gift.
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