Sunday October 11th. to Saturday October 17th.
Sunday October 11th. to Saturday October 17th. Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings
Sunday October 11th. Twenty Eighth Sunday in Year One.
Readings
Isaiah 25/6-30 :
Letter to the Philippians 4/12-14, 19-20 :
Matthew 22/1-14
Again in today’s Gospel reading Jesus speaks to
us in a parable and, again, it is about the Kingdom or the Reign of God with
the audience the same as last week, the chief priests and the elders of the
people.
In today’s parable Jesus compares the Kingdom of
God to a great banquet, in fact, a wedding feast. In Jewish and early Christian
writings the Kingdom of God is compared to a banquet. Jesus’ meals with the tax
collectors and sinners and, more especially, his last supper with his disciples
symbolised what life in the Kingdom would be like. The use of a royal wedding
banquet to teach his disciples about the Kingdom of God is part of a rich
tradition.
What is distinctive about this banquet is the
invitation. Some accept the King’s invitation and others don’t. In the
background of Jesus’ story and in the minds of the Jewish Christians for whom
Matthew was writing his Gospel there may have been the invitation by the lady
Wisdom in chapter nine of the Book of Proverbs
Throughout the first nine chapters of Proverbs
there is a sharp distinction between the wise and the foolish symbolised by the
figures of Lady Wisdom and Dame Folly. The contrast reaches its climax in
chapter nine where each invite people to a banquet. Lady Wisdom prepares her
banquet and invites ‘those who walk in the way of insight’ to come (Proverbs
9/6). Dame Folly acts like a prostitute sitting at the door of her house and
calling out to passers-by (Proverbs 9/13-18). In today’s parable the
invitations are issued by the King, that is by God and the emphasis is on
acceptance or rejection.
For Matthew the parable of the wedding feast
was probably helpful to those for whom he was writing in explaining the mixed
reception of the Gospel in Israel. Through Jesus and his disciples God issues
the invitation. Those for whom it ought to have been most appropriate, the
Jewish leaders and priests, not only refused the invitation but even did
violence to the messengers who brought it. Therefore, the invitation was
extended to people on the highways and byways and they accepted. This may have
meant the marginal people of Israel, the tax collectors and sinners or it may
have been understood as the non-Jews who were already part of the Christian
community for whom Matthew was writing.
The King’s inspection of the banquet hall
constitutes a judgement scene. The absence of the wedding garment carries some
symbolic significance though it is difficult to know exactly how someone
invited to a feast without any warning might find a suitable garment. Whatever
the exact meaning, this is a warning that admission to God’s banquet is no
guarantee of staying there.
Earlier in the story, in response to the way in
which his messengers were treated the King sent his troops to destroy the
murderers and to burn down their town. This is usually interpreted as a
description of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 C.E. which
would again be an indication that Matthew’s Gospel was composed late in the
first century C.E. The idea of the Roman armies being the instruments of God’s
wrath was a familiar idea in the Hebrew Scriptures where the Assyrian,
Babylonian and Persian armies had all served God’s purpose in this way. If this
is the case then Matthew sees this event occurring as a result of some in
Israel rejecting God’s invitation to the Kingdom and even maltreating the
messengers, most especially Jesus himself. Since the parable was addressed to
the chief priest and the elders, Matthew is saying that those who were really
responsible for the downfall of Jerusalem were its alleged spiritual leaders.
The parable is an outline of God’s dealing with
Israel from a Christian perspective. It explains the fall of Jerusalem and the
inclusion of marginal people and non-Jews in God’s Kingdom but it alos provides
warning that admission is not enough and an ongoing appropriate response is
needed.
The reading from the prophet Isaiah obviously
introduces the Gospel reading and describes the coming Reign of God’s love in
terms of a great banquet for all peoples. The beautiful expression that God
‘will wipe away every tear from their cheek’ touches on the tenderness of the
One who invites to the banquet. God will take away his people’s shame
everywhere on earth. In other words, people of every race and nation are ‘his
people’ and all are welcome at the banquet of the Kingdom.
In the reading from the Letter of Paul to the
Christians of Philippi we get a feeling of the strong bond of friendship which
existed between the Philippian Christian community and Paul. Paul expresses his
gratitude for their concern and his total confidence in the ‘One who gives him
strength’. Whatever the hardships, Paul says, he is able to endure them. In
spite of being in prison for proclaiming the Gospel, Paul is not despondent.
What does this say to us today? In some ways
the parable in today’s Gospel reading echoes that of last Sunday in that it was
addressed to the religious leaders of the Jewish people and it condemns them
for having failed to recognise the truth of the Good News that Jesus preached. It re-iterates the ideas that sprang from last
week’s Gospel reading, that the Kingdom is for all and not a religious enclave
for the pious and the righteous. This reminds us once again that if the Church
is meant to be the sign and sacrament of the Reign of God, then it must be open
to all and not the preserve of the pious and the law-abiding. It is here that
Pope Francis is trying to widen the boundaries of the Church rather than
putting up barriers.
We cannot escape the link between the great
banquet of the parable and the Eucharistic banquet for which we gather week by
week. The parable poses enormous questions about who is welcome to share that
banquet. The man without the wedding garment is a warning but what is that
garment? Jesus would seem to make the criterion of being his follower and
sharing in the banquet that we should love one another not that we should be
orthodox in our beliefs or without flaw in our daily lives or even, dare we say
it, that we should fully understand what it is that we are doing and sharing.
One of the problems is that we have to remind
ourselves that the Eucharist is a banquet because it has become so unlike one
and so remote from the shared meal it was at the beginning. Over the last few
months we have been unable to share in the Eucharist and, as a result, the Mass
has been streamed into our homes for us to watch while the priest goes through
the ritual alone. Many would see this as a retrogade step since the Mass has
completely ceased to be a community celebration and has become, as it was for
so many centuries, s rite that we are able to watch and a rite performed by the
priest alone. How good it would have been if we had been encouraged to
celebrate a Eucharistic meal ourselves at home with our family or with one or
two friends. Bread and wine shared in the context of a shared meal would have
been a wonderful way for us to develop our awareness of what the Eucharist
truly is. There will, of course, be those who would say that, without an
ordained priest it wouldn’t be the Eucharist. Is that really true? Did Jesus
not say that where two or three of us are gathered he would be among us? The
way in which the Eucharist has developed is not what Jesus ordered but what the
Church as gradually created and so may this not be the time for us to think
again about all this? We are short of priests but that is only because it is
the authorities of the Church tells us who our priests should be. Every
community has within it those who are able and suitable to preside at the
Eucharist and we would only be returning to the early practice of the Church if
we were to say to our bishop that John Smith or even Jane Smith is the one we
would choose so please come and lay hands on him or her.
There is a lot for us to think about and
discuss here especially with the growing trend in our church to make the Mass
more and more a sacred rite which is always called now ‘the holy sacrifice of
the Mass’ celebrated by those who are called to the ‘sacred priesthood’ and who
are ‘ontologically‘ different from the rest of us.
Is this the time for us all to be discussing
and praying about these things and asking ourselves if we have not strayed too
far from how things were at the beginning and how we best fulfil Jesus’ command
that we do these things ‘as a memorial of him’?
Monday October
12th. in week Twenty
Eight Year Two. Memory of Wilfred, bishop. (c.634-709)
Readings
Letter to the Galatians 4/22-24, 26-27,
31-5/1 : Luke 11/29-32
In the reading from Paul’s Letter to the
Galatians he continues to remind them that they have been saved not by the Law
of Moses and Jewish observances but by faith in Christ.
It would seem that the Jewish Christians who
had come to the Galatian church were confusing the Galatian Christians who were
not Jews. They had appealed to the story of Abraham having two sons, one of
them by the slave woman Hagar and they had drawn a wrong conclusion from that
story, Paul says.
Paul explains that Hagar the slave woman did
not represent the descendents who were non-Jews
but, rather, the present earthly Jerusalem and the enslaving covenant of the Law given
to Moses on Mount Sinai. Sarah, the wife of Abraham and a free woman represents
the heavenly Jerusalem and the covenant of God’s promise to Abraham. She is the
mother of all those who have been made free in Christ,. This is a very complicated bit of reasoning
and to understand it it might be good to go back and to read chapters 16 and 21
of Genesis.
The extract concludes with the assertion that
Christ has made us free and the Galatian Christians ought not to allow themselves
to enslaved again to the Law and the traditions of the Jews.
Today’s Gospel reading follows on from that
which we read last Saturday. There Jesus reminded his followers that what is
really important is to hear the Word of God and keep it. Now, as the crowds
gather around him Jesus continues to warn them of the need to repent and to
change their way of life.
Jesus compares his hearers unfavourably to the
people who, in the Biblical stories of Jonah and the Queen of Sheba, were not
even part of Israel. The people of the pagan city of Nineveh had repented of
their evil ways and the Queen of Sheba had listened to the wisdom of Solomon.
Jesus tells his hearers that they too must repent, hear the Word of God and
keep it in their lives.
We too must repent and change our way of life.
This is not a once and for all thing but something which we need to do every
day. Do I listen to the Word of God speaking to me through the Scriptures,
through all those who come my way and, above all, through my God-given conscience.
We need to reflect on our lives every day and ask ourselves this question. How
much has my life today been directed by Jesus’ teaching and the still small
voice of conscience and how much have I allowed the false values of the world
to influence my thinking and my acting?
Memory of Wilfred, monk and bishop (c.634-709)
Wilfred was born in Northumbria, the son of a
nobleman and closely connected to the royal court. He was educated at Lindisfarne, the principal
centre of Irish culture in the north of England where Celtic customs were still
observed. Apparently dissatisfied with its insularity, Wilfred went first to
Canterbury and then in 653 to Rome where he studied both Scripture and Canon
Law. On his way home, Wilfred spent three years in Lyons where he admired both
the influence and the position of the Church in that city. He returned to
England and was chosen to be Abbot of the monastery at Ripon where he
introduced the Rule of Benedict and adopted the Roman method of calculating
Easter.
At the Synod of Whitby in 664 Wilfred became
the champion of Roman customs and won the day. He was then chosen by the
sub-king Alcfrith to be bishop of York but since there were so few bishops in
England at that time he was obliged to go to France to be ordained bishop at
Compiegne. Staying rather too long, Wilfred arrived back in England to find
that Chad had taken over the See of York and so he retired again to the
monastery at Ripon. In 669, however, he
was re-instated at York and continued
there for several years enjoying the
favour of King Egfrith and his wife Etheldreda. In 672 though Wilfred
encouraged Etheldreda to follow her desire to be a nun and so he lost the
favour of her husband, King Egfrith. In 678-682, Theodore, archbishop of
Canterbury decided to divide the very large diocese of Northumbria into four new
dioceses without consulting Wilfred. Wilfred appealed to Rome against what he
perceived as an unjust decision by Theodore. This was the first time a bishop in
this country had done this. On his way to Rome Wilfred preached the Gospel to
the people of Frisia and began what was to be the influential Anglo-Saxon
mission to mainland Europe. Although Rome ruled in Wilfred’s favour, King
Egfrith refused to re-instate him and even imprisoned him for a while before
exiling him.
Wilfred then became a missionary in Sussex, the
last stronghold of paganism in Anglo-Saxon England where he founded a monastery
at Selsey and preached both on the mainland and on the Isle of Wight. He became
the first bishop of Selsey which See was later moved to Chichester. Although
re-instated once again in York Wilfred fell out once again with the King and
other bishops and exercised his ministry from then on in the East Midlands and
finally at Hexham.
Wilfred is remembered for his forceful
personality and apostolic spirit, as a founder of churches and monasteries and
as a patron of the arts. He reminds us how even difficult people can still be
saints.
We pray today for the churches of West Sussex
and the Isle of Wight and for the present Anglican bishop of Chichester and the
diocese.
There are proper readings for Wilfred but,
almost certainly, those of the day will be used.
Tuesday October 13th. in week Twenty
Eight Year Two. Memory of Edward the Confessor.
Edward was the son of King Ethelred, the
Unready and his second Norman wife Emma and he was educated first at Ely and
then in Normandy. He was acclaimed king in 1042 and opinions differ about his
reign. Was he just weak or was he shrewd? For over twenty years he was able to
preserve the peace while Danish and Norman magnates struggled for power. His
reputation for holiness was based mainly on his accessibility to his subjects,
his generosity towards the poor and his alleged non-consummated marriage to his
wife Edith. He strengthened the links between the English Church and the Papacy
and he sent bishops to the Councils in 1040 and 1050 and received Papal legates
in 1051. He also appointed bishops, sometimes from abroad, who were not monks,
so diminishing the number of monastic bishops in the country. He had, however,
a great appreciation for the monastic life and virtually founded Westminster
Abbey which was to be both the place of his coronation and the burial place for
English monarchs. At one time he was spending as much as one tenth of his total
income on building the Abbey and the monastic church was finished and
consecrated just before his death though he was too ill to be able to attend.
He died on January 5th., 1066 and his remains were buried in the
Abbey church and moved to the great shrine which still exists on this day in
1163 which is why we remember him today.
Edward was revered as a saint even during his
life time and devotion to him grew after his death among both the English and
the Norman invaders.
We pray today for the churches of this land and
for the Abbey of Westminster which is still a place of pilgrimage and daily
worship in our day. We remember too all those who work to make it the centre
for Christianity that it is and all who visit it.
There are proper readings for Edward but,
almost certainly those of the day will be used.
Readings
Letter to the Galatians 5/1-6 :
Luke 11/37-41
In the extract which we read from the Letter to
the Galatians today Paul passionately exhorts his readers not to believe what
they have been told by the Jewish Christians who have disturbed them. He makes
the point that, if any of them men accept to be circumcised then they must take
on the observance of the whole Jewish Law even though it will not profit them.
Those, he says, who take on Jewish practices separate themselves from Christ
because they do not accept that it is faith in him alone which brings them
salvation, that ‘makes its power felt through love’.
This is a magnificent account of what Paul
really believes. Circumcision is not important, only faith in Christ and in
what he has done through his death and resurrection truly changes things and
this is shown in a life lived in love.
In today’s reading from Luke’s Gospel Jesus is
again invited to the home of a Pharisee to a meal. Again Jesus fails to observe
the ritual requirements of the Law which would have been to wash his hands
before joining his fellow guests at table. The Pharisees don’t actually say
anything but it is obvious to Jesus that they are critical of his behaviour. So
Jesus takes the opportunity to point out to them that, while they observe
meticulously the cleaning of cups and dishes that are to be used for their
meals they themselves, while perhaps clean on the outside by their ritual
washing, are filthy on the inside. They are full of greed and generally
unloving in their behaviour towards their fellow human beings, Jesus says. He reminds them that God sees what is hidden,
on the inside, as it were, as well as what is obvious on the outside. Calling
them ‘fools’ Jesus uses the term favoured in the Jewish Scriptures for those
who resist the wisdom that comes from God. He then tells them what is the
remedy for them. He has already accused them of love of money and he now tells
them that they must give to the poor. That is what will cleanse them within, he
says.
We are reminded again that what is truly
important in God’s sight is not our religious practices and prayers. It is
faith in Jesus and following the way of life to which he calls us, the life of
death and resurrection, the life begun with our Baptism. Our faith in Jesus
reveals itself in the love that there is in our lives.
There are proper readings for Edward which may
be used and they are :
Letter to the Romans 8/26-30speaks of the Spirit who dwells in our
hearts to help us to pray and How God turns everything to our good so that even
though Edward may have been a weak monarch, he had other talents which God used
to make of him the saint that he was.
Matthew 5/1-12 which is Matthew’s version of
the Beatitudes all of which Edward tried to live up to in his care of the poor
and the needy and his ability to preserve the peace.
Wednesday October 14th. in Week
Twenty Eight in Year Two. Memory of
Callistus Ist. (c.223)
Readings
Letter to the Galatians 5/18-25 :
Luke 11/42-46
We do not read the verses that follow yesterday’s reading from the
Letter to the Galatians
(Galatians 5/7-17) but in those verses Paul
assures the Galatian Christians that he has confidence in them and he violently
condemns those who have been trying to ,mislead them by persuading them that
they must accept circumcision and observe the Jewish Law. They have been called
to freedom, Paul says, not freedom to do as they please but freedom to ‘become
slaves to one another’. The whole Law is summed up in the single commandment
‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’ he reminds them.
Now, in today’s reading Paul warns the Galatian
Christians that the Jewish Law will not help them against what he calls ‘the
works of the flesh’. He then lists these and contrasts them with the things
that spring from the Spirit of Jesus.
These lists are worth reflecting upon because,
while we may not be guilty of some of the graver ‘works of the flesh’ we will
see that we are not entirely free from them either. As to the works of the
Spirit, these may not be as prevalent in our communities and in our own lives
as they ought to be. Read these lists slowly and reflect on them.
Finally, Paul tells the Galatian Christians and
us that if we want to belong to Christ Jesus then we must ‘crucify all
self-indulgent passions and desires’. ‘Since the Spirit is our life let us be
directed by the Spirit’ he says. This reminds us, once again, of our Baptism
when we died and rose again with Christ and were anointed with his Spirit. It
is that Spirit which givesus new life and enables us day by day to die to our
selfishness and sin and rise to the life of love, the life of the Kingdom.
Again today let us open our hearts to the Spirit that we may live ever more
loving and fully human lives.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus elaborates on
his condemnation of the Pharisees which we heard yesterday. He reproaches them
for their meticulous observance of the details of the Law and their expectation
of being honoured for this while they neglect what truly matters, justice and
the love of God. They are all show and external observance while their hearts
are still far from the true meaning of the Law which, as Paul says, is love of
neighbour.
When the lawyer speaks up Jesus condemns him
because he and his colleagues because they impose impossible burdens on
ordinary people and have no real care for them.
So often the Church seems to impose burdens on
people rather than helping them lead full and happy lives. This is something
that we must keep in mind. The Church, as Pope Francis says, is not a place for
the perfect but like ‘a field hospital’ caring for those who have fallen on the
way and welcoming them into our midst.
Memory of Callistus Ist., pope and martyr (+c.223)
Callistus is a rare example of a pope who was
born a slave. It seems that his Christian master, Carpophorus, put him in
charge of a bank but Callistus lost the money deposited by other
Christians He fled from Rome but was
caught at Porto and was sentenced to the treadmill. His creditors obtained his
release but then he tried to collect debts from Jews and was soon arrested
again for brawling in the Synagogue. Sentenced to work in the mines of
Sardinia, he was released with other Christians through the intervention of
Marcia, the Emperior Commodius’
Mistress. Once freed, Pope Zephyrinus made
Callistus manager of what is now known as the Cemetery of Callistus where many
previous bishops of Rome were buried. Callistus administered this cemetery well
and was made a Deacon. Eighteen years later Callistus was elected Bishop of
Rome and had a short but controversial episcopate. He was labelled a heretic
for his attempt to mediate between two parties with rival theories about the
Incarnation and because he allowed those who committed murder and idolatry to
be re-admitted to Communion he was accused of laxity. Callistus was also
anxious to legalise the marriages of free people with slaves which was against
the Roman law. The result of all these disputes was a schism within the Roman
church and Callistus died during a popular riot and, though the details of his
death have not been recorded, he has always been acknowledged to be a martyr.
We pray today for Pope Francis whose papacy is
also marked by controversy and attacks from those who find his approach too
liberal or even dangerous. We pray too for those who attack him.
Thursday 15th., October in Week
Twenty Eight Year Two. Memory Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
Born into an aristocratic family in Avila in
1515, Teresa was a pious child. Her mother died when she was only fourteen and
Teresa began to develop a taste for the romantic novels of the day, for fine
clothes and for fashion. Teresa’s father sent her to the Augustinian nuns in
the town to be educated and after being
with them for a year and half, during an illness, she decided that she would
become a nun herself and at the age of twenty she entered the Carmelite Convent
of the Incarnation in the town which, at that time, numbered some one hundred
and forty sisters. It resembled a young ladies club more than a convent. The
sisters entertained the ladies and gentlemen of the town and were frequently
allowed to leave the Convent. There was little austerity and the sisters who came
from the richest families were treated like ladies.
Gradually, Teresa began to pray more earnestly
but it was not until after some twenty years in the Convent that she came to
realise that she longed for a life more like that which had been lived by the
early Carmelites.
During all this time Teresa continued to be
known for her charm, her affectionate exuberance, her prudence and her charity
which were all greatly appreciated both by the sisters themselves and by the
visitors to the Convent.
In 1555 Teresa experienced an interior
conversion in which she identified herself with Mary Magdalene and with
Augustine, whose ‘Confessions’ had made a deep impression on her. During the
following years she was helped greatly by both Dominican and Jesuit priests and
especially by the Franciscan, Peter of Alcantara (1499-1562) who himself was
instrumental in beginning a reform among the Franciscans.
After much opposition, in 1562 Teresa obtained
permission to found her own convent with thirteen other sisters which she put under the protection of Saint
Joseph. The Rule which they adopted was austere and the sisters lived in great
poverty and solitude, each spending much time alone in her cell. This proved to be the model for sixteen other
foundations which Teresa would make during her lifetime.
Teresa led her reform with great enthusiasm and
in spite of the austerity of their life, she insisted that each community be a
place of joy. She herself always took part in the work of the community and
expected every sister to do the same.
She also insisted that anyone who joined the community should have
common sense and good judgement and she had no time for sentimental piety.
Teresa also initiated the reform of the
Carmelite Friars and, in this, she was helped enormously by her great friend,
John of the Cross (1542-1591). Amid all her activity Teresa found time for
writing and her books on prayer are classics. They include her own autobiography,
the story of her foundations, ‘The Way of Perfection’ written for Nuns and ‘the
Interior Castle, perhaps her most mature statement on prayer and contemplation.
Teresa also made lengthy journeys to open new
foundations and it was on her way back from Burgos that she died at Alba de
Torres on October 4th., 1582 where she was buried.
Teresa was canonised in 1622 and in 1970 she
was the first woman to be declared a Doctor or Teacher of the Church. We
remember her today because on the day after her death the Gregorian reform of
the Calendar was adopted and ten days omitted from the month of October.
We pray today for Carmelite Sisters and Friars
all over the world and the many people associated with them and who find
inspiration in Teresa’s writings and her example. There are many accounts of
Teresa’s life and works, especially those of E.Allison Peers, ‘The mother of
Carmel’ (1945) and the ‘Handbook to the life and times of St.Teresa and St.John
of the Cross’ (1954) together with his translations of her works in 1945 and
1951.
There are proper readings for Teresa but,
almost certainly those of the day will be used.
Readings
Letter to the Ephesians 1/1-10 :
Luke 11/47-54
Today we begin to read the Letter to the
Ephesians. The majority of scholars believe it to have been written in the 90’s
in Paul’s name but not by him. If it were written by Paul then it would have
been written earlier in the sixties.
Together with the Letter to the Romans, this
letter can be said to have exercised the greatest influence on Christian
thought and spirituality. The writer, presuming it was not Paul himself, has
been called the supreme interpreter of Paul’s thought and his best disciple.
Paul had spent some three years in Ephesus from
54 to 57 but it is the absence of the mention any particular members of the
church that makes it unlikely that the letter was
actually written by him. It seems to
have been addressed to a community that was entirely non-Jewish and some
scholars think it may have been a sort of circular to various churches. It does
not seem to deal with any particular problems the churches might have been
having but it does give a magnificent overview of the Church Universal and the
unity of Christians.
In today’s extract, after the initial
greeting to those who hear the letter
there comes a magnificent act of thanksgiving which is reminiscent of Jewish
blessings. The writer celebrates the role of Christ and of Christians in God’s
plan to unite all things in heaven and on earth in Christ. In this mystery of
God’s will, even before the creation of the world, God destined Christians to
‘sonship’ in Jesus Christ. This does not mean that we are all ‘sons’ of course,
but that we all share in the reality of Jesus who is the ‘Son of God’, we are
‘in him’. In him we have been redeemed through his blood, our sins forgiven,
the riches of his grace poured out on
us.
The author tells those to whom the letter is
addressed and us too that, amazingly, insight has been given to them and us of
the mystery of God’s purposes.
This is a magnificent summary and is worth
reading more than once and reflecting upon it since it is a summary of what the
Church is all about. It is used as one of the Canticles at Evening Prayer too.
In the Gospel reading Jesus continues his
attack on the lawyers which he began in Wednesday’s extract.
The saying about ‘building the tombs of the
prophets’ or ‘killing and persecuting the prophets’ fits precisely into Luke’s
depiction of the journey of Jesus, the prophet, to Jerusalem and to his own
death.
Because Jesus has now made the conflict with
the Jewish authorities open the story takes on a new intensity. The rage and watchfulness of Jesus’ opponents
now turn into a fixed intention to trap him and top put an end to his ministry.
As we begin to follow Jesus’ journey to
Jerusalem and the final acts of his life and death we are reminded of the
suffering which he still undergoes in the millions of suffering people
throughout the world today. Rather than merely following the steps that lead to
his destruction let’s remember thatthuis same tragedy is being carried out
daily in the world today. What more can I do to help those in whom he still
suffers?
There are proper readings for Teresa but,
almost certainly those of the day will be used. Those for Teresa are :
Letter to the Romans 8/22-27
which speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit
and, especially how the Spirit helps us to pray even when we find it difficult,
the Spirit prays in us and for us as Teresa was very well aware.
John 15/1-8
which speaks of the way in which we are
integrated into Christ and how it is through our life in him that we are able
to bear fruit. Again something very appropriate for Teresa whose life of prayer
enabled her to achieve great things for the Order to which she belonged and for
the whole Church by her teaching.
Friday October 16th. in Week Twenty
Eight in Year Two.Memory of Hedwig and Margaret Mary.
Readings
Letter to the Ephesians 1/11-14 :
Luke 12/1-7
In the reading from the Letter to the
Ephesians, the writer continues the great prayer of thanks-giving of which we
read the beginning yesterday. He extols
the Church, part of God’s plan from all eternity, the ‘people who would put
their hopes in Christ’, who have received the Holy Spirit and been made free.
More than that, the writer says that the whole
purpose of the Church is ‘for God’s greater glory’ and ‘to make his glory
praised’. That is what we, the Church, are for but how do we do this? By being
the community of love that we are called to be, by being a sign to the world of
God’s great love for all and by being a community where its members are helped
towards an ever fuller humanity. As Saint Irenaeus (c.130-200) what gives glory
to God is the fully human person.
Is that what our community is and, if not, how
can we help it become such a community?
The Gospel reading for today follows on from
that of yesterday where Jesus condemned the scribes, the Pharisees and the
lawyers. In everything that Jesus now says there is danger for himself and for
his followers. To heighten the tension Luke has Jesus surrounded by such crowds
that people are being trampled on in the crush and it is in that situation that
Jesus speaks to his disciples.
Now that they are in danger, Jesus says, the
disciples must not be like the Pharisees. For them now, nothing can be hidden
and they must be transparent in their convictions. Yet, they must not be afraid
for they will be in God’s loving care, the God who is even aware of the death
of a sparrow. They will be tempted to go back on their commitment to Jesus but
they can trust the God whom Jesus has revealed to them, a God of love and
compassion.
For us too, Jesus says, we must not be afraid.
He doesn’t promise that there will be no difficulties but he assures us that
God is on our side. God does not prevent the sparrow falling to the ground but
he is aware of it and is there, even with the least of his creatures. He is
always with us even when he seems distant and silent and we must never forget
this.
Memory of Hedwig, (c.1174-1243)
Hedwig was bon about 1174 at Ardeche in
Bavaria, daughter of Count Berthold. As a child she was brought up in the
monastery of Kitzingen but at the age of twelve she was married to Henry,
future Duke of Silesia who was eighteen years of age and succeeded his father
in 1202. They had seven children whose quarrels caused Hedwig much pain. She
was greatly involved in the foundation of monasteries for both men and women,
among them the Cistercian house for women at Trebnitz near Breslau. After 1209
she and Henry lived apart and Hedwig made her home near the monastery of
Trebnitz which she joined on Henry’s death in 1238.
Hedwig was particularly concerned for the poor
and the needy and founded a hospital for them and for their protection.
Hedwig was also involved in peace making when
Henry was captured by his enemies and her son, Henry, was killed in battle in
1240. Many claims were made for her powers of prophecy and working miracles.
She died in 1243 and was buried at Trebnitz and she was canonised in only 1267.
Hedwig’s reputation as a peacemaker would seem
to make this a suitable day to pray for peace in so many places where there is
warfare at this time.
There are proper readings for Hedwig though
they are not likely to be used. They are :
Ecclesiasticus 26/1-4, 13-16
which is in praise of the good wife and Hedwig certainly displayed all the
virtues that are listed in this rather misogynistic account of a woman’s proper
role!
Mark 3/31-35
which tells us how Jesus includes all those who do the will of
the Father in his family circle, making us all of equal value. Hedwig had a
care for the poor and the needy and included all who came her way in her
circle.
Memory of Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)
Margaret Mary Alacoque was born in 1647 at
Janots in Burgundy, the fifth child of a notary. Her childhood was unhappy
especially after the death of her father and in 1671 she entered the
Visitandine Convent in Paray-le-monial. She had a reputation for being clumsy
but she was patient and kind. From 1673 to 1675 she believed that she was
experiencing a series of visions of
Christ who spoke with her and revealed his love
for all appealing to her to spread devotion to his heart, the source of
all love.
Whatever we may feel about the reality of these
visions they were providential in that they were a valuable way of reminding
her contemporaries of truths that had
been forgotten or obscured in seventeenth century France.
Both irreligion and Jansenism had obscured the
doctrine of God’s universal love for all humankind even sinners. Margaret
Mary’s experiences were promulgated by her director, a Jesuit, Claude de la
Colombiere (1641-1682) and, eventually, what Margaret Mary was saying was
accepted and recognised both by her community and, eventually, by the Pope. She
died at the early age of forty two in 1690 and was canonised in 1920 not
because of her apparent visions, of course, but for her goodness and as an
example to others
Devotion to and belief in the love of Christ in
no way depends on her visions, of course or those of anyone else. It is based
on the teaching of the Gospels themselves.
There are proper readings for Margaret Mary
though, almost certainly those of the day will be used. The readings for Margaret
Mary are:
Letter to the Ephesians 3/14-19
and is about the love of Christ which is
‘beyond all knowledge’ in its immensity which is what Margaret Mary was
teaching and which she associated with the Heart of Christ from which this love
springs.
Matthew 11/25-30
which alludes to Margaret Mary’s simplicity,
not being a great theologian but a
humble simple woman and it alludes the ‘gentle and humble’ heart of Christ in
which all can find rest and love.
Saturday October 17th. Saturday Week Twenty Eight Year Two. Memory of
Ignatius of Antioch.
Not much is known about the early life of
Ignatius of Antioch but tradition has it that he was a disciple of John the Apostle.
And that he was bishop of Antioch in the ancient Kingdom of Syria for some
fifty years. Antioch was an important city and it was there that Jesus’
followers first received the nickname of ‘Christians’. Christians were already
being seen as a threat to the authority of the Empire and the Emperor Trajan
initiated a persecution of all those who refused to sacrifice to the Roman
gods. Ignatius, though an old man, had a powerful influence in the city and
when he refused to sacrifice he was sentenced to be thrown to the wild beasts
in the Roman Arena. Under military guard Ignatius was taken to Rome by sea and
it was during this journey that he wrote a series of seven letters to the
churches . Four of these were composed in Smyrna where he was received with great
honour by the bishop, Polycarp and many of the Christian community there,
during a break in the journey. These were addressed to the churches of Ephesus,
Magnesia, Tralles and Rome. During a further break at Troas he wrote the
remaining three letters to Polycarp and to the churches of Philadelphia and
Smyrna. These letters make Ignatius one of the most important witnesses to the
Christianity immediately following the Apostles. The letters show Ignatius to
have been ardently devoted to Christ whose divinity and resurrection they
clearly affirm. They urge unity on the churches through the celebration of the
Eucharistic meal and through the one who presided over it, the local bishop.
Ignatius describes the church of Rome as the one founded by Peter and Paul and,
therefore, worthy of special reverence. He calls himself ‘theophorus’ the
‘bearer of God’ so convinced was he of the indwelling presence of Christ within
himself, the Christ whom he longed to see after his death. Thinking of that
forthcoming death, Ignatius describes himself in Eucharistic terms as the
‘wheat of Christ’. ‘May I be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts’ he says
‘to become the pure bread of Christ’. It seems that, having been thrown to the
lions in the Colosseum, he had a speedy death.
Ignatius’ letters were translated into Latin
and some Oriental languages almost immediately and they are some of the most
important documents that we have which witness to the life and faith of the
first Christian churches.
We pray today for the ancient churches of the
Middle East, the so-called Oriental Churches and especially for the people of
Syria and for Syrian Christians, Ignatius’ own land. Ignatius wrote in one of
his letters, ‘My love for you overflows all bounds’ and he repeatedly calls for
harmony among Christians, encouraging them to serve the needy with love. This
should be our prayer for all the churches today, that they be communities of
love and service, bound together not by rules, regulations dogmas but by love.
There are special readings for Ignatius but,
almost certainly, those of the day will be used.
Readings
Letter to the Ephesians 1/15-23 :
Luke 12/8-12
The writer of the Letter to the Ephesians
continues today from where we left him yesterday, acknowledging with gratitude the
faith and love of those to whom the letter is addressed.
He prays that they may grow in the knowledge
and the love of Christ who has been exalted and put over all the powers in
heaven and on earth, now and for ever. All this is for the sake of the Church,
Christ’s body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. The Church is the goal
of God’s plan which involves the whole of creation. It is a Church which has a
future dimension. Again, like so much of this letter, this is a passage which
deserves being read more than once and slowly.
In the Gospel reading Jesus continues to warn
his disciples that they will have to bear witness to him. If they are faithful,
he says, the will be with them to support them. Those who fail to bear him
witness he will disown.
Although those who fail him can be forgiven,
Jesus says, those who ‘blaspheme against the Holy Spirit’ or ‘slander the Holy
Spirit’ can never be forgiven. This is because they have set themselves against
the Spirit and the Spirit is forgiveness. This is a very difficult passage but
what Jesus seems to be saying is that his disciples will find themselves
engaged in a struggle against the forces of evil and they will have to be strong
in their faith in him.
We too are called to bear witness to Jesus as
was Ignatius who gave his life but we do this by our lives rather than in some
extreme example of heroism. We betray
Jesus when we fail to love as he has loved us, as we would have us love one
another and when we recognise him in all those who come our way. We fail him
too when we fail to speak up for what is right and just in our world because
this is all part of our love for others. Ignatius was notable for his love for
all the churches and gave his life for love of the Christ whom he had served in
others.
We pray today then that we may bear faithful
witness to Christ above all by the way in which we live our lives.
There are special readings for Ignatius, though
they will almost certainly not be used. They are:
Letter to the Philippians 3/7-4/1
speaks of the unity that Ignatius so desired
for the churches and of that same longing which Paul shared with Ignatius to be
on with Christ.
John
12/24-26
where
Jesus speaks of the grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies only to
yield a rich harvest thus recalling Ignatius’ death but also his allusion to
being ground by the teeth of the beasts to make flour for the bread of the
Eucharist
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