November 25, 2017

Nov. 25

November 25, 2017:  Saturday, 33rd week, Ordinary Time

See 16 connections with today?Legend below

Listen

Pope Francis to Verona Social Doctrine Festival
We need to change to be faithful both to God and people.  The Word of God helps us distinguish the two faces of change:  fidelity, hope in and openness to new things; and the difficulty of leaving the secure for the unknown.  We feel more secure within our fence, preserving and repeating our usual words and gestures, but this keeps us from starting new processes.  
To be faithful, we must have the capacity to change and launch out, as Abraham, who heeded the Lord and left for a new land.   God's call radically changed his life, opening unexpected horizons for him.  When you respond to God, a process begins that leads to something we never imagined.
Fidelity to people, means going out of ourselves to meet concrete people, opening our eyes and heart to the poor, the sick, the jobless, refugees, and those wounded by indifference and an economy that discards and kills; it's overcoming the centripetal force our own interests and egoism and giving way to passion for others. 
In this way, fidelity to God and to people converge and change us and reality, overcome immobilism and convenience, and create space and work for young people.  Change is healthy not only when things go badly but also when they go well and we're tempted to rest on results achieved.
Read
  • 1 Mc 6:1-13  King Antiochus tries to pillage rich Elymais, retreats when city rises up, hears he lost in Judah, takes to his bed, tells friends his evils are to blame, grieves.
  • Ps 9:2-4, 6, 16, 19  "I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord" who rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked.  The needy shall not be forgotten.
  • Lk 20:27-40  Sadducees / Jesus:   “Moses wrote, If a brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife....  Seven brothers married the same woman in sequence; each died childless.  At the resurrection, whose wife is she?” / “The children of this age marry, but not those who attain the resurrection; they're God's children, like angels.  Moses made it known the dead will rise.  God is of the living, not the dead.”
Reflect
  • Creighton:  Both readings show challenges faithfulness brings and hope to overcome them.  In the 1st, King Antiochus is dying in disgrace after challenging the Chosen People; in the gospel, Jesus avoids a trap.  There's a a historical connection between the readings:  through undermining practice of the Jewish faith, Antiochus had fostered the growth of rebel groups, the success of which led to a century of Maccabean rule.  The Romans eventually reasserted control.  The strained relationship between Jewish leadership and the Romans led to the issues Jesus spoke against.  The Sadducees and Jesus could easily have been at odds; they likely experienced the same type of strained conversations as some families faced at the Thanksgiving table.  Antiochus made his life worse by his decrees, and the Sadducees tried to discredit Jesus.  My mission is not to impose my viewpoint but to serve humbly....
    Santa Caterina d'Alessandria
    Caravaggio
  • One Bread, One Body:  "Denial":  Before Antiochus died, he judged himself kindly and beloved in his rule even though he killed mothers with their babies hanging from their necks, cut out opponents' tongues, scalped seven brothers who opposed him while their mother looked on, and fried seven brothers and their mother.  Our capacity to deny sin is shocking.  Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!
  • Passionist:  “The history of the Jewish people in the bible is a history of conflict with pagan nations.  This conflict and confrontation are not merely encouraged by God; he actually commands the people to oppose their tyranny, injustice, and immorality.  One of the greatest sins of the Jewish nation was their attempt to be reconciled with the nations who oppressed them” (Nolan, Hope in an Age of Despair:  summary).  The view that Christians should always seek harmony and a middle way makes the false assumption that tension and conflict are worse than injustice and oppression.  King Antiochus dies in a foreign land after hearing of the successful revolt, and Jesus picks up the Sadducees' absurd question in a different way instead of lowering himself to their trap.  How is God calling me to derail today's ludicrousness?  How can we move deeper into what's truly significant?  Do I have courage to transform and be transformed?
  • DailyScripture.net:  "All live to him":  We can be like the Sadducces, trying to make heaven into an earthly image.  Jesus gives proof of the resurrection from scripture, then later from his own resurrection....  May we live now in the joy and hope of eternal life.  "May the Lord put his hands on our eyes so we may look at what is not seen.  May he open the eyes that are concerned not with the present and unseal the heart's vision, that we may gaze on God through Christ, whose glory will endure." (Origen, paraphrased)
Today's saints, from Universalis
Dress legend
  • 'Crown' tie bar:  King Antiochus (1st reading), Christ the King (tomorrow's celebration)
  • Silver- and gold-colored accessories:  Elymais was famous for its wealth in silver and gold; king recalls he carried away gold and silver vessels (1st reading)
  • 'Plane' pin:  Armies had been put to 'flight' (1st reading)
  • 'Musical note' tie pin:  "I'll sing praise to your name" (psalm)
  • 'Eyeball,' 'heart' pins:  Sleep has departed from my eyes, for my heart is sinking... (1st reading); I'll thank You with all my heart (psalm)
  • Tie with 'feet':  The nations are sunk; their foot is caught (psalm)
  • '?' tie pin:  Sadducees put question to Jesus (gospel)
  • 'Tree' pin:  Burning bush (gospel)
  • '7 people' pin, upside down:  There were seven brothers; each died childless... (gospel)
  • 'Angel' pin:  Those deemed worthy are like angels (gospel)
  • Green in shirt, 'clocks' suspenders:  Ordinary Time season, ending in days
  • White in shirt, red suspenders:  Virginity and martyrdom of St. Catherine of Alexandria
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November 24, 2017

Vietnamese martyrs

November 24, 2017:  St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs

See a dozen connections with today?Legend below
Listen

For martyrs of Vietnam
Pope Francis
Homily:  Watchfulness, service, and gratuitousness can help us keep clean the temple of the Holy Spirit:
God's most important temple is our heart, where the Spirit dwells.  Do we keep watch over it?  Are we careful about what happens there, who comes in and goes out, the feelings, the ideas...?  Do we speak and listen to the Spirit?
You can safeguard and care for this temple through service.  Do you help, clothe, and console those in need?  Purifying the temple means caring for others.  When we serve, we resemble Jesus.
Gratuitousness helps keep the temple clean.  How often do we enter a parish and not know whether it's God's house or a supermarket, a business with a price list for the sacraments?  But God saved us freely, without making us pay.  Give freely, and God will provide what's lacking.
To Franciscans:  'Minor' is an essential part of your name, Order of Friars Minor.  St. Francis named you “friars minor” out of his desire to make Christ, who though rich made himself poor, and the Gospel, the foundation of his life.  Francis lived out 'spoliation,' stripping himself of earthly goods to give himself to God.  His life was marked by this encounter with God who had made himself poor; the Poverello (little poor man) adored and contemplated Christ's humble and hidden presence in the Incarnation, the Cross, and the Eucharist.  May God preserve and increase your "littleness," a place of encounter and communion with God, your religious brothers, all people, and creation:
God:  Littleness has a special place your relationship with God, humble, confident, and aware of your sinfulness. One aspect is the “spirituality of restitution” to God.  Every good we receive is from God and must be restored to him through praise and living in line with the gift, going out of ourselves to encounter and welcome others.
People:  This leads to encounter with others, for you primarily in your relationship with your religious brothers.  Mark your relationships with respect, understanding, charity, and mercy, never superiority.  Live 'littleness' in your relationships with all people.  When you serve the “smallest,” the excluded, the “least,” never do it from a pedestal of superiority that could drive people away.  Open your hearts and embrace today's lepers, extending the mercy you've received.  Be "sick with the sick; afflicted with the afflicted," so your littleness will affect their lives.
Creation:  Franciscan “littleness” is a place of encounter with creation, which Francis described as a sister or beautiful mother.  This sister and mother is rebelling because she feels mistreated.  Dialogue with creation, praising God for it, and caring for it.  Collaborate with initiatives for care of our common home, keeping in mind the relationship between the poor and the fragile planet, between the option for the poor and the economy, development, and care for creation.
Read
  • 1 Mc 4:36-37, 52-59  Judas Maccabeus and his brothers purify, repair, ornament, and rededicate the sanctuary with songs, harps, flutes, and cymbals.  All the people adore and praise Heaven and prostrate themselves.  They decree the dedication should be celebrated every year....
  • 1 Chr 29:10b-12  "We praise your glorious name, O mighty God."  All is yours.
  • Lk 19:45-48  Jesus drove the sellers out of the temple:  “My house shall be a house of prayer, but you've made it a robbers' den."  Leaders sought to kill him, but people were hanging on his words.
Reflect
  • Creighton:  The 117 Catholics martyred in Vietnam from 1820-1862 we remember today were victims of religious persecution; their blood is a source of life for believers.  Lord, give us courage and freedom to witness to our faith.
After enduring persecution, the Maccabees celebrated the rededication of the Temple with joy; strong faith is powerful and inspiring.
Jesus had been struggling with people who appeared religious but judged without mercy. They didn't like how he ate and drank with sinners, cared for the sick, hungry and thirsty, strangers, and sinners.  The "buying and selling" he saw was all about sacrifice, and since people came from all over, money changers were exchanging currency.  Jesus said they'd lost the meaning of sacrifice.
  • Pope Francis has challenged us to avoid legalism and practice mercy.  Lord, help us examine what gets in the way of our faith and commitment (such as the diseases Pope Francis lists in his 2014 Christmas greeting to his staff:  'petrification,' gossiping, grumbling, backbiting...) and cleanse our temple.  May we be more a "house of prayer" in communion with you.  Make us more kind and merciful, especially with those close to us and the poor....
  • One Bread, One Body:  "Purity":  Jesus wants his temple purified; he commands us to be pure, even as he is.  By obedience to the truth, we can purify ourselves for love of our brothers and sisters.  The Lord has promised us "a fountain to purify from sin and uncleanness."  This fountain is our Baptism into Jesus in which we have stripped off the carnal body.  We're pure if we live our Baptism via holy conduct and repent from our sin. "Let us purify ourselves from every defilement... and strive to fulfill our consecration.
    Martyrs of Vietnam
  • Passionist:  'Fear of God' is better translated 'awe.'  We should be astonished at God's creativity!  "The ignorant of God were foolish, unable to know the one who exists from the good things they see or to recognize the Artisan by heeding his works."  “Lord, how majestic your name in all the earth!”  In Hebrew 'majestic' (ʾaddîr) means mighty or noble....
  • DailyScripture.net:  "They all hung upon his words":  Jesus' temple cleansing is is the only incident where we see him use physical force; the act was a sign and warning that God takes our worship seriously.  He cleansed the temple of those using it to exploit worshipers. The money changers unjustly overcharged the poor and so dishonored God.  Jesus quoted from Isaiah and Jeremiah. The people who listened to Jesus teaching regarded him with awe and respect. How hungry am I for God's word?
Dress legend
  • 'Alps' pin:  Army went up to Mount Zion (1st reading)
  • 'Fire' pin:  They offered sacrifice according to the law (1st reading)
  • 'Houses' tie:  "My house shall be a house of prayer" (gospel)
  • 'Clef' pin:  They reconsecrated the altar with songs... (1st reading)
  • Gold-colored accessories, 'crown' tie bar, and (though lost) /'shield' tie pin/:  They ornamented the temple with gold crowns and shields (1st reading)
  • 'Car' pin:  Jesus 'drove' out those selling things in the temple (gospel)
  • 'Gun' pin:  The leaders were seeking to put Jesus to death (gospel)
  • Red in shirt, 'blood drop' pin:  Vietnamese martyrs (today's memorial)
  • Green in shirt, suspenders with clocks:  Ordinary Time season; countdown to its end
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November 23, 2017

Thanksgiving

November 23, 2017:  Thanksgiving Day

See 16 connections with today?
Legend below
Listen

For Thanksgiving Day
For Thanksgiving gospel
For Psalm 145 (Thanksgiving)
For Psalm 50 (weekday)
When a dictatorship practices cultural or ideological colonization, freedom is taken away, history and memory are deconstructed, and biased education is imposed.  A nation asking for a loan was told "Yes, if you teach this," erasing all that God created and how he has created it, erasing differences, eliminating history.  "Think like this, or else you'll be cast aside, even persecuted."
Those who opposed genocidal dictatorships were threatened, then deprived of freedom.  Ideological and cultural colonization also eliminates memory, reducing it to fables or lies.  As you recall the mother in today's 1st reading, remember the role of women in the custody of memory and history, preserving memory of salvation, memory of God's people, memory that strengthens faith of a persecuted people.  Memory helps us triumph over perverse education systems.  Remember values, history, and what we learn.  The tenderness and courage of the Maccabees' mother strengthens her children and all God's people.  Women's strength can resist cultural colonization, defend history, and convey faith.  The people of God continue on by the strength of valiant women who have given their children faith, conveying it in a native dialect.  May the Lord always give us grace to have memory, not to forget our native language, and to have courageous women.
Read

 Weekday
  • 1 Mc 2:15-29  Mattathias and sons gather.  Officers enforcing apostasy:  “Obey as others have done and be rewarded.”  Mattathias:  “No; we'll keep to the covenant.”  He kills Jew who offered sacrifice and messenger forcing them, invites city to flee with him, leaving possessions.
  • Ps 50:1b-2, 5-6, 14-15  "To the upright I will show the saving power of God."  God the judge has summoned the earth.  “Offer praise as your sacrifice to God; fulfill your vows.  I'll rescue you.”
  • Lk 19:41-44  Jesus wept over Jerusalem:  “If only you knew what makes for peace.  Your enemies will rise against you, hem you in, and smash you because you didn't recognize the time of your visitation.”
  • Sir 50:22-24  Bless God who's done wondrous things, who fashions people.  May he grant you joy and peace; may his goodness endure and deliver us.
  • Ps 145:2-11 "I will praise your name for ever, Lord."  Great are you, Lord; your majesty, wondrous works, goodness, justice, mercy, kindness, and compassion.  May your faithful bless you, speaking of your kingdom's glory and your might.
  • 1 Cor 1:3-9  I thank my God for God's grace given to you as you await Christ's revelation.  He'll keep you firm to the end.  By our faithful God you were called to fellowship with Christ our Lord.
  • Lk 17:11-19  Ten lepers:  “Jesus, have pity on us!” / “Show yourselves to the priests.”  They were cleansed on the way.  One returned, glorifying God and thanking Jesus.  “Has none but this foreigner given thanks?  Go; your faith has saved you.”
Reflect
  • Creighton:  Though our religion may not be under as fierce an attack as in the time of Mattathias and his sons, the same methods of seduction are in use:  everyone else is doing it; you'll be somebody if you do; the king will make it worth your while.  The world appeals to our desire for friendship, prestige, and wealth.  Some submit, but others resist, either by giving up their lives, or, like Mattathias and his sons, with arms; in both cases you have to be prepared to lose everything.  Mattathias gave up everything, except his religious customs and faith.
The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth/ Brownscombe
Dictators come and go, but God lives on, gathering and rescuing the faithful.  Don't fear the threats, but praise God and fulfill your vows to him.
If the people in the gospel had only seen Jesus for who he was, they would have had peace, but they didn't, it led to disaster, and Jesus wept.  Recognize God at work.  Today's readings call us to trust God, ask for wisdom to see he's at work, and resist evil.  God alone is faithful; the world's offer of friendship, fame, and wealth is illusory.
  • One Bread, One Body:  "Day by day":  How do we relate to opposition in our life?  We are to kill the enemy, temptation within, by zeal for God's law, casting out whatever leads us away from the Lord.  People "make a covenant with death" by choosing death in little things.  Mattathias chose the Lord.  May we spring up and kill temptation.  We can't have two masters or "straddle the issue" between world and God.  If you're the world's friend, you're God's enemy.  Little things we let into our lives (articles, videos, TV shows...) can make us see or miss the time of our visitation.  We can grow so far from God as to miss his visitation, or, through seeking the Lord daily (prayer, scripture, Mass, works of mercy...) be built up to a place of strong commitment.  Choose life.
    Christ lamenting over Jerusalem/ Eastlake
  • Passionist:  In the Thanksgiving gospel, ten lepers begged for pity, Jesus cleansed them all, but only one returned to thank him.  The gratitude of the one may show internal, as well as external, cleansing.  When I’m grateful, I tend less towards envy or schadenfreude.  If I'm satisfied with what I have, I may not feel I have to steal, cheat, lie, or kill.  Gratitude is an indication that I can accept love, especially God’s.  Realizing God's gifts to me inspires me to be generous, especially to those in need.  Nothing can take away God’s love for us in Christ.  May we always be thankful, be open to God’s healing and love, and give what we've been given.
    Healing of the ten lepers/ Tissot
  • DailyScripture.net:  "Know the time of your visitation":  Jesus' earthly ministry culminates in Jerusalem, the holy city, God's throne and dwelling place, the holy mountain God set his king on.  Jerusalem derives its name from 'salem' ('peace' as in shalom)  The temple reminded the people of God's presence.  Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they didn't know what makes for peace.  Throughout the city's history, rulers and inhabitants rejected prophets out of pride and unbelief; now they refuse to listen to Jesus, and their rejection leads to the city's destruction.  Jesus' lamentation and prophecy echoes Jeremiah's.  God comes to establish peace and justice by rooting out the world, flesh, and devil and leading us to justice, peace, love, and holiness.  Do I recognize God's visitation today?
Today's saints, from Universalis
Cleansing of the ten lepers
Pro Video
Dress legend
  • 'Crown' tie bar:  King Antiochus Ephiphanes (1st reading d)
  • Silver- and gold-colored accoutrements:  If you obey the king, you'll be enriched with silver and gold (1st reading d)
  • 'Heart' pin:  Joy of heart (Thanksgiving 1st reading); when Mattathias saw the apostate Jew, his heart was filled with fury... (1st reading d)
  • 'Gun' pin:  ...and he killed him and the king's messenger (1st reading d)
  • 'Alps' tie pin;  Mattathias fled to the mountains with his sons, leaving everything behind (1st reading d)
    Christ cures ten lepers
  • 'Peace sign' tie bar:  May peace abide among you (Thanksgiving 1st reading); “If only you knew what makes for peace..." (gospel d)
  • 'Eyeball' pin:   "...but now it's hidden from your eyes." (gospel d)
  • Circular tie pin:  Your enemies will encircle you... (gospel d)
  • 'Stone' tie pin:  ...and not leave one stone upon another within you... (gospel d)
  • 'Clock' tie bar:  ...because you didn't recognize the time of your visitation (gospel d); countdown till eschaton and end of church year (season)
  • 'People' pin:  Lepers including the thankful one (Thanksgiving gospel)
  • 'Doctor's office' tie:  Jesus healed the lepers (Thanksgiving gospel) [trumps 'scales of justice' tie for "God alone is the judge" (psalm d)]
  • Green for Ordinary Time season
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