Tag: Sr. Kathryn

At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.

In today’s Gospel reading, we enter into just one of Jesus’ “days.” He had been teaching and healing non-stop for 24 hours at least. After he had left the synagogue [before today’s reading picks up], he went to Peter’s house, where he was asked to heal Peter’s mother-in-law who lay in bed with a severe fever. Jesus rebuked the fever and she immediately got up “and waited on them.” I imagine that meant cooking dinner, giving Jesus a bit of refreshment near the end of a busy day. 

However, at sunset the house began to crowd with endless people pleading throughout the night for healing and hope. And now at daybreak, “Jesus left and went to a deserted place.” These are the words that are used in the Gospel of Luke to introduce the hours of solitude in which Jesus would be alone with his Father in prayer. These words are never used to indicate that Jesus was taking a break. He didn’t leave to escape the noise and demands of the crowds who needed him, but to reconnect with the Source of his Life, the Fire of Love that burned within him, his purpose, his desire. His great need was to stay in communion with the Father, and it was from this communion that he gained the strength and energy to give, to serve, to love, and eventually to lay down his life.

Saint John Paul II seemed to get his cue from Jesus himself. He received his drive, and his purpose, from prayer. The Pope’s schedule, according to Andreas Widmer, author of the book The Pope & the CEO: John Paul II’s Leadership Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard, ran something like this: The Pope rose before 6:00 and prayed in his private chapel before visitors joined him for Mass at 7:00. After Mass and an hour or two in the office, he would greet official visitors at 11:00, and then give his general audiences which were followed by lunch where he was joined by various Vatican staff. His lunches were the opportunity for him to be brought up to speed on what was happening in the various offices of the Vatican. Often he invited guests specifically to engage in a vigorous discussion on various theological or philosophical issues that concerned the life of the Church. After lunch, the Pope headed for the rooftop gardens of the Papal Palace to walk and talk with God. After this time of quiet prayer and rest, there were several hours of office work and more audiences until dinner at 8:00 where guests dined with him once more. After dinner he returned to reading and writing and praying well into the night, only turning out his lights at midnight or even later. We can imagine that this was a leisurely schedule compared to his schedule while traveling.

Widmer recalls that when John Paul II returned after being weeks on the road he didn’t head straight for his own apartment and collapse for a few days in exhaustion. As he arrived at the Vatican, he would stop and greet all the staff who had gathered to welcome him home and inspect the Swiss Guard lined up in honor formation, talking to each one and shaking their hands.

Widmer, who was a twenty-year-old Swiss Guard at the time and who was, like his fellow guards, in peak physical condition, describes how the young Swiss Guards were unable to keep up with the energy level of Saint John Paul II. He shared in his book how he tried to remember even once when he saw that schedule taking a toll on the pope. He couldn’t remember John Paul II ever exhausted, bleary-eyed, burnt out, irritated. The Swiss Guards who traveled with him on those trips were 40, 50, 60 years his junior, yet they returned home exhausted. The Pope instead was filled with energy and ready to pour himself out for others.

Just like Jesus, just like Saint John Paul II, each of us has a mission in life. Each of us have demands, are busy, have an overcrowded schedule. Each of us must deal with the rapid force of endless change and the fear of the uncertainty of what is right around the corner, the endless unknowns that could upset our life. Each of us is called in our vocation to pour ourselves out in response to whatever God asks of us.

Take your cue from Jesus today. Find your “deserted place” to recharge, regroup, renew. You may be able to stay there for moments, or it may be hours. You may find your deserted place in the car on a long commute or at night when the house has grown silent and all your family members are sleeping. Wherever it is and for whatever length of time you are able to be there, cherish your “deserted place” to commune with your God who will renew your energy, return your joy, and recharge your purpose in life.

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Al día siguiente se fue a un lugar solitario.

En la lectura del Evangelio de hoy, entramos en solo uno de los “días” de Jesús. Había estado enseñando y sanando sin parar durante al menos 24 horas. Después de haber salido de la sinagoga [antes de que comience la lectura de hoy], fue a la casa de Pedro, donde se le pidió que curara a su suegra, que estaba en cama con mucha fiebre. Jesús reprendió la fiebre y ella inmediatamente se levantó “y se puso a servirles”. Me imagino que eso significaba preparar la cena, darle a Jesús un poco de refrigerio cerca del final de un día ajetreado.

Sin embargo, al atardecer la casa comenzó a llenarse con un sinfín de personas suplicando durante toda la noche por sanidad y esperanza. Y ahora, al amanecer, “Jesús partió y se fue a un lugar desierto”. Estas son las palabras que se utilizan en el Evangelio de Lucas para introducir las horas de soledad en las que Jesús estaría a solas con su Padre en oración. Estas palabras nunca se usan para indicar que Jesús estaba tomando un descanso. No partió para escapar del ruido y las demandas de las multitudes que lo necesitaban, sino para reconectarse con la Fuente de su Vida, el Fuego del Amor que ardía dentro de él, su propósito, su deseo. Su gran necesidad era permanecer en comunión con el Padre, y de esta comunión obtuvo la fuerza y ​​la energía para dar, servir, amar y, finalmente, dar su vida.

San Juan Pablo II pareció entender el ejemplo del mismo Jesús. Recibió su impulso y su propósito de la oración. El horario del Papa, según Andreas Widmer, autor del libro The Pope & the CEO: John Paul II’s Leadership Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard, (El Papa y el CEO: Lecciones de Liderazgo de Juan Pablo II) para una joven Guardia Suizaera más o menos así: el Papa se levantaba antes de las 6:00 y rezaba en su capilla privada ante los visitantes, se unió a él para la Misa a las 7:00. Después de la Misa y una hora o dos en la oficina, saludaba a los visitantes oficiales a las 11:00 y luego daba sus audiencias generales seguidas de un almuerzo donde se le unían varios miembros del personal del Vaticano. Sus almuerzos fueron la oportunidad para que él se pusiera al día sobre lo que estaba sucediendo en las distintas oficinas del Vaticano. A menudo invitaba a los invitados específicamente a participar en una discusión vigorosa sobre varios temas teológicos o filosóficos que se relacionaban con la vida de la Iglesia. Después del almuerzo, el Papa se dirigió a los jardines de la azotea del Palacio Papal para caminar y hablar con Dios. Después de este tiempo de oración tranquila y descanso, hubo varias horas de trabajo de oficina y más audiencias hasta la cena a las 8:00 donde los invitados cenaron con él una vez más. Después de la cena, volvió a leer, escribir y orar hasta bien noche, y solo apagaba las luces a medianoche o incluso más tarde. Podemos imaginar que este era un horario pausado en comparación con su horario mientras viajaba.

Widmer recuerda que cuando Juan Pablo II regresaba después de estar de viaje por unas semanas, no se dirigía directamente a su propio apartamento a derrumbarse durante unos días por el agotamiento. Cuando llegaba al Vaticano, se detenía y saludaba a todo el personal que se había reunido para darle la bienvenida a casa e inspeccionaba a la Guardia Suiza en formación de honor, hablando con cada uno y dándoles la mano.

Widmer, que en ese momento era un guardia suizo de veinte años y que, al igual que sus compañeros de guardia, estaba en óptimas condiciones físicas, describe cómo los jóvenes guardias suizos no pudieron mantenerse al día con el nivel de energía de San Juan Pablo II. Compartió en su libro cómo trató de recordar incluso una vez cuando vio que ese horario le estaba afectaba al Papa. No podía recordar a Juan Pablo II alguna vez exhausto, con ojos llorosos, quemado, irritado. Los guardias suizos que viajaron con él en esos viajes eran 40, 50, 60 años menores que él, pero regresaron a casa exhaustos. El Papa, en cambio, estaba lleno de energía y dispuesto a entregarse por los demás.

Como Jesús, como San Juan Pablo II, cada uno de nosotros tiene una misión en la vida. Cada uno de nosotros tiene demandas, está ocupado, tiene un horario abarrotado. Cada uno de nosotros debe lidiar con la fuerza rápida del cambio sin fin y el miedo a la incertidumbre de lo que está a la vuelta de la esquina, las incógnitas infinitas que podrían trastornar nuestra vida. Cada uno de nosotros está llamado en nuestra vocación a entregarse en respuesta a lo que Dios nos pide.

Siga el ejemplo de Jesús hoy. Encuentra tu “lugar desierto” para recargar, reagrupar, renovar. Es posible que pueda permanecer allí por momentos, o pueden ser horas. Puede encontrar su lugar desierto en el automóvil en un viaje largo o por la noche cuando la casa se ha vuelto silenciosa y todos los miembros de su familia están durmiendo. Dondequiera que sea y durante el tiempo que puedas estar allí, atesora tu “lugar desierto” para comunicarte con tu Dios, quien renovará tu energía, te devolverá la alegría y recargará tu propósito en la vida.

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My mother is in the final stages of Alzheimer’s. In the lovely summer weather this year, she and dad have spent a couple of hours every afternoon sitting outside in the lovely garden where she lives. Listening to the birds, watching the squirrels play, and enjoying the flowers and trees has always been a blessed way for mom to spend her leisure moments, particularly in these last fifteen years. I am so grateful to God that my parents have had this very special final year together.

Even as the whole family has found a new and blessed rhythm of being with mom and surrounding her with love and experiences of beauty that are familiar to her on this earth, we all know that this will probably be the last summer that we will have this gift. 

I find my comfort in the Feast of Mary we celebrate today, Mary’s Assumption into heaven. The Collect prayer for today’s Mass lifts our minds and our hearts: 

O God, who, looking on the lowliness of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
raised her to this grace,
that your Only Begotten Son was born of her according to the flesh
and that she was crowned this day with surpassing glory,
grant through her prayers,
that, saved by the mystery of your redemption,
we may merit to be exalted by you on high.

Heaven is the final goal.

Even as we enjoy with mom these precious moments in the beauty of nature, the glory of creation, I remember that heaven is the final goal. From the moment of his glorious rising from the dead, Jesus has been lifting up our hearts, lifting them up above this earth, above this place of exile, above this vale of tears. He rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven. The Spirit descended upon the apostles in the Cenacle. And today we celebrate the assumption of Mary into heaven.

On this day we celebrate the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever virgin Mary, who having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory (Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus 44). Pius XII affirmed in this dogma of the Assumption of Mary, the elevation of Mary’s body to heavenly glory. We celebrate today the moment at which Mary was “taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, when her earthly life was over, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things” (Lumen Gentium 59). 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that “the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians” (CCC 966).

And so we spend these days with Mom, these final months of life before Life with joy in our hearts, yes mingled with the sorrow of knowing she won’t be with us, but with transparent and joyful gratitude. She has already received the Anointing of the Sick and the Apostolic Blessing at a point in which she seemed to be approaching the end. Now even as we cherish the beauties of creation on this earth, we know Mom is ready for eternity. Even as we enjoy those precious moments and share those selfies with her that we’ll keep forever, we remember that this life is but a preparation for eternity. Mary who has gone before us, body and soul, reminds us of this particularly on the Feast of the Assumption. There in heaven, the Mother of Jesus and our mother enjoys forever the beatific vision that is our hope, the hope of all Christians. What Mary now enjoys in heaven is promised to each of us:

Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through man, the resurrection of the dead came also through man. For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, but each one in proper order: Christ the first fruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ.” (Colossians 15:20-23)

According to Pope Benedict XVI: 

“By contemplating Mary in heavenly glory, we understand that the earth is not the definitive homeland for us either, and that if we live with our gaze fixed on eternal goods we will one day share in this same glory and the earth will become more beautiful.

“Consequently, we must not lose our serenity and peace even amid the thousands of daily difficulties. The luminous sign of Our Lady taken up into Heaven shines out even more brightly when sad shadows of suffering and violence seem to loom on the horizon.

“We may be sure of it: from on high, Mary follows our footsteps with gentle concern, dispels the gloom in moments of darkness and distress, reassures us with her motherly hand” (Benedict XVI, General Audience, August 16, 2006).

If you are accompanying a loved one or friend in the last months or years of their life, or if you yourself are soon to enter your eternal home, slip your hand into Mary’s hand. Make beautiful memories during these days, cherish all the blessings you have on this earth, and also keep your mind and heart lifted high. Mary is your hope, the promise of a Life after this one, a Life that will never end, a Life of eternal joy. As you cherish the moments you have here, prepare for the eternal and unending forever that is our final destination, where Mary awaits to receive you, her child. 

Mary our Hope, assumed into heaven, pray for us. 

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Mi madre está en las etapas finales de Alzheimers. En el hermoso clima de verano de este año, ella y mi papá han pasado un par de horas cada tarde sentados afuera en el hermoso jardín donde viven. Escuchar a los pájaros, ver jugar a las ardillas y disfrutar de las flores y los árboles siempre ha sido una forma bendecida para mamá de pasar sus momentos relejados, particularmente en estos últimos quince años. Estoy tan agradecida con Dios que mis padres hayan tenido juntos este último año tan especial.

Aunque toda la familia ha encontrado un ritmo nuevo y bendecido de estar con mi mamá y rodearla de amor y experiencias de belleza que le son familiares en esta tierra, todos sabemos que lo más probable es que este será el último verano que tendremos este regalo.

Encuentro mi consuelo en la Fiesta de María que celebramos hoy, la Asunción de María al cielo. La oración colecta para la Misa de hoy eleva nuestras mentes y nuestros corazones:

Oh Dios, que, mirando la humildad de la Santísima Virgen María,
la elevó a esta gracia,
que tu Hijo Unigénito nació de ella según la carne
y que ella fue coronada hoy con gloria incomparable,
conceda a través de sus oraciones,
que, salvados por el misterio de tu redención,
merezcamos ser exaltados por ti en lo alto.

El cielo es el objetivo final.

Incluso mientras disfrutamos con mi mamá estos preciosos momentos en la belleza de la naturaleza, la gloria de la creación, recuerdo que el cielo es la meta final. Desde el momento de su gloriosa resurrección de entre los muertos, Jesús ha estado elevando nuestros corazones, elevándolos por encima de esta tierra, por encima de este lugar de exilio, por encima de este valle de lágrimas. Se levantó de entre los muertos y ascendió al cielo. El Espíritu descendió sobre los apóstoles en el Cenáculo. Y hoy celebramos la asunción de María al cielo.

En este día celebramos a la Inmaculada Madre de Dios, la siempre Virgen María, que después de cumplir el curso de su vida terrena, fue asunta en cuerpo y alma a la gloria celestial (Pío XII, Munificentissimus Deus 44). Pío XII afirmó en este dogma de la Asunción de María, la elevación del cuerpo de María a la gloria celestial. Celebramos hoy el momento en que María fue “elevada en cuerpo y alma a la gloria celestial, acabada su vida terrena, y exaltada por el Señor como Reina sobre todas las cosas” (Lumen Gentium 59).

El Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica nos dice que “la Asunción de la Santísima Virgen es una participación singular en la Resurrección de su Hijo y una anticipación de la resurrección de los demás cristianos” (CCC 966).

Y así pasamos estos días con Mamá, estos últimos meses de vida, antes de la vida eterna, sí mezclada con la tristeza de saber que no estará con nosotros, pero con transparente y gozosa gratitud. Ya ha recibido la Unción de los Enfermos y la Bendición Apostólica en un punto en el que parecía estar llegando al final. Ahora, aunque apreciamos las bellezas de la creación en esta tierra, sabemos que mamá está lista para la eternidad. Incluso mientras disfrutamos de esos preciosos momentos y compartimos esas selfies con ella que guardaremos para siempre, recordamos que esta vida no es más que una preparación para la eternidad. María, que nos ha precedido en cuerpo y alma, nos lo recuerda especialmente en la fiesta de la Asunción. Allí en el cielo, la Madre de Jesús y la madre nuestra, goza para siempre de la visión beatífica que es nuestra esperanza, la esperanza de todos los cristianos. Lo que María disfruta ahora en el cielo se nos promete a cada uno de nosotros:

“Cristo ha resucitado de entre los muertos, las primicias de los que durmieron. Porque por cuanto la muerte entró por el hombre, también por el hombre vino la resurrección de los muertos. Porque así como en Adán todos mueren, así también en Cristo todos serán vivificados, pero cada uno en su debido orden: Cristo, las primicias; luego, en su venida, los que son de Cristo.” (Colosenses 15:20-23)

Según el Papa Benedicto XVI:

“Al contemplar a María en la gloria celestial, comprendemos que la tierra tampoco es la patria definitiva para nosotros, y que si vivimos con la mirada puesta en los bienes eternos, un día compartiremos esta misma gloria y la tierra se hará más hermosa.

“En consecuencia, no debemos perder la serenidad y la paz, incluso en medio de las miles de dificultades diarias. El signo luminoso de Nuestra Señora llevada al Cielo resplandece aún más cuando las tristes sombras del sufrimiento y de la violencia parecen asomar en el horizonte.

“Podemos estar seguros: desde lo alto, María sigue nuestros pasos con dulce solicitud, disipa las tinieblas en los momentos de oscuridad y angustia, nos tranquiliza con su mano materna” (Benedicto XVI, Audiencia general, 16 de agosto de 2006).

Si estás acompañando a un ser querido o amigo en los últimos meses o años de su vida, o si tú mismo vas a entrar pronto al hogar eterno, desliza tu mano en la mano de María. Crea hermosos recuerdos durante estos días, valora todas las bendiciones que tienes en esta tierra y también mantén tu mente y tu corazón elevados. María es vuestra esperanza, la promesa de una Vida después de ésta, una Vida que nunca tendrá fin, una Vida de eterna alegría. Mientras valoras los momentos que tienes aquí, prepárate para el eterno e interminable para siempre que es nuestro destino final, donde María te espera para recibirte, su hijo.

María, Esperanza nuestra, asunta al cielo, ruega por nosotros.

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To the words that begin our first reading at Mass today… “Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities!  All things are vanity!” …let us add these words of St. John of the Cross: “To be perfectly united to God by love and will, the soul must first be cleansed of all appetites of the will, even the smallest” (Ascent of Mount Carmel). 

In the language of St John of the Cross, the word “appetites” refers to disordered inclinations or affections for oneself or creatures, we could say the “vanities of the world,” tendencies which are more or less contrary to God’s will. 

In talking about the value of Ignatian Spirituality for leadership in his book Heroic Leadership, Chris Lowney talks about his being driven by the “I-want-it-so-badly” virus, a type of a modern formulation of the “vanity of vanities” of Qoheleth. Lowney shares how he so wanted to get to the top of the company, to be wealthy, recognized, have the best house and the most exciting life. He wanted it so badly that it seemed it must be right precisely because he wanted it so badly. 

Sound familiar? 

How subtle are the deceptions of the evil one. This absolute certainty that God is on our side might be a delusion. Often it is one of the signs that we are after things that fall under the category of “vanity of vanities.” Maybe it is not God’s design for us that we have the things we so badly desire, but only an “ego itch” actually leading us astray as we chase after our vanities and vainglory. “Disordered inclinations and affections for oneself or creatures.” 

In the second reading today, St. Paul in his letter to the Colossians teaches us simply, clearly, leaving us no wiggle room to justify collecting our vanities here on earth: “Brothers and sisters:

If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.”

And lest we think that these words are some fantasy or imaginative contemplation of Christ in heaven, Paul clearly lays out in no-nonsense and practical terms what this means for us here on earth: “Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge,

in the image of its creator.”

So, brothers and sisters, cherish these words today, these words of God who is longing for your heart, “put on the new self.” Indeed, my friends, God says to us all, “If today you hear [my] voice, harden not your hearts.”

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Nuestra Primera Lectura de la Misa de hoy empieza con: “Vanidad de vanidades, dice Qohelet, vanidad de vanidades! ¡Todas las cosas son vanidad!” y a estas palabras añadamos las de San Juan de la Cruz: “Para estar perfectamente unida a Dios por el amor y la voluntad, el alma debe primero estar limpia de todos los apetitos de la voluntad, incluso los más pequeños” (Subida al Monte Carmelo).

En el lenguaje de San Juan de la Cruz, la palabra “apetitos” se refiere a las inclinaciones o afectos desordenados hacia uno mismo o hacia las criaturas, podríamos decir las “vanidades del mundo”, tendencias más o menos contrarias a la voluntad de Dios.

Al hablar sobre el valor de la espiritualidad ignaciana acerca del liderazgo en su libro Heroic Leadership (Liderazgo Heroico), Chris Lowney habla de que lo impulsa el virus “Lo quiero tanto”, un tipo de formulación moderna del “vanidad de vanidades” de Qohelet. Lowney comparte cómo deseaba tanto llegar al puesto más alto de la empresa, ser rico, reconocido, tener la mejor casa y la vida más emocionante. Lo deseaba tanto que parecía que debía estar bien precisamente porque lo deseaba tanto.

¿Suena familiar?

Cuán sutiles son los engaños del maligno. Esta certeza absoluta de que Dios está de nuestro lado puede ser una ilusión. A menudo es una de las señales de que buscamos cosas que entran en la categoría de “vanidad de vanidades”. Tal vez no sea el diseño de Dios para nosotros que tengamos las cosas que tanto deseamos, sino solo una “comezón del ego” que en realidad nos lleva por mal camino mientras perseguimos nuestras vanidades y vanagloria. “Inclinaciones y afectos desordenados hacia uno mismo o hacia las criaturas”.

En la Segunda Lectura de hoy, San Pablo en su carta a los Colosenses nos enseña de manera sencilla, clara, y sin dejarnos margen de maniobra para justificar recoger nuestras vanidades aquí en la tierra: “Hermanos y hermanas: Si han resucitado con Cristo, busquen lo de arriba, donde está Cristo sentado a la diestra de Dios. Piensen en lo de arriba, no en lo de la tierra”.

Y para que no pensemos que estas palabras son una fantasía o una contemplación imaginativa de Cristo en el cielo, Pablo expone claramente en términos prácticos y serios lo que esto significa para nosotros aquí en la tierra: “Hagan morir, pues, las partes de usted que son terrenales: la inmoralidad, la impureza, las pasiones, los malos deseos y la codicia que es idolatría. Dejen de mentirse unos a otros, ya que se hayan despojado del viejo hombre con sus prácticas y se han revestido del nuevo hombre, que se va renovando, para el conocimiento,a la imagen de su creador.”

Entonces, hermanos y hermanas, atesoren estas palabras hoy, estas palabras de Dios que anhela tu corazón, “vestíos del nuevo yo”. De hecho, mis amigos, Dios nos dice a todos: “Si hoy escuchan [mi] voz, no endurezcan su corazón”.

“Have you never read this?” There is a touch of irony in Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel as he responded to the Pharisees who rebuked his disciples for plucking grain on the Sabbath. Jesus began his response to the Pharisees with the words “Have you never read this?” precisely because these leaders prided themselves upon their knowledge of the Scriptures.

“Have you never read this?” They had read, Jesus intimated, but had not read to understand. They had not read with soft hearts. They, perhaps unconsciously, had read to verify their own positions, their already determined conclusions. They had understood, or misunderstood, the Word of the Lord to confirm their own word to their own benefit.

How many times Jesus could say these words to me, “Kathryn, have you never read this? Have you not yet understood my heart? Are you still so undiscerning of what truly gives me joy, what pleases me the most?”

I remember as a young sister that being on time for meals, which meant arriving early and waiting prayerfully to say the meal blessing, was an important custom and expectation in our community. There are many values enshrined in this practice: respect for the community, obedience to the will of God as indicated by the schedule, taking one’s rest prayerfully. However, one day on my way to dinner I noticed a sister forty years my senior unloading a car by herself. I hesitated because to assist her would mean that I would arrive late to dinner. Making a quick decision, I stopped to assist her. There were two goods, two values at stake: punctual obedience and generous service. I chose the value of generous service at that moment, regardless of what others would think of my walking in late to dinner. 

This certainly was a decision of little consequence, and doubtless you have been faced with many situations of more grave import in your own life. But this Gospel helps us sift through our options more selflessly, honestly, obediently.

Let’s look more closely at the Gospel. The Pharisees objected to Jesus that his disciples by plucking the grain were “working,” a kind of reaping, and therefore it should be avoided as it was considered working on the sabbath day. Jesus responded to the Pharisees: Have you not read how David and his followers went to the tabernacle at Nob near Jerusalem and asked for bread from the priests there. There was no bread available there except for the twelve old loaves of showbread which were prescribed to be eaten only by the priests. The priests, in mercy, gave this bread to the hungry men, as Jesus himself in his mercy did not stop his disciples from plucking the grain along the side of the path. And have you not read, Jesus continues, that on the Sabbath, the busiest day of the week for the priests, they themselves break the rules of the Sabbath in order to carry out the functions of worship in the Temple. The commandment of God to keep holy the Sabbath didn’t refer to all work universally, Jesus intimated, but work for worldly gain. 

“I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” Jesus says at the end of this reading. In this Gospel passage today it is clear that Jesus was not using this phrase to justify behavior that was wrong. Instead he used Scripture itself to show the Pharisees how their understanding of the Law in its more complex and cohesive sense was inadequate. He called them to a greater and more inward sense and assimilation of the heart of the Law not to a lesser one. And, indeed, he called his own disciples to such higher standards in the Sermon on the Mount. “You have heard it said…but I say to you.” 

Jesus makes it clear that he didn’t come to relax the commandments of the Law, to negate them in favor of something new that would make it easier for his disciples. Rather, he pointed out on a number of occasions that the teachers of the Law had missed the point. And that is what we need to be attentive to. Often the phrase “it is mercy God desires, not sacrifice” is thrown out in a conversation to justify not keeping God’s law. God understands and has mercy. He doesn’t really expect us to keep his law. After all, he is so merciful….  So let’s not expect someone to obey the call to discipleship with all its consequences. That clearly is not what God in his mercy expects of us. That, however, is clearly not what Jesus was saying in the context of this Gospel passage. Jesus loved each one who came to him, with great patience and mercy, and at the same time invited them to become “perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).

“Have you never read this?” Or if you have, have you missed the point? We don’t want to miss the point. Going back to my example above, communion of life and charity is the point of community life. At that moment, communion and charity was greater served by my stopping to help a sister unload a car than by my walking past her to be with my sisters at prayer before the meal. Though I “broke,” so to speak, one rule, I lived it inwardly in my service to the sister who needed assistance. If instead, I had stopped to offer assistance because I thought it was stupid to have to keep rules and I had been looking for a chance to act as a free agent and to cherish my own self-importance or greater enlightenment, even if I had justified my action with the words of the Lord himself: “it is mercy I desire and not sacrifice,” I would have missed the point. I would have misused the words of Wisdom itself to justify my own selfish autonomy and resistance to authority. And in the end, it would be I myself who would have suffered from my own self-will, my hardened positions, even if justified by the words of the Lord himself.

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“¿Nunca has leído esto?” Hubo un poco de ironía en las palabras de Jesús en el Evangelio de hoy cuando respondió a los fariseos que reprendieron a sus discípulos por arrancar el grano en sábado. Jesús comenzó su respuesta a los fariseos con las palabras “¿Nunca han leído esto?” precisamente porque estos líderes se enorgullecían de su conocimiento de las Escrituras.

Today’s Gospel reading is from the beginning of Chapter 9 of the Gospel of Matthew. Let’s take two steps back and get some perspective on where this healing narrative falls in the development of Matthew’s Gospel.

We know that Matthew gives us the beautiful Sermon on the Mount in Chapters 5 and 7 of his Gospel. Beginning in Chapter 8 and carrying through Chapter 9 we are caught up in the love of the heart of the Divine Physician. 

First, he healed a man with leprosy: “If you are willing you can make me clean.” “I am willing, be clean!” Jesus said (cf. vs. 1-2).

Next the Divine Physician heals the servant of the centurion from afar because of the centurion’s great faith (vs. 5-13).

After the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, a great crowd descended on the house begging Jesus to drive out evil spirits and heal the sick. Jesus healed all who came to him. Then he got into a boat with his disciples, and he calmed a great storm. Their hearts were filled with awe. Jesus is Master of the powers of nature, of evil, and of sickness (vs. 14-16, 23-27).

Chapter 8 ends with Jesus healing two men possessed by demons, sending them into a large herd of pigs. Then we are told that the whole village came out to see what was going on and pleaded with him to leave. The joy and awe that has surrounded Jesus’ healing is met here with rejection and expulsion (vs. 28-34),

 So Jesus entered a boat to cross to the other side. 

At this point we come to today’s Gospel in which Jesus forgives a paralytic of his sins and then heals him, “Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”  The crowds are in awe, but the scribes accuse him of blaspheming. It is becoming more and more clear that we must make a choice regarding Jesus. 

Tomorrow’s Gospel will be the calling of a tax collector, a sinner, Matthew. Tax collectors worked for the foreigners who ruled over the Jews, so this made them traitors. They weren’t paid a wage by the Romans, but were expected to take extra money and keep some for themselves. They were hated and considered sinners. And yet this one sinner “got up and followed” Jesus immediately when he said to him, “Follow me.” We then see Jesus entering into the community of tax collectors and sinners, eating with them, because “the sick” “need a physician” (Mt 9:9-13).

The story of the paralytic should wake us up to the decision we each need to make. Where is it that you need forgiveness? What has paralyzed you? Are your limbs lifeless because you have used them in your own pursuits rather than the will of God? Sin is more than just a failing. In little ways, or in grave, sin distances us from God. Sin makes us spiritually weak. We are so important to God, so dear and precious to the Father, that he sent his Son to heal us. Jesus came to call us out of all that holds us back from giving ourselves completely and in trust to God. The Son of God enters into communion with us, the community of sinners, and he says, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and be healed.” And then he says, “Follow me.”

Where is Jesus today asking you to follow him?

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“What then will this child be?” How many parents, marveling at the mystery of their newborn nestled in their arms have asked the same question. “What will this child be?”

We are certain that God has a plan for great people who populate the pages of Scripture and have an important part to play in the story of salvation. We can think of Moses, and Jeremiah, and Peter, and Mary, and Paul. We can imagine the divine plan prepared for them which unfolded day by day in their life. When we read the narrative of their response to God who called them for a specific purpose, we might be a little bit in awe of how God used them and how clearly he loved them. Maybe even a bit jealous. “That could never be me.”

Today is the feast of one of these “greats” of salvation history: the birth of John the Baptist. The mystery and the miracles that surrounded his birth indicate how important he was as a hinge between the Old Testament prophets and the arrival of the Messiah. The Baptist’s austere life and courageous preaching when he became an adult confirm the divine predilection God had for this child.

He truly could say with the words of the Responsorial Psalm today:

Truly you have formed my inmost being;
            you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
            wonderful are your works.
My soul also you knew full well;
            nor was my frame unknown to you
When I was made in secret,
            when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.

These words of the Psalm came spontaneously to my mind one difficult yet amazing day 40 years ago. I remember it so clearly. I was sitting on the side of my bed in the hospital after having suffered a stroke. On that day, I was finally able to stand up with the help of two of the nurses. How marvelous! How amazing is the human body! We are truly “fearfully, wonderfully made,” and how “wonderful are your works,” O God. Look, today I can stand!

Whether we are the greatest prophet who ever lived as was John the Baptist, or someone sitting on the side of a hospital bed struggling to stand up for the first time in a week, God has a plan for our life. 

Remember, you are important to God and play a vital role in the story of salvation. 

In your mother’s womb God loved you more than your own parents. He created you as a unique expression of his image and his glory.

Surely, the hand of the Lord was with you, and he continues to be with you each day of your life. As the courageous and difficult life of St. John the Baptist reveals, in both happy times and in paths filled with shadows, on mountain tops and in the deepest of valleys, you are fulfilling the very special purpose for which you alone were created. It is only as we wander through these ups and downs of life, faithful to allowing God to have his way with us, that we discover truly who we were made to be.

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