January 31 2024 - St. John Bosco - David's Self-Offering

 We’ve been reading from the book of Samuel for the last three weeks since the conclusion of the Christmas season. And we’ve come to the book’s final chapter.

Chapter 24 of II Samuel occurs near the end of David’s life. David has served as king for many years. There have been many successes and many failures. And even in the end, as we heard today, David is still not trusting God as he should. David calls for a census of those able to serve in the military—those who would live and die for the nation. And for David this was a sinful act. Why?

Because it was a failure to trust God. The census infringed upon the prerogatives of God who himself keeps the register of those who are to live or die. And so we heard that there would be a consequence of David’s sin. Sin always has consequences. And so there was a plague. And the plague swept through the nation.

The plague began in the late spring during the wheat harvest. And just as the plague was reaching Jerusalem, David approaches the angel of the Lord, there on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite—the place where wheat was processed—where the edible grain is separated from the stalk.   

And there David offers himself on behalf of his people: “It is I who have sinned, punish me, spare them.” This is David’s finest hour, is it not? The shepherd king offers himself as a self-sacrifice to spare his people. The good shepherd lays down his life for his flock.  David becomes the grain of wheat willing to die, so that his people might live. A beautiful, noble moment for David. 

And that’s where our reading stops this morning. But in the final verses of the book of Samuel we read how this very spot, this threshing floor, this place where David offered himself as a sacrifice, will be ordained by God as the place on which his Temple would be built—the altar, the place of worship, that would serve as the locus of religious worship for the next thousand years. And as Jews would come to offer their sacrifices to God in that place, they would recall that they were to emulate David. They weren’t simply making sacrifice of wheat, and animals, they were making sacrifices of themselves.

So too, for Christians, as we gather at the altar, yes, we gather at the cross, that place in which our shepherd king offered sacrifice of himself, but at the same time, we must offer ourselves. As Eucharistic Prayer IV says: “may all who partake of this one Bread and one Chalice, that gathered into one body of the Holy Spirit, they may truly become a living sacrifice in Christ to the praise of your glory”

As we gather at the altar this day, with all of our successes and failures, like David, like all Christians, saints and sinners a like, we offer ourselves, submitting ourselves to the Divine Will, that our lives may be always in service to the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

 

During this Catholic Schools week, for all young people, for their teachers and catechists and parents who are the first teachers of the faith, and that the truth of the faith may be learned, cherished, and practiced in every Catholic school and Christian home.

For all young people who have fallen into delinquency, through the intercession of St. John Bosco, they may they turn away from sin and crime, and develop a deep love for the ways of Christ.

For all those in prison, for those who struggle with addiction and mental distress, that the healing of Christ may bring them wholeness and the promises of Christ may bring them hope.

For the sick and suffering among us, for those who care for them, and for all of our beloved dead, especially X, for whom this mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

4th Week in Ordinary Time 2024 - Tuesday - Jesus enters our misery and brings new life

 There is an old Irish saying that "old sins cast long shadows." In other words, Sin has consequences. In the readings from Samuel, we’ve been hearing about the consequences of David’s sins in his own family.

David's sins of adultery and murder reverberated beyond his relationship with Bathsheba. His sins affected his entire family as his son and heir followed his example of sexual sin by defiling his own sister, Tamar. 

David's failure to give his daughter justice created a resentment that festered in her brother Absalom until he sought revenge against both his brother and his father. Absalom murdered his brother and became next in line to the throne.

Yesterday’s reading detailed how David had to flee Jerusalem when the loyalty of the people was transferred to Absalom. The consequences of David’s sin rippled into the life of the nation, and David was cursed by his own people, they threw stones and dirt at him as he passed by.

Today, we read how David’s servants murdered Absalom. And even though Absalom was seeking to kill David, the death of his son struck him to the heart. Sin has consequences, in our families and to our nation.

In the Gospel, we read of another child who had died, not the son of a king, but the daughter of a synagogue official. At her apparent passing, there was weeping and commotion much like David’s own weeping in the first reading. And Jesus enters into this grief-filled scene, and restores the life of young girl. 

Considering these two readings side by side, we see a powerful parallel. Sin, and the consequences of sin, namely, disease and death bring us misery. But Jesus enters into this miserable state of ours and brings new life. We may not be able to avoid the misery brought about by our own sins. But Jesus enters into our misery and brings new life. 

The Gospel passage also foreshadows how those who die in Christ will be raised to new life in the resurrection. But notice, how Jesus brings healing as a result of the pleas of the synagogue official.

The Lord hears the cry of the poor. The Lord hears the prayers we offer for the sick, for family members who have gone astray. And we need to persist in our prayers for those in need. But also, recall, that we are anointed Christians, and that the Lord wishes to bring healing, relief, a new life, through us. We must respond to the cries of the poor, entering into the misery of others, as the chosen instruments the Lord wishes to use to bring about his glorious will, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.

For the peoples of the world, that the Lord may graciously preserve harmony among them.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief.

For ourselves and our own community, that the Lord may graciously receive us as a sacrifice acceptable to himself.

For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

3rd Week in Ordinary Time 2024 - Tuesday - The Ark of the Covenant and the soul's journey to joy

 Our reading through the historical books of Samuel allow us to consider the significance of some of the powerful biblical events. Today we hear of young King David, presiding over the Ark of the Covenant finally making its way to Jerusalem. The ark certainly has had a long journey.

The Ark of the Covenant, remember was constructed at Sinai using the pattern given by God to Moses. The Ark guided Israel’s 40 year journey through the wilderness. Upon reaching the edge of the promised land, under the leadership of Joshua the Israelites carried the Ark with them, and the Jordan River split allowing passage into the land of Canaan. 

In the Battle of Jericho, the Israelites’ first battle in the conquest of Canaan, they carried the Ark and marched around the city for days with armed men and the seven priests sounding the seven trumpets. On the seventh day, the wall of Jericho fell and the Israelites took over the city. After the conquest, Joshua set up the Ark, together with the tabernacle, in Shiloh. The Ark remained in Shiloh until the battle between the Israelites and the Philistines during the time of Eli.

When the Israelites were defeated by the Philistines, they took the Ark to Eben-ezer hoping to win the next battle. However they were defeated again, and the Ark was captured by the Philistines. In Shiloh, the High Priest Eli fell dead upon hearing the news of the Ark’s capture.

The Philistines brought the Ark with them to their capital city, Ashdod and put it in the temple of their idol god Dagon. However, on the next day, the gigantic statue of Dagon fell to the ground. The same thing happened again the following day. When the city began to suffer plague due to the ark’s presence there the Ark was moved to the city of Gath and then Ekron, but the plagues continued.

After keeping the Ark for seven months, the Philistines decided to return it to the Israelites together with offerings of expensive gifts upon the advice of their diviners and priests. The Ark is transported to Kiryat Yearim, where it stayed during the reign of King Saul for twenty years, and was pretty much neglected.

Then today we read of David, having secured the walled Jebusite city of Jerusalem, brings the Ark into the new capital city of the united kingdom. David girds himself in a sort of liturgical garment and dances in joy before the ark.

The story of the Ark coming to Jerusalem is reminiscent of the souls journey to God. At times we follow God’s plans and allow ourselves to be guided by God. At times we presume that our will corresponds with God’s will and we suffer defeat, the consequences of our presumption, and sin, and idolatry--from our perspective there is separation from God. But God is at work to topple our idols and to be reestablished in our hearts where he can receive the honor and worship he desires and deserves, which brings us the joy that truly gladdens our hearts.

Through God’s help, may we remain with Him, and like David learn to dance for joy in his presence, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.

For the peoples of the world, that the Lord may graciously preserve harmony among them.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief.

For ourselves and our own community, that the Lord may graciously receive us as a sacrifice acceptable to himself.

For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

2nd Week of Ordinary Time 2024 - Friday - David's humility, mercy, and peace

 Continuing our reading from the first book of Samuel, we hear of a very strange story today. To review, the anointed King Saul had hardened his heart toward God and was deemed unworthy of the kingship of Israel. So God sent Samuel to Bethlehem, where Samuel anointed the shepherd boy, David.

In his guilt, Saul sought out a skilled harpist to ease his troubled heart, and his servants located one—the very same shepherd boy that had just been anointed, David of Bethlehem. David enters into Saul’s service, and Saul comes to trust David so much that Saul makes David his personal armor-bearer. It is during this time of service of Saul, that David, guided by his faith in God, defeats the philistine giant Goliath.

David grows in fame and admiration among the people of Israel, and Saul begins to grow jealous. Desiring to keep his enemy close, Saul offers David the hand of his daughter as a bride. The two marry, and David becomes royalty. Saul sends David to the front lines of battle, and David is so successful that Saul’s jealousy escalates into hatred and he attempts to kill David with a spear. 

So, David flees into hiding, and as we heard today, as Saul is in pursuit of David, Saul, has a call of nature, and goes to relieve himself in the very cave where David was hiding. David had a chance to kill Saul. Davids cohort even urges him to take Saul’s life. But David spares Saul out of reverence for his holy anointing. Even though Saul was a bad king, and killing Saul would enable him to assume kingship of Israel, David’s faith and reverence for God guides his decision to spare Saul.

David announces his presence, giving up his advantage, and approaches Saul in a spirit of humility. And realize, Saul could have commanded his troops into the cave to slaughter David right there. Guided by faith, David makes himself vulnerable to a man who wanted him dead. David's speech moves Saul emotionally and he remembers the affection he once had for David. For the first time in many chapters, Saul calls David by name, a name he once used in friendship. And maybe it’s out of self-pity, or maybe it’s out of remorse that he had become obsessed with killing an innocent man, but Saul breaks down in tears, and the two are reconciled. 

David’s humility and faith transformed this hostile relationship—a hostility that could have had devastating effects on Israel—a civil war between the supporters of David and the supporters of Saul. David’s humility and faith healed a national division, and a broken friendship. Through David’s humility and faith, God delivered Israel and Saul from evil. 

How might God be calling you to imitate David’s example? How might God be calling you to humble yourself—to trust in God—in order to bring about the healing of division or some other good that God desires? Is there anyone in your life toward whom you might be called to imitate David’s humility and mercy? 

May we be guided by humility, mercy, peace in all of our relationships. For Jesus proclaims “blessed are the humble”, “blessed are the merciful”, “blessed are the peacemakers”. Humility, mercy, and peace are blessed. May we seek that blessedness for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.

For the peoples of the world, that the Lord may graciously preserve harmony among us.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief.

For ourselves and our own community, that the Lord may graciously receive us as a sacrifice acceptable to himself.

For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

2nd Week in Ordinary Time 2024 - Tuesday - The heart of a shepherd

 Over the last week, we have read in our first readings the call of Samuel and the defeat of the Israelites at the hands of the philistines and the loss of the ark. Samuel rallys the Israelites and takes lead of their army and subdues the philistines. After a period of some relative peace in Israel, the Israelites go to Samuel, in his own age, and ask for a king. And this was a disappointing request because it illustrates israel’s failure to allow God to be their king.

But God tells Samuel to give in to this request, and they receive what they asked for. A man named Saul from the time of Benjamin is anointed king—a king of some successes and some failures, but ultimately he is disobedient with God. Yesterday, we heard how Saul’s disobedience—his rebellion against God—has leads to him being rejected by God.

So, today’s reading opens up with Samuel being sent by God to Bethlehem, he encounters Jesse of the tribe of Judah, and Samuel chooses, not the strong first born son of Jesse, but the scrappy red-cheeked youngest of Jesse’s sons as the new king, the shepherd boy David.

God wants a king who doesn’t just appear to be strong, or simply physically strong—God is not interested in physical attributes but in interior purity of heart.

This isn't the first time God shows special favor to shepherds: Abel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses were shepherds. Shepherds make good kings. And God’s favor of David is certainly evident, for as he is anointed, God’s Spirit rushes upon David. 

David, the anointed shepherd king, foreshadows of course, Christ our Lord and king, who identifies himself as the Good Shepherd in the Gospels.

God loves shepherds. Shepherds love for their sheep is not unlike God’s love for us. After all, David will later compose that most-loved psalm 23, “the Lord is my shepherd”.

But if God loves shepherds, and Jesus is the good shepherd, and we are to imitate Jesus, then we do well to consider what it means to become more shepherd-like. We are to cultivate gentle-loving care for sinners, courage in retrieving the lost sheep from evils of the world, diligence and focus, purity of heart, who considers the good of the flock, the church. With the heart of a shepherd, we are to protect, guide, and nurture, and lay down our life for the ultimate spiritual good of others for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.

For the peoples of the world, that the Lord may graciously preserve harmony among them.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief.

For ourselves and our own community, that the Lord may graciously receive us as a sacrifice acceptable to himself.

For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

1st Week of Ordinary Time 2024 - Friday - Earthly Kings and Personal Responsibility

 As I explained earlier this week, from now until Lent, our weekday first readings will be taken from the historical books of the Old Testament: I & II Samuel, I & II Kings.  

I Samuel opens in a dark time in Israel's history. The twelve tribes which had settled in the promised land had ignored the warnings of Moses and Joshua. They had been urged to  “faithfully keep and obey” the commands of the Lord. Instead of doing what was good and right in the eyes of God, they turned away from the covenant demands. 

Yesterday’s reading contained the account of how, as a result of Israel's infidelity to the covenant, the Philistines defeated Israel and carried away the ark of the covenant. But then, Under Samuel’s spiritual leadership, Israel repented of their sins, defeated the Philistines, retrieved the ark, and built new shrines for the worship of the one true God. 

Everything seemed great, when, as we heard in the reading today, the people make a disturbing request: “appoint a king over us, as other nations have.” This is not the first time the Israelites asked for a king. They had made the request of the judge Gideon to rule over them and to create a royal dynasty, but Gideon refused. Why is this a disturbing request? 

It was Israel's vocation to be God’s divinely chosen people and to be set apart from the other nations of the earth. They were not supposed to be like the other nations of the earth, which had earthly kings to dictate their lives. By asking for a king, by asking to be like the other nations, Israel is rejecting its true king and its own special vocation.

So we heard how God tells Samuel “Grant the people’s every request. It is not you they reject, they are rejecting me as their king.” And we know the rest of the story, how Israel is going to have some decent God fearing kings, and also some wicked kings that bring terrible suffering, who lead Israel to abandon the covenant, to worship false gods, to engage in forbidden immoralities. The rejection of God’s kingship over and over leads to israel being conquered by foreign powers, having families ripped apart and marched into exile.

This story reveals a very sad tendency, the tendency to abandon the responsibility of being God’s chosen ones, to give up the personal responsibility of living with God as your king. 

Yes, we have God appointed authorities in the church and we do need to obey legitimate authority, but no one can force you to live with God as your king, no one can force you to be a saint. If you live with God as your king, your life, your soul will prosper. But it really doesn’t matter who is Pope, who is president, who is mayor, who is pastor: if you personally do not make God your king, you will be miserable, you will be paralyzed.

But Jesus commands the paralyzed in the Gospel today, to get up and walk, walk in the true freedom of the sons and daughters of God, walk as a true subject of the Divine King, and the world will be astonished, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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That the preaching and teachings of the Pope, Bishops, and clergy may be a source of strength and guidance for the Holy Church.

That those in civic authority may submit their minds and hearts to the rule of Christ, the Prince of Peace and Hope of the nations.

For the liberation of those bound by evil, those committed to sin an error, those oppressed or possessed by evil spirits, and for the conversion of the hardest hearts.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

1st Week of Ordinary Time 2024 - Wednesday - Speak Lord, your servant is listening

 As I explained yesterday, from now until Lent we will be reading sequentially through the initial chapters of the Gospel of Mark. We will hear of the Lord’s healings and teachings and miracles and exorcisms.

We will also be reading a lot from the historical books of the Old Testament up until Lent: I & II Samuel, I & II Kings.  

I Samuel opens in a dark time in Israel's history. We even see those themes in today’s reading: revelations and visions from God were uncommon and infrequent, Eli’s vision was so weak he couldn’t see, and Samuel is stumbling in darkness, straining to discern the voice of God.

These dark days in Israel were partially a result of their unfaithfulness. 

Prior to the Conquest of Canaan, the Israelites were commanded by God, “faithfully keep and obey all these orders which I am giving you, so that you and your children after you may prosper for ever, doing what is good and right in the eyes of God.”

And yet at the conclusion of the conquest, the Book of Judges records the troubling statement that everyone was doing what is "right in his own eyes". The Israelites were in direct violation of their covenant obligation to act as God commanded.

When an individual insists on only doing what is “right in his own eyes” – his spiritual blindness brings him misery. When a whole nation is doing that, it’s so much worse. This explains a lot of the misery in our world today, a lot of the darkness—when we only do what is right “in our own eyes”—turning our eyes and ears and hearts away from the Lord—failing to raise our children in the ways of the Lord—there is misery on a global scale.

Anyway, God is so good, that in times of misery and darkness, God raises up prophets, workers, teachers, priests, to bring individuals and nations back to God. And that’s what we find God doing in today’s reading. We read of the call of Samuel, God raising up Samuel who will be sent as a prophet to Israel. Notice, that as the story begins, Samuel is so spiritually hard of hearing that he is unable to recognize that it is God talking to him. Wisely, he learns from Eli to humble himself and surrender to whatever God wishes to tell him. Samuel goes on to play a very important role in the history of Israel; when Samuel spoke, all of Israel listens, but only because Samuel first learned to listen to God.

As I’ve said before, God has chosen us to be his prophets in this dark age. It is a vocation and mission each of us has received at baptism. Like Samuel, this is a call we might only come to realize gradually, but God IS calling us to call the fallen back to wholeness in God. But first we must learn to listen to God, through prayer, through the discernment of truth by meditating on God’s word. May we each respond to God as Samuel did, “speak, Lord, your servant is listening” for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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That the preaching and teachings of the Pope, Bishops, and clergy may be a source of strength and guidance for the Holy Church.

That those in civic authority may submit their minds and hearts to the rule of Christ, the Prince of Peace and Hope of the nations.

For the liberation of those bound by evil, those committed to sin an error, those oppressed or possessed by evil spirits, and for the conversion of the hardest hearts.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.