11th Week of Ordinary Time 2024 - Monday - The sins of Ahab and Jezebel

Along with our readings from the Sermon on the Mount, we have been reading lately from the Old Testament book of Kings. Last week we heard how Elijah condemned King Ahab’s promotion of pagan worship through Israel.  King Ahab, influenced by his pagan wife Jezebel, actively promoted the worship of Baal in Israel, building pagan altars and temples in direct violation of the command to have no other gods before the God of Israel.

Today, we read of the twisted morals of this corrupt royal couple. 

First we heard of King Ahab’s covetousness. In violation of the 10th commandment Ahab coveted his neighbor’s property. When Naboth refused to sell or trade his ancestral land to Ahab, the king became sullen and angry. Almost comically, 1st Kings describes Ahab whining from his bed and refusing to eat when he didn't get what he wanted.  His wife, Jezebel, enabled and encouraged his sinful attitude, and then enacted a corrupt plan to obtain the object of Ahab’s covetousness. 

Jezebel orchestrated false accusations of blasphemy against Naboth by recruiting two scoundrels to serve as false witnesses, in violation of the 8th prohibiting bearing false witness.

Then, based on the false charges, Jezebel arranges for Naboth to be stoned to death. This violates the 5th commandment, "You shall not murder".

Then, after Naboth's death, Jezebel tells Ahab to take possession of the vineyard he wanted, stealing his neighbor’s property, breaking the 7th commandment.

All in all, the royal couple used their authority to pervert justice, oppress the innocent, and facilitate sin. 

Ahab and Jezebel’s actions reveal hearts hardened against God and a willingness to use deceit, injustice and violence to gratify selfish desires. Here is a cautionary tale of how sin perverts and destroys.

Don’t be like Ahab and Jezebel. Don’t rationalize sin. Don’t give yourself license to violate the commandments. Don’t think yourself so high, mighty, or educated that the commandments of God don’t apply to you. Sin is destructive no matter who you are.

Rather, our continued reading of the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel, illuminates the way of life God wants for us: a life of radical interiorization of God’s love and mercy—charity that goes beyond social conventions. Instead of returning “evil for evil”, we are to return “good for evil”. We must be zealous, not in seeking selfish pursuits, but in cultivating holiness within ourselves, and helping others to do the same.

During this month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we pray that following the Lord’s teachings, imitating his example, through prayer and reception of the sacraments, our hearts may be filled with truly charity like his, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

 

That during this month of June, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, all Christians may witness to the tender love of Christ through our prayer, fasting, and works of charity. 

For our young people on summer vacation, that they may be kept safe from the errors of our culture and kept in close friendship with Jesus through prayer and acts of mercy.

For all married couples, that they may be faithful to the Gospel in every dimension of their married life—and that single and celibate Christians may witness to the sacrificial, all-embracing love of Christ for all.

For the sick, the impoverished, the lonely, those suffering from mental illness, those most in need, and those near death: may God, through the mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, be close to them in their trials

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

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

1st Week of Lent 2024 - Monday - Be Holy as God is Holy

 On weekdays throughout ordinary time, I typically use for the celebration of Mass the second Eucharistic prayer, inspired by the anaphora of St. Hippolytus from around the year 215. But during the season of lent, I use one of the newer prayers, what is called the First Eucharistic Prayer for Reconciliation. It is a very fitting eucharistic prayer for the season of Lent, as the prayer contains many Lenten themes—acknowledgement of human sinfulness and our desperate need for God, Christ’s hands being stretched forth on the food of the cross for us, which we call to mind particularly on Good Friday; the prayer speaks of the compassion of God for sinful humanity, and ends on a great eschatological note speaking of our hope of standing as Saints among the saints in the halls of heaven once our earthly pilgrimage has come to an end and the new heaven and new earth which will be free from the corruption of sin and death.

I bring this up today because the beginning of that first Eucharistic prayer for reconciliation is directly inspired by the beginning of our first reading this morning from the book of Leviticus. In the Leviticus reading God is speaking to Moses, God says “Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.” 

God desires that we become holy, as he is holy. The command "Be holy, as I am holy”, echoed in that first eucharistic prayer for reconciliation, is given by God numerous times in scripture. 

God is inherently holy—there is no evil, selfishness, impurity, sin or error within him. He is pure, selfless, completely self-giving love. And God is constantly at work throughout history for the reconciliation of sinful humanity and our sanctification—work that culminates in the self-sacrifice of Christ. 

When God calls His people to be holy, He is calling us moral purity and righteousness. This involves avoiding sinful behaviors and actively pursuing a life in accordance with God's moral standards.

The call to holiness, as God is holy, means that our lives are to reflect God’s life. God is loving, just, merciful, and compassionate. Therefore, to be holy means to exhibit these qualities in our relationships, actions, and attitudes. It involves cultivating the divine virtues and striving to align our lives with God's nature. As we heard in the Gospel, our eternal souls will be judged by how we treat people in this life. 

During Lent we are to seek the moral purity, righteousness, and holiness that God is clear about that He wants for us. That means abiding by those divine guideposts that illuminate our journey—the commandments. It means seeking reconciliation with God when we have sinned. It means cultivating the virtue, generosity, and selfless self-giving that we see in the life of Our Blessed Lord and reflected in the saints. 

God desires holiness for his people, and the season of Lent calls us to seek that holiness wholeheartedly. May we respond with the utmost generosity to this call, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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For the whole Christian people, that in this sacred Lenten season, they may be more abundantly nourished by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

For the whole world, that in lasting tranquility and peace our days may truly become the acceptable time of grace and salvation.

For sinners and those who neglect right religion, that in this time of reconciliation they may return wholeheartedly to Christ.

For ourselves, that God may at last stir up in our hearts aversion for our sins and conviction for the Gospel.

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

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy. Through Christ Our Lord.

August 11 2023 - St. Clare of Assisi - To love and serve God is everything

 The idea of entering a monastery in order to pursue a life of prayer and joyful communion with the Lord, like St. Clare, is quite foreign to the vast majority of the world today.  Our modern culture tells our young people that they cannot be happy unless they abandon the values of the past and create themselves anew. They are told that religion has nothing to offer—and to seek happiness is riches and internet celebrity and positions of power in the corporate or political world. 

But St. Clare rightly discerned that there is something more than the world has to offer. Clare was raised in an aristocratic Italian family, she lived in a castle, she wore rich clothing and jewels, and was to marry a noble prince. 

However, she met the son of a cloth merchant, who had left behind the trappings of the world in order to follow Christ in radical poverty and charity, St. Francis of Assisi. Francis, radiated a profound joy, that attracted of thousands and thousands of followers in the first few years of his ministry. Clare desired that joy, and so determined to dedicate her life to pursuing the joy that the world cannot give, the joy that comes from radical discipleship, on Palm Sunday in the year 1212, Clare left her family home, to consecrate herself to Christ. At the altar of Our Lady, Clare traded her rich clothing for the rough brown woolen habit of the Franciscans; she exchanged her jeweled belt for a common rope with three knots to symbolize poverty, chastity, and obedience, and caught off her long golden tresses.  Thus she became espoused to Christ.  Her sister Agnes, 14 years old, soon joined her, as did several other women, in the following weeks.

They lived a simple life of poverty, austerity, and seclusion from the world.  Clare and her consecrated religious sisters went barefoot, slept on the ground, ate no meat, and observed almost complete silence.  This was the beginning of the cloistered order of Franciscan nuns known as the Poor Clares, thus the Virgin Clare was made the mother of countless virgins consecrated to Christ.

It took a lot of courage for clare to leave behind her old life, just as it takes a lot of courage for young people today to discern a religious vocation. But it’s a vocation the Church needs, that humanity needs, to remind us that there is something beyond the gold and fame and power of the world, something that all of us should do everything in our power to obtain. 

Not all of us are called to religious life, but all of us are called to pursue holiness as much as we possibly can. Christ tells us to love God with our whole, heart, mind, soul, and strength. And St. Clare challenges us. Am I seeking to love God as much as I can? Am I seeking to serve God as much as I can?

The Lord promises in the Gospel “everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more”. Why am I so slow to trust him? What would I give up if I trusted God a little a bit more? What is God inviting me to give up in order to love Him and serve Him for deeply?

May we, like Clare, trust God enough, love God enough, may we have the courage enough to follow him out of the luxury of the world, away from the empty promises of our culture, to pursue the promises of Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For an increase in vocations to the consecrated religious life, that young people may hear the Lord calling them to radical holiness, and for the Poor Clares and all those consecrated religious under St. Clare’s patronage, for their sanctification, and that they may be a witness to the whole Church to seek the holiness for which we were made.

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering. 

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests, deacons and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

8th Week of Ordinary Time - Tuesday - "Give up Everything"

 Depending on the year, the 8th Week of Ordinary Time sometimes falls before Lent. So every few years we would be hearing today’s readings on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. We’d be thinking of the types of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving we’d be engaging in over the Lenten season. We might be removing the chocolate and the candy from our kitchens in order to remove temptation. We might be having one last punchki. 

And today’s readings would be a perfect preparation for Ash Wednesday. Hearing the Lord in the Gospel calling his disciples to “give up everything” and follow Him would challenge us to “give up everything” that keeps us from the holiness God is calling each of us to.

But even though we are on the other side of Lent, the call to holiness remains; the call to pray, fast, and give alms, isn’t just for Lent. As I’ve said before, there was an order of monks who took as the motto of their order, “Semper Quadragesima” always Lent to remind the Church, that those spiritual practices are indispensable, whether during Lent, or Easter, or Ordinary Time. 

The call to holiness echoes always. It's truly universal, not just for a season, but for the whole of life. And it is up to us to respond to the invitation: to allow the Holy Spirit every day to reveal those worldly attachments we need to fast from; to allow the Holy Spirit every day to the prayer that will nourish us, particularly meditation upon the Sacred Scriptures; to allow the Holy Spirit every day to help us to be attentive to the needs of the poor and inspire us to the works of charity. Detachment is necessary for Ordinary Time--an ordinary practice for every ordinary Christian.

If tomorrow WERE Ash Wednesday, what’s the one thing God would be urging you to do or to give up? And really, shouldn't we always be vigilant in "giving up everything" in order to follow who he gave everything for us?

May we respond generously this day and all days to the call to holiness, the call away from self-centeredness, to the ways the Spirit wishes to bear ever-more abundant spiritual fruits in us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That Christians may respond generously to the perpetual call to prayer, fasting, and works of charity. 

For the Holy Father’s prayer intention for the month of May that the lay-faithful may fulfill their specific mission, by responding with creativity to the challenges that face the world today.

For our young people beginning summer vacation, that they may be kept safe from the errors of our culture and kept in close friendship with Jesus through prayer and acts of mercy.

That protection for the unborn child may be enshrined in the laws of every nation and in every human heart.

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.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord