2nd Week of Easter 2021 - Tuesday - Learning from Jesus the Teacher

 Over the course of four days this week, we are presented with the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus the Pharisee from chapter 3 of St. John's Gospel.

The Pharisees presented themselves as men who knew everything there was to know about the Law and Sacred Scriptures. They always thought they were the smartest people in the room. And so their pride, over and over again in the Gospels, keep them from recognizing the truth of Jesus Christ.

At the beginning of their conversation, Nicodemus called Jesus “a man coming from God as a teacher”. And yet, the Lord knew it was flattery and lip-service, for he doesn’t acknowledge the fake complement. Rather, the Lord rebukes Nicodemus: “you claim to be a teacher, yet you do not understand.”

Nicodemus, initially gave no sign that he was even interested in being taught. However, and this is what sets Nicodemus apart from the other Pharisees in the Gospel, as the conversation ensues, notice how Nicodemus' remarks get shorter and shorter, while Jesus' answers get longer and longer. Instead of offering lip-service, he begins to truly listen. In fact, in tomorrow’s Gospel and Thursday, Nicodemus will remain silent as Jesus, the Word-made-flesh teaches about the love of God, the nature of his mission, and the importance of believing in his message.

There are many in our culture who treat Jesus and the Church with similar Pharisaical intellectual snobbery. “What could Jesus or the Church possibly have to teach me?” Even many “adult Catholics” refuse to crack open the Bible or the Catechism believing that they know it all or have nothing to gain from coming to deeper understanding of the faith. Bishops and priests are not immune to pharisaic closemindedness.  

The Christian, however, must perpetually adopt the posture of student—of disciple. The Church is “Mater et Magistra”, Mother and Teacher, and we are never too old, or too theologically trained to sit in mother’s lap and learn from her. 

The renewal that God may want for us this Easter may be to learn how to learn again: how to be enriched more deeply by the teaching of the Church, how to encounter His timeless wisdom in the Scriptures in a new way, how to listen for his voice in our encounters with his little ones and the poor.

By the end of their conversation Nicodemus seems to learn this very important lesson: he learns how to stop talking and how to listen. Jesus doesn't want flattery, he doesn't want lip service; he wants to teach us.

May the Holy Spirit help each of us to take once again the posture of the student—the disciple—and learn from Jesus the Teacher, who yearns to instruct in the ways of righteousness and self-sacrifice for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.

For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.

For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ. 

For our parish, and for the newly initiated, that we may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ.

For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.

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

3rd Week of OT 2020 - Wednesday - Christ the Teacher and his teacher Saints

During this Catholic Schools Week already we’ve celebrated two saintly teachers. First, St. Angela Merici who taught the young children of her neighborhood and went on to found the first religious order of women primarily dedicated to teaching, the Ursulines. That religious Order of teachers spread throughout Europe then to our North American shores, and can now be found in nearly every corner of the globe, teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The second teacher we honored yesterday was the great Angelic Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas, whose clear, systematic teaching of theology has shaped the minds of generations of Catholics, not to mention, the texts of our Sacred Worship. Thomas’ writings and teachings are clearly motivated by his love for God and his love for others, wanting to help them to understand our wonderful faith.

These teacher Saints reflect the mind and heart of Christ the Teacher. Throughout the Gospels and in particular our Gospel today, we discover Our Lord who loves to teach. He teaches in synagogues, in teaches in the streets of Jerusalem and on the temple steps, he teaches at dinner tables full of sinners, he teaches in the plains and on mountain peaks.

His most notable method of teaching was his use of parables: using common symbols often taken from common life to convey deep lessons touching upon the most profound realities of God, eternal life, the human soul, love and forgiveness, sin and salvation.

Today’s parable is one of my favorites because it is a parable about parables, a parable which explains what he teaches, why he teaches, and different human responses to his teaching. When our minds and hearts are clogged with sin, or unwillingness to change, his teaching will be lost on us. When our minds and hearts are open, and committed to change to adapt to his teachings, something new grows in us.

St. Angela, St. Thomas and all of the great saints become great teachers and great paragons of holiness because their minds and hearts and souls were rich soil for the word of God to take root and bear fruit. They became the greatest of teachers because they allowed themselves to be taught. In a sense, they become the parables of Jesus, which Christ the teacher uses to teach his disciples and save their souls. May our hearts and minds be as receptive as theirs, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Church leaders will faithfully proclaim Christ’s love and truth to the world.
That our parish families and the families of all of our school children will be places where the Christian faith is believed, followed, taught, and cherished.
For the students, teachers, staff, and alumni of St. Ignatius School and all of our Catholic Schools.
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.