4th Week of Ordinary Time 2021 - Wednesday - Bonum Diffusivum Sui

 

There is an medieval latin aphorism:  bonum diffusivum sui, goodness spreads out from itself. A saint for example, spreads the goodness of God. The light of Christ, like that which we celebrated at Candlemas, yesterday, isn’t to be hidden under a bushel basket, right, but spreads, as it is lived devoutly and generously. 

This truth can be seen even in the life of the Holy Trinity. God is perfect, perfect goodness, perfect joy, and yet, he chooses to bring creation into being, and share that goodness, and life and joy with his creatures, particularly mankind made in his image.

We are happiest and most fulfilled in life when we are engaging in acts of goodness because that’s what we’re made for, not for selfish self-centeredness, but selfless self-giving, even self-sacrifice.

It is true that bonum diffusivum sui, but, in our first reading today, we also find that goodness’s opposite also spreads. “See to it that no one be deprived of the grace of God, that no bitter root spring up and cause trouble, through which many may become defiled.” In other words, the bad apple can spoil the bunch. Selfishness, sin, the deprivation of grace, can also spread and defile and spoil the bunch.

We have to be very careful when we are in the presence of a gossip, for example, that we aren’t drawn into their habit of gossiping. We have to be very careful when we are in the presence of drunkards and gluttons, that we don’t begin to mimic their behavior. 

Of course, we are all sinners, and have the potential to set bad example for each other, from time to time. And yes, we need to be out in the world of sinners spreading the Gospel and doing our best to set good example for each other and non-believers. But we also have to be very careful that we don’t begin to assume to errors and sinful lifestyles of the world.

Discipline, is needed. “Do not disdain the discipline of the Lord”, we hear today. Endure your trials as “discipline”; discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.

In two weeks, we’ll be beginning once again the great season of Lent, a time of discipline. We do well to identify those parts of our lives that do need to be brought under the Lord’s dominion once again, for God’s Word promises the peaceful fruit of righteousness, to those who endure their trials. 

The disciplined soul, therefore, becomes a tree for others, a fountain, a spring for the refreshment of others, and instrument which draws others to the grace of Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For a deeper openness to God’s will, readiness for service, attentiveness to those in need, endurance to do the will of God, and peace in our world and our hearts.  Let us pray to the Lord.

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 the discipline necessary to resist temptation and to build virtue. 

For those who struggle because of addiction, discouragement, mental illness, chronic sickness, unemployment, or ongoing trials of any kind:  that the new wine of God’s grace through Christ will bring them consolation and peace.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, For the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for the souls in purgatory and for…N. 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.

17th Week in OT 2020 - Monday - The rotten loincloth and the Mustard Seed

It usually isn’t too difficult to find a connection between the first reading and the Gospel. Today, though…well, let’s see.

First we heard of the rotten loincloth of Jeremiah. A strange image, but, thankfully it’s explained for us. Israel, which was supposed to have a very close, intimate relationship with God, had been soiled by the pagan influences of Babylon. And over time, those pagan influences had caused Israel to rot.
In the Gospel, we hear parables, not of rot, but growth, tremendous growth.

So, the connection between the two readings is not too difficult to grasp after all. When we allow ourselves to be corrupted by the wicked ways of the world, there will be negative consequences, but when we cooperate with the grace of God, there will be flourishing, and that’s true whether we are speaking about personal spiritual growth, or the growth of the Church.

In many places, we’ve seen a shrinking of the Church, our neighborhood—our country. There was a lot of worldliness that crept into the life of the Church the last 50 years: forsaking of time-honored devotions, attempts to change or water-down very clear moral teachings, and let’s not even speak about what happened to the liturgy—a liturgy that facilitated tremendous spiritual growth, was made almost unrecognizable from the liturgy of the ages.

And some folks—bishops and laity alike, believe that we didn’t go far enough, if we just make the church look even more like the world, then we’ll attract young people and non-believers. But that’s never worked, and it seems to contradict the wisdom of scripture.

Spiritual growth will come when we hold fast to that which is good, and preach the Gospel as it was given to the Apostles by our blessed Lord. Pope Benedict, speaking about this current phase of the Church’s evangelization mission to the secular world. He said, it’s not about “immediately attracting the large masses that have distanced themselves from the Church”, rather, we need “to dare, once again and with the humility of the mustard seed, to leave up to God the when and how it will grow”. 

Humility is required for growth, humility which acknowledges that we may have made some mistakes the last 50 years. We may have made a few too many compromises with the secular culture. We may have failed to teach with conviction and clarity the standards of the moral life, and made the liturgy a little too much about man, and not enough about God.

May we exercise the humility needs in order to be that people the Lord made us to be, that we may be a people which spread his renown, his praise, his beauty, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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For the humility to repent of our sins, learn from our mistakes and failures, and commit wholeheartedly to the work of the Gospel.

That leaders of nations may find guidance in the Word of God for proper governance and the pursuit of justice for all.

That Christian families may be places where the Christian faith is studied, understood, observed, and cherished.

For all those who suffer illness, those in hospitals, nursing homes and hospice care, and all those who despair of the love of God.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, the deceased members of our families friends and parishes, for those who fought and died for our freedom, and N. 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 goodness, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain