4th Week of Lent 2019 - Friday - Obnoxious to the wicked

The passage from the Book of Wisdom this morning is taken from a section of the book called “the speech of the wicked”.  This wicked person is lamenting that just, righteous people of God, are obnoxious to their wicked way of life.

One of the reasons the Church is often attacked is because we are obnoxious to the wicked. The Church reminds our hedonistic culture that there is more to life than just seeking pleasure all the time. Christians are seen as obnoxious to the wicked, for we engage in many practices the wicked consider foolish: prayer, fasting, almsgiving, chastity, poverty, obedience, self-sacrifice, study, going out into the streets and serving the poor, patiently enduring suffering for the good of souls.

In a way, the Word of God is giving us our marching orders this morning.  Be obnoxious, be obnoxious to the wicked, be “Fools for Christ” as St. Paul would say.  Be so holy, take your faith so seriously, engage in the works of mercy so devoutly, that you make the wicked a little nervous—you prick their conscience, you bring into doubt their manner of life, by the way you live your faith.

That’ll be my dismissal from Mass today: “Go forth, and be obnoxious to the wicked…Thanks be to God”.  Not really, but it does have a certain ring to it. Become so holy that you are noticed. If the wicked are ignoring us, because they don’t view us as a threat to their hedonistic ways, are we really living the faith? If we are blending in with the wicked, valuing the same things they do, then are we really imitating Jesus as we should?

For as we hear in the Gospel, Jesus became known publicly as one who the wicked wished to put to death. They wished to silence because his truth exposed their error, his authority challenged their self-importance, the light of his goodness exposed the darkness of their selfishness. Amidst ferocious opposition, Jesus publicly and boldly proclaimed the Word of God because he desires our conversation and our salvation more than we desire our sins. 

May our Lenten penances which the world finds obnoxious, help us to conform our hearts ever more totally to Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For an increase in faith for the catechumens and candidates who approach the sacraments of initiation in the coming Paschal Solemnity.

That the Church might be delivered and protected from all spirits of error, heresy, schism, and unbelief.

For strength to resist temptation, and the humility to sincerely repent of sin.

That through fasting and self-denial, we may be ever more conformed to Christ.

That those in need may find assistance in the charity of faithful Christians and that peace and security may be firmly established in all places.

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

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

October 04 2018 - St. Francis- Widely Admired, Greatly Misunderstood

St. Francis is probably the most popular, widely recognized saint in the history of Church. Yet that has also come with great misunderstanding of the real man and his real values and sanctity. He is known as a great lover of animals, so his likeness is placed on birdbaths and garden statues. His respect for God’s creation has led him to be co-opted as a patron of climate change initiatives, even vegetarianism. Yet, Francis once berated a friar for wanting to abstain from meat on a feast day and said that on Christmas he would “smear the wall with meat.” Some invoke Francis’ poverty to condemn ornate liturgical furnishings. The real Francis, however, was meticulous in the ceremonials of the Mass, insisting that every sacred vessel and vestment be the best. Sometimes, Francis is invoked to condemn the institutional aspects of the Church. But the real Francis wrote in the Franciscan Rule that any friar who parted from the Pope on the slightest article of Faith was to be dismissed from the Order.

St. Francis and the Sultan of Egypt

A recent author wrote: Selective hagiography (biographies of saints) has reduced St. Francis to a sandal-wearing, animal-loving pacifist, but the real man was a stern defender of the faith, preaching obedience to God through His Church. Far from an aversion to active proselytism—forthrightly calling non-Catholics to convert—St. Francis traveled to Egypt to confront the Muslim sultan and preach the name of Christ at the risk of martyrdom. At the same time his letters attest to his insistence on honoring God in the liturgy with precious and beautiful altar furnishings (Marcantonio Colonna).”
On this, his Feast Day, we should seek to love what Francis loved: poverty, chastity, obedience to Church teaching, beautiful liturgy, his prayer for the authentic reform of the Church, and most deeply his ardent love for Christ.

Saint Francis had a deep interior life, who meditated upon the wounds of Christ constantly, who pushed himself to offer his own life for the spread of the Gospel. For this, he was given the gift of the holy stigmata, bearing the wounds of Christ in his hands and feet. His stigmata was a sign of his holiness—a willingness to suffer for the spread of the Gospel and the good of souls.

Here is a man whom the world called a fool, in whom we, however, recognize great courage, great zeal, and great faith.  Francis reflected the self-offering of Christ to the Father through his own embrace of poverty and humility. May the prayers and example of St. Francis help us to conform our lives to Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For Pope Francis, on this his patronal feast day: that he may know that constant assistance of the angels and saints in his ministry.

That the work and ministry of all Franciscan organizations and charitable institutions may bear fruit for the spread of the Gospel.

For the purification of our minds and hearts from the errors of the culture and from the lure of worldly attachments.

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