23rd Week in Ordinary Time 2021 - Tuesday - Restoration through Christ and His Apostles

 Making our way through the Gospel of Luke at these weekday Masses, one of the themes that has been evident from the start is that of restoration. The Lord has come to restore what was lost through sin, what has been damaged through mankind’s involvement with evil. 

We’ve seen the Lord cast out a demon in the synagogue of Capernaum, restoring him to freedom, bringing a sort of restoration to the synagogue community itself, whose prayer and gathering had been thrown into chaos by this demonic activity. The Lord has worked many healing miracles so far, restoring many to health. He is restoring man’s conscience—his moral and religious conscience—a conscience weakened and clouded by error and sin—in his call to repentance and belief in His Gospel.

The theme of restoration is also at work in today’s Gospel about the establishment of the Twelve as the Apostles of his Church. The number Twelve of course has profound biblical significance—through the twelve apostles, the Lord Jesus is regathering the twelve tribes of Israel in fulfillment of Israel’s hope for ultimate restoration. Israel, scattered, oppressed by the political powers of the world, and inundated with sin hoped to be restored by God as a holy nation, a royal priesthood, through the ministration of the Messiah. 

In building his Church on the twelve Apostles, Jesus was fulfilling Israel’s hopes of restoration and ushering in the final stage of human history. This is the era of the Church—the New Israel in which all humanity is gathered in union with God through Christ and restored through his teaching and grace.

In the Church we see individual restoration—in the call to conversion from sin and a healing of our vices, a personal restoration of our estrangement from God. We also see the communal restoration—foreshadowed by uniting of the Twelve Tribes of Israel into a united people—humanity divided is reconciled with each other through Christ.

As Catholics, we know well that the bishops, the successors of the apostles continue to exercise a very important role in the life of the Church—to help us remain united in faith, hope, and love throughout all the challenges faced in our modern world. Sadly, disunity and division continue to occur when we stray from the apostolic faith, when individuals and groups stray from apostolic unity and also when the apostles are negligent in their duties.

So we pray for the Church and pray for the bishops that the Lord may continue to restore us through the Gospel—to restore our humanity, to restore the unity God designed for humanity from the beginning, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

For Pope Francis, successor to the apostle Peter, our diocesan Bishop Edward Malesic, and all the Bishops and Clergy, that they may lead the Church in Spirit and Truth and in faithfulness to all that Christ teaches. 

For those who have strayed from the flock of Christ, for those who have fallen to the empty, seductive philosophies of the world, for their return to the life of grace.

For the sick and afflicted, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, for victims of natural disaster and inclement weather, those who suffer from war, violence, and terrorism, for the mentally ill, those with addictions, the imprisoned, the unchaste, for the comfort of the dying and the consolation of their families. 

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. We pray.

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.

14th Week of OT 2020 - Wednesday - The false gospel of prosperity

There is a strange teaching coming from a number of televangelists these days, it’s known as the “prosperity Gospel”. The claim is that God blesses us with material wealth, or things will start to go our way, when our faith is strong. Riches and material wealth become a sort of proof that we are on the right path.

This prosperity Gospel however is pretty inconsistent with the scriptural message. In the first reading today, the prophet Hosea addresses the Northern Kingdom. Remember, after David & Solomon, the kingdom became split, divided. The Northern Kingdom called itself Israel—having its own king, its own laws, its own temple, its own interpretation of the law. In fact, the Northern Kingdom was more “tolerant” to use a modern term, of the false religions. Altars and temples to the false gods were erected in multitude. Soon, many Jews were also worshiping the false gods and returning to the polytheism of pagan Egypt, and falling back into the pagan morality. But for a time, the Northern Kingdom grew prosperous.

Well, we hear Hosea in this morning’s reading, preaching to the Northern Kingdom how about luxurious they’ve grown-- the more Israel prospered, the more altars and sacred pillars to false gods were set up. Hosea, sent by God, makes known God’s displeasure for all of this idolatry and division, and so Hosea announces the consequences to the Northern Kingdom if they fail at ridding the idols from their midst and returning to the true faith.

“God shall break down their altars and destroy their sacred pillars.” And life will become so miserable, and God’s judgment so mighty, that they will cry to the mountains to cover them from God’s wrath.

The lesson is that, sure, an individual or a  nation might prosper for a time after separating itself from God. But prosperity is not a sign of God’s blessing, in fact, prosperity will not last long, when you separate from God’s Holy Will.

In the Gospel, the Lord calls forth the Apostles to be the foundation stones of the New Israel, the New United Kingdom of God. The Apostles, who are initially sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, will later be sent to all the scattered peoples of the earth, those downtrodden and abused by the mighty, to be gathered into One Faith, One Church, One Lord, One Baptism.

Sure, there are some individuals and nations who will prosper outside of the Church. But that prosperity will not last. We are certainly seeing in our own time, the effects of what happens when we stray from God: civil unrest, broken families, war, the prevalence of perversion, altars to false idols beginning to spring up everywhere.

Our job then is to ensure that we are not spending our life seeking to grow prosperous in the eyes of the world—pursuing worldly luxury and decadence, but in the eyes of God—in virtue, and holiness, and faith, hope, and charity, and to utilize whatever prosperity with which we have been blessed for the building up of the true kingdom, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the Bishops, the successors of the Apostles, may use their authority wisely and courageously in standing against the evils of this world, and that the future Bishop of Cleveland may be a man of true faith.

For all those under the sway of evil, error, and corruption, for their deliverance by the power of Christ through the prophetic witness of the Church.

For the protection of young people from the corrupting influences of the world, for Christians families, and for the conversion of the faithless.

For the sick, suffering, and sorrowful, for miracles for hopeless causes.

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.