5th Week of Ordinary Time 2022 - Wednesday - Purification from what defiles us

 He fed five thousand people with a handful of bread, he walked on water, he performed countless healings, but the Pharisees and scribes choose to focus on how the Lord and his disciples ate without the ceremonial purifications that weren’t even prescribed by the law.

Sure, the Law of Moses prescribed ceremonial washing for the priests serving at the altar in the Temple, but the Pharisees extended these rules to everyone, and then condemned people for not observing them.

The Pharisees were perverting the Law of Moses and missing its purpose entirely—they were like the mean kids from grammar school that bullied you for breaking rules you didn’t even know about. And now they are all grown up, and have political sway, but they are still on the same toxic power trip.

In response to the Pharisees criticism, our Gospel begins today with the Lord summoning a crowd to address this unjust Pharisaical standard and their misapplication of the Law of Moses—their fake news, so to speak. 

“Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters a person from outside can defile that person,” rather what defiles are the moral evils that fester in the human heart: unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, and so on.

You want to know what defiles a person? Human sin, evil conduct. 

The Lord exposes the Pharisees for being more concerned with outward appearances than true inner moral goodness. They were a bunch of fakers, religious fakers. And the Lord, speaking with authority, sets the true standard for his followers. We must seek authentic conversion from all sin, including inner purification from sinful desires and ruminations. 

For Catholics, we’ve come up with some pretty practical ways of conforming to this teaching. We are to make a daily examination considering if our actions and attitudes over the course of the day have been unclean, and if they were, to repent of them. 

We are to make frequent use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We are to reflect upon God Word daily, to help us examine and conform our lives. We are to avoid using dirty language and fixating on dirty images. We are to seek freedom from all unforgiveness, ingratitude, selfishness, greed and gluttony. 

Jesus makes a very powerful promise to the pure of heart. “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.” The Pharisees were unable to see that Jesus was God because they may have been ritually pure on the outside, but inside, they were full of corruption and defilement. 

So too in our culture: so many have lost touch with God precisely because they have allowed themselves to be defiled and refuse to repent and seek that purification that can only come from Him.

Lord, cleanse us, make our hearts new, purify us that we may see your face, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the Holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her, and bring cleansing to all the impurity which afflicts her members and leaders.

For the conversion of all those who have fallen into serious sin, for a return of fallen away Catholics to the Sacraments, and that all young people may be protected from the perversions of our culture.

For healing for all those suffering disease, especially diseases without known cures, for the people of China and all people afflicted by the Coronavirus, and all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief.

For the dead, for all of the souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Holy mass is offered. 

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you are the source of all goodness, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith, we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

October 18 2021 - St. Luke - The Holy Evangelist

 

St. Luke, as you likely know, was not one of the twelve apostles or one of the Lord’s original disciples; Luke was a Gentile convert.  He may be the only non-Jewish writer of any of the books of the entire Bible, of which he wrote two: his Gospel and the Book of Acts. Luke spoke and wrote classical Greek, but he could also converse and write in Hebrew, Aramaic and Hellenistic Greek. He was a linguist, and a very learned man, Paul calls him “the beloved physician” as he was trained in the science and medicine of his day.

The opening lines of his Gospel show his scientific attention to detail and also his love for Christ. He says, “many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled…but I have decided to investigate everything anew.” So Luke goes to the eyewitnesses of the Lord’s works and deeds: the apostles, perhaps mary Magdalene, martha and mary, zacchias, and cleopas who appear in his Gospel, perhaps even Our Lady, for Luke includes so many details from the Lord’s infancy not found in any other Gospel. 

A few years ago, an excellent film was released about St. Paul, titled, “Paul, Apostle of Christ”. The movie shows Luke, played by Jim Cavizel, is at the side of Paul who is in prison. In second Timothy, Paul explains that Luke alone came to his side while in prison. There Luke learns the details of Paul’s life, which he details in the Acts of the Apostles.

After the death of Paul, Luke wrote his Gospel and the Book of Acts, likely from Rome, then went on to spread his Gospel in Italy, Dalmatia, Gaul, Macedonia, and Egypt. In March of 84 AD, he was crucified to an olive tree in the city of Thebes, in central Greece.

Of all the passages from his Gospel, we read on his feast the passage of the sending of the 72 disciples. Luke recognized that the announcing of the kingdom, the spread of the Gospel, belongs not just to the Apostles, but to all who call themselves Christian. 

Luke was studious and meticulous with his narrative of Christ and the apostles. We, too, are to exercise care in how we speak to and write about others. We should be careful that we always "speak the truth in love." Luke was thorough and comprehensive, unwavering in his commitment to the truth. He didn't assume things. He carefully checked things out. Certainly an important lesson in this era of fake news. Luke was a learned man, as a physician and author. Likewise, Christians should cultivate their minds, seeking to educate ourselves, never assuming we already know everything. He was faithful to Paul as a trusted and loyal friend, standing by him in good times and bad. We, too, can aspire to this kind of faithfulness and loyalty. Most important, Luke was faithful to God, to Jesus, to His teachings and to the apostles.

In seeking holiness, we do well to cultivate our entire selves, mind, body, and heart, in order to place all that we have and all that we are in the service of the Gospel, like St. Luke, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may be faithful to their vocation to spread the Gospel in word and deed.

During this month of October, dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary, Catholics may take up this devotion with renewed vigor and trust in Our Lady’s never-failing intercession.

That on this feast of St. Luke, patron of medical doctors, all doctors may have a reverence for life, and for the conversion of all who do not believe.  

For all the sick and suffering, and for all those in hospitals, nursing homes, and hospice care, for all those who will die today, for their consolation and that of their families.

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

God of mercy, hear our prayers, ease the sufferings and comfort the weakness of your servants, and bring us to eternal life, through Christ our Lord.