3rd Week of Lent 2022 - Wednesday - The Law and the Prophets and Life in Christ

 Today, we heard a portion of St. Matthew’s Gospel in which Jesus lays the principles for understanding our relationship with the law and the prophets. 

This is an important teaching. For in certain periods of Church history, Christians have struggled to understand the Old Testament, and what in it applies to Christians. The early church grappled with this. Peter and Paul grappled with this issue: did Christians have to observe the Jewish feasts, did they have to be circumcised, did they have to keep kosher law and the other laws about ritual purity?

In the year 140, there was a theologian named Marcion of Sinope, who went around Rome teaching that the entire Old Testament could be completely disregarded; that it was not inspired by the one true God, and has nothing to teach Christians. Marcion also claimed the letters of St. Paul were to be rejected, especially since they seem to contradict Marcion’s claims—that’s convenient—a tactic heretics have used for two thousand years—rejecting what contradicts their unsound teachings.

Rather, the Old Testament, and the law and the prophets, play a very important role in the life of the Church. We are not bound by certain ritual laws which have been fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, laws which were a foreshadowing of the salvation and sanctification Christ won for us. But the Old Testament does give expression to the moral law that God deigns for humanity. The Old Testament contains expression of that moral law which God has written onto the hearts of all people, of all places, and all times.

Again, while we are not bound by those ritual purification laws like, spending a fortnight outside of camp if we come in contact with shellfish, we are bound to observe the moral law. The words of Moss in our first reading apply to the obedience we owe to the moral law: “Hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live.”

Life in Christ in this life and the life to come requires obedience to God’s laws. We observe his statues, decrees, laws and commandments, that we may live.

We read this passage during Lent for a number of reasons. First, those to be baptized at Easter need to take care to hear and learn and seek to understand the statutes and decrees taught by the Church, so that they do not receive the grace of God in vain. Secondly, those who are already baptized, us, need to reflect on our own obedience to God’s laws, and repent if we have failed to keep them, and seek to amend our lives.

When we talk about doing penance during Lent through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, what are we doing penance for? We do penance for our own failures to observe God’s law, and we do penance for our neighbors, our enemies, those who have suppressed their consciences out of ignorance or hard-heartedness or addiction to the pleasures of the flesh.

“Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

May we be found to be the best of teachers of God’s law, by word and deed and good example for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That obedience to all the commands of Christ and the Church may mark the life of every Christian. 

That all families will recommit themselves to fervent prayer this Lent so as to grow in greater love and holiness.  

That this Lent we will be faithful to fasting and to all the ways that the Lord sanctifies us. 

For those preparing for baptism and the Easter sacraments, that they may continue to conform themselves to Christ through fervent prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

For generous giving for the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, unemployed, victims of natural disaster, terrorism, war, and violence, the grieving and those most in need.  

For all those who have died, for all the poor souls in purgatory, for those who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, and for [intention below], 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.

10th Week of OT 2017 - Thursday - More than external obedience

“Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.”  In terms of external obedience to the law’s regulation, the scribes and the Pharisees were known as model followers of the Torah, they practiced a zealous concern particularly for ritual purity, keeping themselves ritually clean for God by following the Levitical law: avoiding contact with unclean things and unclean people like Gentiles and prostitutes.

How could Jesus demand his followers to observe a greater concern than that as a condition for entrance into heaven?  It sounds impossible.

Following Jesus means much more than external obedience.  One scripture scholar wrote, “Jesus’ teaching calls for a radical interiorization, a total obedience to God, a complete self-giving to neighbor, that carries the ethical thrust of the law to its God-willed conclusions.”

The purpose of the Levitical law was to form people with hearts of authentic love of God and love of neighbor. And so the standard of righteousness preached by Jesus Christ goes beyond that of the scribes and Pharisees:  it requires much more than external conformity to the law’s regulations.  God could have made automatons or mindless robots for that. But automatons and robots can’t love.

So, the way to heaven involves much more than mindless and heartless obedience to particular precepts. The way to heaven, the way of Christ, isn’t simply about saying certain rote prayers and particular times or giving x amount of dollars to the Church throughout the year: if I do this, and I do that, then I’ll go to heaven.  Jesus is saying the opposite.  Following him is not just about performing particular actions, but performing them with heart of love. Not just doing the right things, but doing them for the right reasons.

Mere outward observance of the law does not produce love. Certainly, we should avoid doing things that directly hurt other people, such as killing, adultery, and lying. Obeying the law is a necessary minimum. If you are asking, “what is the bare minimum to get into heaven?” you are asking the wrong question. Rather, true disciples need to cultivate the inner attitudes and dispositions that transform the heart and build up love: the patience, meekness, purity and mercy that Jesus teaches throughout this Sermon.

The way of Christ calls for constant conversion, constant turning away from hard-heartedness, cultivating hearts of mercy and divine love for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That our bishops and clergy may be zealous in preaching and teaching the truth of the Gospel, and that our future bishop of the diocese of Cleveland may be a man of true faith and the Holy Spirit.

That all of Christ's disciples may seek the conversion of mind and heart taught by our Master.

That our young people on summer vacation,  may be kept close to the truth and heart of Jesus.

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering.

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

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

Homily: Friday - 1st Week of Lent 2017 - The interior journey of holiness

Several times this week we’ve read from Jesus’ great Sermon on the Mount. The sermon is the first major teaching discourse in the Gospel of Matthew. From atop Mt. Sinai, God gave the commandments of the Law to Moses to be taught to the people. And from atop the Mount of Beatitudes, God-in-the-flesh taught the fundamentals of Christian discipleship in the Sermon on the Mount.

Reading through the Old Testament, the laws and commandments some quite difficult, stringent, perhaps even excessive. But when we read the Sermon on the Mount honestly, Jesus’ teaching is pretty demanding.

Consider how the Gospel passage begins today: “Unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter the kingdom of God.” The scribes and Pharisees practiced zealous concern for keeping the laws of Moses, their concern for ritual purity was extreme. I’ve met Catholics who couldn’t recite 3 of the 10 commandments, let alone all the ritual purity laws that the scribes and Pharisees kept to the utmost. And Jesus says, our holiness is to surpass their holiness.

On the one hand, Jesus does often condemn the scribes and Pharisees for their mere external obedience to the law’s regulations. They kept the law outwardly, but inwardly were devoid of love, charity.

Certainly, as Jesus’ followers, we are to seek interior conversion, not only the keeping of God’s commandments, but a fiery love for Him and genuine concern for neighbor.

But the standard of righteousness go for Christians does in fact go beyond that of the scribes and Pharisees. As the great biblical scholar John Meier said, Jesus’ teaching calls for “a radical interiorization, a total obedience to God, a complete self-giving to neighbor, that carries the ethical thrust of the law to its God-will conclusion”.

We are not simply to act kindly, but seek healing of the interior roots of resentment, unforgiveness, anger, selfishness, perversion. Jesus calls us to make the interior journey to healing and wholeness through a wholehearted trust and obedience toward the heavenly Father that radiates God’s love to the world.

Our Lenten prayer, fasting, and almsgiving helps us to achieve the Christian perfection to which we are called, the perfection for which we are made. Are we making use of the time we’ve been given to become as holy as we are meant to become? Are we making use of the means at our disposal to grow in faith, hope, and love?

May the Holy Spirit help us, this Lent, to make serious and honest examinations of our lives, motives, attitudes, and habits, and come to that radical change of heart to which the Lord calls us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For greater devotion in our Lenten prayer, greater self-restraint in our Lenten fasting, and greater selflessness in our Lenten almsgiving.

That civil leaders will use their authority to protect the dignity of human life and the well-being of the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed, those who suffer from discrimination, and the unborn.  We pray to the Lord.

For those preparing to enter the Church at Easter, that these weeks of Lent may bring them purification and enlightenment in the ways of Christ.  We pray to the Lord.

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation or illness: that the tenderness of the Father’s love will comfort them.  We pray to the Lord.