11th Week in Ordinary Time 2025 - Monday - Reform begins with yourself

 

For the rest of the month of June, our ordinary time weekday Mass Gospel passages will be taken from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount from chapters 5 through 7 of Matthew’s Gospel. 

From the very beginning of his Sermon, the Lord is clear that his disciples are to live differently from the rest of the world.

Today’s gospel includes a number of these counter-cultural teachings: “When someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.”  The world would say that when someone slaps you on the right cheek, slap them back, harder, get them back, teach them a lesson so they never think to slap you again.  Rather than responding with vengeance, Christians are to respond to violence as Christ did. During his Passion, as he was beaten and mocked by Roman Soldiers, he offered his sufferings to the Father for our salvation, he prayed from the cross that sinners be forgiven.

Instead of returning “evil for evil”, we are to return “good for evil”. This not only stops the cycle of violence, but allows God to reverse and transform it.  The Christian bearing an evil patiently instead of reacting mindlessly or calling for vengeance becomes a source of mercy in the world. 

St. Paul touches upon this in his letter to the Corinthians. Aware of their trials he tells them that they are to react to “afflictions, hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, and riots” not by inflicting these evils on others, rather with “purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, unfeigned love, and truthful speech.”

Yesterday, Pope Leo addressed a group of young people gathered in Chicago to celebrate his pontificate. I recommend watching the entire message, which I posted on the parish facebook page, but a line of his message stands out in light of today’s Gospel, from the thought of St. Augustine. Pope Leo said, “Saint Augustine says to us that if we want the world to be a better place, we have to begin with ourselves. We have to begin with our own lives, our own hearts.”

Do you see the connection with today’s Gospel? If we simply respond to the evil in the world with more evil, then we are just part of the evil. Rather, we are to respond to evil as the Lord Jesus himself, with godliness, holiness, patient endurance, prayer. 

If we seek to see peace in the world, if we wish to see purity, kindness, and truth, we must cultivate these things in our hearts. May God help us, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Mindful of the Lord’s call to live differently from the world and to overcome evil with good, let us offer our prayers to the Father who is rich in mercy.

For the Church throughout the world: That she may faithfully proclaim the radical call of the Gospel, urging all people to holiness, forgiveness, and peace.

For all civil leaders and those in authority: That they may seek peace and justice not through revenge or oppression, but through mercy, dialogue, and the common good.

For those who struggle with anger, resentment, or the desire for revenge: That God may soften their hearts and fill them with the peace that comes from Christ.

For young people: That they may be inspired by the Gospel and the witness of the saints to live lives of virtue, courage, and love.

For the sick, the suffering, poor and afflicted: That they may be comforted by the patience and mercy of Christ and supported by the Christian community.

For our beloved dead: That having endured the trials of this life, they may rejoice forever in the peace of heaven.

Father of mercy, you sent your Son not to condemn the world but to save it through love. Strengthen us to follow his way of peace and patience, that we may reflect your holiness in our daily lives. Through Christ our Lord.

7th Sunday of OT 2020 - Beyond spiritual mediocrity

For several weeks now, we’ve been hearing from the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount. On the Mount of Beatitudes the Lord offers instruction to his disciples on how to live a blessed life—who they are and how they are to act in the world. Last week we heard how Christians are called to greatness—moral greatness—by observing and teaching the commandments of God. We are to make a break with sin, and seek to conform our lives to all of the Lord’s teachings and the teachings of his Church.

The commandments of God and the commandments of the world are quite different aren’t they? Where God commands we worship Him alone, the culture tells us to make money, power and pleasure the central pursuits of our life. Where God commands that we keep holy the sabbath, the culture tells us not to let church or religion get in the way of sports programs, family and social events, work and vacation. Where God commands we keep our oaths, strive for purity, and practice selflessness, the culture hates commitments, justifies perversions, and promotes narcissism and self-indulgence.

God calls his people to greatness—to a holiness and perfection which surpasses that of even the old law—a greatness which surpasses the spiritual mediocrity for which we so often settle.

This week, we hear the Lord continuing his Sermon—giving a number of illustrations—examples—what exactly this surpassing holiness looks like.

In the first example, the Lord says if someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. You really have to imagine what this looks like. We’ll have to forego the live demonstration today. If a right-handed person were to slap you, they would typically slap you with the palm of their hand on your left cheek. A slap to your right cheek however, would mean that they would have slapped you with the back of their hand. In Jewish tradition, such a violent assault carried a double penalty. Yet Jesus challenges his disciples to not only forgo financial compensation, but to even endure further insult: offer your other cheek. The Lord teaches us to beyond that violent reaction to violence. To remain calm and focused.

“Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles.” Under Roman Law, a Roman soldier could legally force someone to carry his equipment for up to one mile. Don’t just go the one mile Jesus says, show him Christian generosity and endurance. Carry the soldiers equipment for two miles. Well, for Jesus to teach Jewish people under Roman rule to show this generosity and kindness toward their Roman oppressors would have been quite shocking.

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Again, another startling teaching to those who were oppressed by Romans. The Romans occupied Jewish land, taxed the Jews heavily and treated them with violence and injustice, and the Lord says, “love them and pray for them”. That will make you children of the Heavenly Father. We are to look to the deepest identity of even our enemy, as see that God created them, and loves them, just as he loves us.

In each of these examples, the Lord is calling us to act quite differently than what could be considered normal, to rise above our fallen tendencies and moral mediocrity, and even to bear some humiliation in order to do what is good in the eyes of God.

It’s humiliating to be slapped on the right cheek, and hard to hold back an insult. It’s humiliating to be forced to carry an enemy soldiers’ equipment, to kneel down and pray for that coworker that backstabbed you, that politician who stands for everything you are against, that family member that betrayed your trust. Christians are to treat people better than they treat us.

And when we’re faithful to this teaching, a number of things happen. First we begin to enjoy a freedom not understood by the rest of the world. When we refuse to return insult for insult, injury for injury, we become free from the cycle of violence which often dominates human relationships. We become free from poisonous sentiments of hatred and resentment. And this freedom enables us to become instruments of God.

Because imagine you are that roman soldier who witnesses a Christian going that extra mile, carrying his equipment uphill, in the hot sun, twice as far as legally required. You begin to wonder, what is inside this Christian that enables them to treat me this way? With such gentleness and generosity? Where does that come from? Where does that freedom come from, that inner strength? And maybe, just maybe, that Roman Soldier begins to seek the God who gives us this freedom and strength.



The Lord Jesus exemplifies these very lesson particularly during his crucifixion. Remember, with those who called for his crucifixion in his midst, with the Roman soldiers who nailed him to the cross, he says, “do you think that had I wanted, my Father would not send twelve legions of angels to come and avenge me.” The Lord prayed not for angelic warriors to slaughter his enemies, but for his Father to forgive them. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” The Lord teaches us, and gives us an example to forgive whenever anyone insults us, or humiliates us, or hurts us—to endure our sufferings, pray for our enemies, and seek to show them the face of the one true God.
This week, on Ash Wednesday, begins the great season of Lent. Lent aims at helping us go beyond spiritual mediocrity and to grow in authentic Christian holiness. Traditionally, throughout Lent we engage in greater prayer, fasting, and almsgiving as ways of converting us, increasing our capacity to give to God and to others.

So, give up chocolate and desserts and snacking if that will help you love the pleasures of the world less and God more. But really consider, take responsibility for your spiritual life, and ask the Holy Spirit, what will help you become more like Jesus this Lent who is so free that he is forgive his enemies from the cross? An extra Our Father every day? Or how about a Holy Hour every week? How about getting to daily Mass, to hear the Lenten Scriptures and to receive the Lord’s flesh and blood offered on the cross for you and for many? What will help you to grow in freedom from the worldly attitudes and behaviors which have crept into your life?

What will help you be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect…for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Monday - 11th Week of OT 2017 - Practicing Self-Restraint

We’ve been reading through the Sermon on the Mount now for a week in which Jesus teaches his disciples throughout all the ages about living blessed lives, holy lives, lives that shine with the brightness of God’s goodness. We are to strive for blessedness by following God’s commandments, the moral law, and Jesus’ teachings.

Jesus recalled the fifth commandment earlier in the sermon, “You shall not kill” calling us to revere human life as sacred. The Lord calls us to such reverence for our brothers and sisters that we are to avoid not just murder, but even anger, hatred, and vengeance.

Today, he goes even further: “When someone strikes you on the one cheek, turn the other to him as well.” To most of the world, this sounds like weakness: being a pushover. But those who follow the message of Christ are anything but weak.  There is tremendous strength shown in turning away from the inclination for revenge.  Revenge is easy.

When someone strikes you on the right cheek, the immediate reaction is strike back them, or to begin plotting their punishment or demise. It’s easy to retaliate, to curse at someone who offends us, to return an insult for an insult. We even see this fallen behavior in little children, who break the toys of their brothers and sisters because they were mean. Revenge is easy, and it base, juvenile.

And Jesus offers another path, the path of moral and spiritual maturity.

Now, when it comes to turning the other cheek, Jesus is not saying we should be doormats and pacifists. Jesus offers clear words about take up a sword” for self-defense. Never does he condemn, say, military service.

But he is clearly teaching us here, that we are not simply to follow every desire that we have, starting with the very deep, nearly instinctual desire to strike back at those who hurt us: either physically or verbally, and including our desires for food, sex, money, gambling, gossip, and control.

Jesus calls us to be people of peace: and that requires self-control in the face of hostility, well-trained powers of discernment in order to know how best to act in a particular situation, and the ability to be humble when our egos are bruised.

May the Lord continue to lead us and guide us in the way of blessedness, to heal and raise up our wounded fallen natures, and transform them into instruments of God’s goodness 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.

For all of us who struggle with disordered attractions, sinful inclinations, and temptations to serious sin, for the grace to remain faithful to the teachings of Christ, and for mercy for those who fall.

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.