August 21, 2016 — Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

IS 66: 18-21; PS 117: 1-2; HEB 12: 5-7, 11-13; LK 13: 22-30

Today’s readings remind us that Jesus is our Savior in no uncertain terms. His sacrifice for us is our saving grace. This is a fact we need to dwell on each and every day in our attitudes, our prayers, and in gratitude for what He has done for us.

In our First Reading from the prophet Isaiah God declares, “I come to gather nations of every language.” All He says will experience His glory, not just the Israelites, but all, all gentiles and all peoples throughout the world. The reading continues to include what was known as the world at that time. Missionaries are sent to Tarshish (what we know as France, Italy, and Spain); to Pul and Lud, which is basically the continent of Africa; to Mosoch, which is Asia; to Tubal, which is Russia and the eastern European lands; and to Bultema, which is Greece.

In fact, this reading confirms that we are part of a mission Church, and that each of us is called to be a missionary. That does not mean we have to travel to the corners of the world to fulfill our call, but we do have to be prepared to live out that mission, as a follower of our Savior, on each day and in each place and to each person we may encounter.

We are indeed saved, but the Letter to the Hebrews, from which today’s Second Reading is drawn, reminds us that it is not always easy. The author speaks of how God is a loving God, but at times that love may seem severe, what we tend to call today “tough love.” Many of the challenges we face can be traced to the first three words the author uses after addressing us as “Brothers and Sisters.” He says quite simply, “You have forgotten…” The Hebrews to whom the letter is addressed, as well as we today, sometimes forget the reward promised to us. We cannot understand how God can allow us to have difficulties and challenges. You might say that we are aware of God’s love and caring in our minds, but we may “forget” it in our heart where it must always be present.

If we have ever experienced the difficulty presented by parenting, how even when you love a child, that child may require discipline and an experience to make him or her stronger, we can understand this better. God is our parent; He loves us but He also appreciates that there are times when He must correct us. We know we are sinners, and we must realize that God loves us in spite of our sins. Yet sins may have consequences. God is aware that we become discouraged, as also is the writer of the letter to the Hebrews. We are told to “strengthen your drooping hands and your weakness. Make straight paths for your feet.” We need to be prepared to perform our missionary tasks, to be stewards and disciples as we are expected.

Jesus speaks directly to salvation in the Gospel Reading from St. Luke. The Lord, faced with the question from a follower, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” Jesus explains salvation by asking the questioner more or less, “Are you saved?” That is what each of us must ask ourselves, “Can I be saved?” The obvious answer is “Of course.” However, there are qualifications to that answer. When the Lord makes a reference to entering through the narrow gate, we must never forget that He is the gate and He is the gate keeper. He is the road to salvation. All of our good works are nothing if we do not do them in His name.

Following Jesus, being His disciple, trying to fulfill His expectations should really be our life’s work. In that way we are striving to enter the door, and that is an important point made by the Lord. He says, in effect, “If you do not strive to enter, if you do not seek to find your vocation and your place, the door may be closed.” Jesus has the key to the door, but it may be located in our hearts.

August 14, 2016 — Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

JER 38: 4-6, 8-10; PS 40: 2-4, 18; HEB 12: 1-4; LK 12: 49-53

In today’s Gospel from the Book of Luke Jesus says, “I have come to set the earth on fire…” That sounds somewhat foreboding, but we must consider it in light of what will happen. You may recall the reading from the Acts of the Apostles that we heard on Pentecost Sunday last May. In that reading we are told, “Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit is represented by the image of fire at least five times in Holy Scripture. Earlier in Luke (Chapter 3) St. John the Baptist declares when speaking of the coming of Jesus, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” We tend to think of water when we think of Baptism. However, fire is an equally accurate symbol. At another point the Bible says, through Jesus the fire will consume the chaff, having separated it from the wheat. Fire provides light; fire gives warmth; and we are called to be on fire for our faith and for the Lord. The Word of God needs to burn in our hearts.

The Readings for this Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time remind us of the power of the Holy Spirit and of how we have all been blessed with it. The First Reading comes from the Old Testament Book of Jeremiah. Many scholars feel that the prophet Jeremiah comes through most clearly as a real person as he shares with his scribe Baruch his role as a servant of God. This reading speaks of a time when Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern to die. However, a man named Ebed Melech comes forward to defend and eventually rescue Jeremiah. A stranger, a gentile, Ebed Melech was from Ethiopia; he was as different as he could be. Yet he has the courage to stand up for what is right and just. You might say he was filled with the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that is available to us to fill us with strength to do what we should do.

The Letter to the Hebrews from which our Second Reading is extracted also speaks of strength when it says that Jesus had an inner power to overcome adversity and to carry out His role, His destiny to be our Savior. Sometimes we fail to recognize that we are granted that inner force as well. It is granted to us at our Baptism, and continues to be given to us through all the sacraments, including the Holy Eucharist. Nevertheless, we must be prepared to use this strength to be the kinds of good stewards and disciples to which the Lord has called us.

Of course, Jesus makes the challenges clear to us in the Gospel Reading from St. Luke. After reminding us of the fire of the Holy Spirit we have been given, the Lord makes mention of the many challenges that may come with it: among other things “…a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother.” These sound like terrible situations, but it is the Lord’s way to remind us that this may be the price each of us must pay for being a faithful steward. If we truly follow the Lord and are His sincere disciples, we may well suffer division for His sake.

Jesus is not saying that these kinds of conflicts are inevitable, but He does want us to be aware that pursuing stewardship as a way of life may cause these things. That is where the power of the Holy Spirit comes into play. Through prayer and consistency and determination to follow Jesus we have to be ready to suffer at times for our beliefs.

November 1, 2015 — Solemnity of All Saints

Rv 7: 2-4, 9-14; Ps 24: 1-6; 1 Jn 3: 1-3; Mt 5: 1-12A

On this First Day of November, as we as Catholics have done for centuries, we honor All Saints, both known and unknown. Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, so many Christians were martyred and named Saints that there were many more Saints than days to honor them. All Saints Day was instituted because the Church felt every saint should be venerated, and with the increasing numbers, it was logical to designate one day when we honor, remember, and look up to all the Saints.

In our Creed, we use the term “communion of saints.” St. Paul began using the term “saints” to refer to people still living at that time. Thus, the “communion of saints” includes all God’s holy people, living and dead. It is our declaration that we understand that holiness surrounds all of us and lives within us whenever the saving grace of Christ is at work. Today’s Feast, the Solemnity of All Saints, celebrates all of those who have gone before and are now with the Lord in heaven; this includes not only the ones the Church has officially designated as “saints” but also the women and men who have lived a holy life even though they may not have been recognized. In addition, on this day we fondly remember all those who may have personally inspired us to be better Catholics and better persons.

In the Book of Revelations, from which our First Reading is drawn, reference is made to “the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” Each of us is marked with the seal of God through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. The priest, and others, make the sign of the cross on our foreheads with Holy Oils. We are thus sealed with the Holy Spirit. St. Paul once wrote, “God, who has also sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” (2 Corinthians 1: 21-22) This is our first step on the journey to holiness.

The idea that we are in communion with all the saints and everyone else is included in the Second Reading from the First Letter of St. John. John tells us, “Beloved, we are the children of God.” There is much of consequential value in this statement. For one thing it means that in a sense we are all siblings in the eyes of God. Our relationship to one another should strive for holiness; that is a major part of what being a saint is. To be a child of God nonetheless means that first of all we must accept the love of Jesus, and second, we carry that love out by truly loving one another. That, too, is an important part of holiness. As we revere those in heaven on this All Saints Day, we cannot possibly conceive of what is to come: “What we shall be has not yet been revealed.”

Today’s Gospel from St. Matthew, extracted from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, is as powerful a statement about what it means to be a saint as there is. Recall that many looked for a Messiah who would become king and by any means necessary He would free them from bondage and from the corrupt governments that in large part controlled their lives. Jesus was not quite the king they expected, and His declaration of the Beatitudes did nothing to affirm their ideas about His kingship. Every one of the Beatitudes is worthy of a complete reflection unto itself. However, if we view them as guides to holiness and sainthood, some seem more significant than others.

You might say that the Beatitudes represent a ladder, which we climb to heaven. The first step has to do with the spiritual. Being “poor in spirit” means that we understand and appreciate that we are sinners; we are in need of God’s forgiveness and mercy. Being poor in spirit means that we understand not what we have, but what we do not have. Tied to being “poor in spirit” is genuine mourning, sadness knowing that we are unworthy of God’s many gifts. “Blessed are the meek.” Our comprehension of “meek” is different from the Greek word from which it is translated. Being “meek” does not mean weakness; it means humility. This is the willingness to serve about which Jesus spoke so often. This is such an essential step to truly being a steward. We are called on this All Saints Day to climb this ladder of holiness with the saints and with so many others who have shown us the way. If we follow this formula, we can become completely the “children of God.”

August 16, 2015 — Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Prv 9: 1-6; Ps 34: 2-7; Eph 5: 15-20; Jn 6: 51-58

References to food and drink are abundant in the readings for this Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time. They are nonetheless largely symbolic of something greater — that is, wisdom and understanding. There is knowledge, knowing something. Then there is comprehension, grasping in some ways what the learning we have achieved means. However, the ultimate is wisdom, not just knowing and understanding, but seeing how it applies to our lives.

That is what Jesus sought in His teachings and His ministry. He wanted people to see beyond the obvious and into the depths of what life and the way we live it is all about. Nevertheless, that was not easy for the people of His time, nor is it for us today.

Our First Reading is from the Book of Proverbs. Proverbs is a collection of sayings and instructions that represent “wisdom.” The Book deals with values, moral behavior, the meaning of life, and correct conduct. The underlying premise is simply that recognizing the authority and the control and the “wisdom” of God takes precedent over everything else. This is, of course, at the heart of stewardship — knowing God and making God the center of our lives. In fact, the underlying message of Proverbs is that seeking wisdom may be the essence and goal of life.

Jesus made reference to Heaven being like a great feast, a sumptuous meal. That is the point of the First Reading as well. We are given choices, and we also have free will. What we choose and what we select to do, to eat if you will, is a matter left to us. We are advised to choose carefully and wisely. From the perspective of Proverbs, the wise choice is the God-centered approach.

As is St. Paul’s wont, he speaks to the “wisdom” of pursuing a spiritual way of life also. In our Second Reading Paul makes reference to drinking and eating as well, but he advises us, just as is the case in Proverbs, to choose carefully what and what path of life we follow. Paul tells us to be “filled with the spirit,” and then he completes the concept of stewardship when he states, “…giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.” It is this sense of gratitude that all comes from the Lord that fulfills our lives as good stewards. All that we do is to be done in a spirit of thanksgiving. Being filled with the Spirit is more imperative than being filled with food and drink.

Jesus completes the idea of spiritual food when He states in today’s Gospel from St. John: “Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.” Today’s Gospel is a continuation from what is called Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse from which our Gospel readings for the past few weeks have been drawn. Early in the discourse narratives the people ask Jesus, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” We tend to think of Rabbis as those ordained to leadership in the Jewish church. However, the term “rabbi” comes from a Hebrew word meaning “teacher.”

Jesus is the Teacher. Jesus provides the Word and the meaning of the Word. His entire treatise on the “Bread of Life” is meant to teach us, to reveal to us, the importance of taking Jesus as our Savior, of uniting with Him through the Eucharist, and using that gift to further the Kingdom in His behalf. The Spiritual Bread offered us by Jesus is the fundamental food of life that we require.

May 31, 2015 – The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Dt 4: 32-34, 39-40; Ps 33: 4-6, 9, 18-20, 22; Rom 8: 14-17; Mt 28: 16-20

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. It is worth reviewing what a “Solemnity” is to us. In our Church year a Solemnity is the highest-ranking Holy Day possible, followed by a Feast and then a Memorial. Although we may not perceive it, the word “solemnity” comes from the Latin word for “festival.” The most important events on our Church calendar are “Solemnities.” All Solemnities are not Holy Days of Obligation, but those like Holy Trinity Sunday that always occur on Sunday are indeed Holy Days of Obligation.

The Holy Trinity was firmly established in the Bible, even in Genesis. Throughout the Old Testament God refers to Himself in both the singular and plural. In fact, in Genesis He declares “Let us make man in our image.” Note both the “us” and the “our.” Nevertheless, these semantical supports are secondary to the reality of the Holy Trinity as explicated and explained in our readings for this Holy Day.

St. Athanasius, who lived in the 300s, said “We acknowledge the Trinity, Holy and perfect, to consist of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is a wholly creative and energizing reality, self confident and undivided in its active power. Accordingly, in the Church, one God is preached, one God who is above all things and through all things and in all things.”

Our first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy speaks of our need to serve God. Moses tells the people, “The Lord is God in the heavens above and on the earth below, and there is no other.” This is the preface to our understanding and belief in the Holy Trinity.

In the second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, Paul makes the point that we are all children of God if we are “led by the Spirit of God.” It is the Triune God who leads us through the Holy Spirit to repentance, to truth, to love, to holiness, to stewardship. It is through pursuing this life in the Spirit that we are able to serve God and one another.

The Gospel from Matthew, even though not lengthy, contains Jesus’ complete call to us to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Disciples are made through teaching and through conversion. To be a Christian steward involves a conversion of the heart and mind. As indicated in our U.S. Bishops Pastoral Letter on Stewardship, “Jesus’ call is urgent. He does not tell us to follow Him at some point in the future but here and now, at the moment, in our present circumstances.” The Bishops later say in that letter, “The life of a Christian Steward, lived in imitation of the life of Christ, is challenging, even difficult in many ways. But both here and hereafter it is charged with intense joy.”

On this day when we glory in the Holy Trinity, when we again declare, “I believe,” we need to commit ourselves to our Triune God; we need to answer the call to discipleship and stewardship. We need to be generous out of love. Jesus sends us, guides us, and empowers us.

To better serve our loyal followers at parishes facing early holiday bulletin print deadlines for Thanksgiving and Christmas, The Catholic Steward has posted the next two weeks of our Stewardship Bulletin Reflections today (Nov. 19), and will post the next two Stewardship Reflections on Lectionary Readings tomorrow (Nov. 20).

The bulletin reflections for the weeks of December 1, 2013, and December 8, 2013 (First and Second Sundays of Advent Reflections) are posted separately below on our home page. Check back tomorrow for the full Stewardship Reflections for Dec. 1 and Dec. 8.

We will continue posting our weekly reflections on this schedule, which means you will be receiving the bulletin and lectionary reflections an extra week ahead of our regular posting schedule. This not only should allow most parishes to handle early bulletin deadlines for Thanksgiving week, but should also accommodate your early bulletin deadlines for the weeks of Christmas and New Year’s Day.

If you subscribe to our email delivery service, links to the Dec. 8 and Dec. 15 reflections will be included in today’s email.

December 30, 2012 – Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Sir 3:2-6, 12-14; Ps 128:1-5; Col 3:12-21; Lk 2: 41-52

As we might expect on this Feast of the Holy Family, the readings focus on family matters. In fact, they offer a blueprint for family stewardship. The concept of stewardship within a family is closely related to how family members treat one another — how they show respect and love for one another.

The first reading from the Book of Sirach makes it quite clear that children are called to honor, revere, care for, and be kind to their father and mother. Of course, this is a manifestation of the commandment with which we are so familiar — Honor thy Father and Mother. Stewardship is synonymous with love. Thus, although the children are called to love in this way, it is also strongly implied that the father and mother are also called to love and revere one another and their children.

“And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.” We do not know much about the life of Jesus between his birth and the beginning of His ministry. We are presented with one vignette of His youth, however, in the Gospel reading from Luke. Under Jewish tradition a boy became a Bar Mitzvah (which means Son of the Commandment) at the age of 13. Prior to that step into maturity and adulthood a boy was expected to study, listen, and question at the Temple one or two years earlier. That is what Mary and Joseph and Jesus were pursuing in this Gospel passage — they were following the customs of the day. About this time in His life we might say, “The child became a man.”

The Holy Family is an ideal we as people cannot replicate. Nevertheless, it is clear that family life, like the virtues of love and kindness and humility and forgiveness, requires constant effort. Nothing in life is necessarily easy. Being a unified and loving family has rewards beyond our comprehension.

November 11, 2012 – Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Kgs 17:10-16; Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10; Heb 9:24-28; Mk 12:38-44

Today’s gospel offers us a great lesson in the stewardship way of life. Mark tells us that Jesus sat and watched as many people money into the treasury. And while he watched many wealthy men give enormous amounts of money, it was one widow who gave but two small coins who caught His attention. At first glance it seems clear that she did not give as much as the many wealthy people. Yet, Jesus assured the disciples, “she gave the most” because while the others were giving out of their surplus, she was giving of her first fruits. She was giving everything she had. For her, the gift was a sacrifice.

She stands as a great example to us. We are called to give our all. We give not because we have extra left over like many of the wealthy people in today’s gospel, we give – of our time, our talents, and our treasure, because we want to show God how grateful we are for all He has given us.

How well do our commitments of time, talent, and treasure express our gratitude to God? Are we giving because it’s easy, because we have a surplus from which to give, or are we giving because we are grateful for God’s many gifts, and, therefore, offering our whole selves back to Him?

How does God call us to be generous?

He calls us through our gifts of our time, our talents, and our treasure.

Thankfully, God doesn’t ask us for more than He is willing to give. He is the ultimate granter of generosity. More than anything, God desires for us to be with Him and He longs for us to receive His abundant blessings.

In order to receive His gifts, however, we must be open and ready. And, that’s not always easy.

In Mark’s Gospel, we learn firsthand how difficult being open to receiving God’s gifts can be. A rich, young man approaches Jesus and explains that although he has much wealth, he feels something is missing. Jesus asks the man to give up everything and follow him. Unfortunately, the rich young man can’t do it. Even when Jesus assures him that in return he will gain treasure in Heaven, that glorious promise doesn’t change his mind.

Jesus is saddened by the young man’s response. He knows His Heavenly Father wants to fill the man’s emptiness, but He cannot do so unless the man opens his heart to receive the blessings. The young man doesn’t refuse Jesus’ offer because he is rich and materialistic. He refuses Jesus’ offer because he is too attached to his possessions and is afraid to let them go. Ultimately, he doesn’t trust that God will replace them with better treasures.

Often, we are just like the rich young man. We feel empty inside and want Christ to fill the void. But we can’t quite let go of our attachments to make room for Christ’s new blessings.

As stewards, we must empty ourselves of our attachments and turn to Christ so we are truly free to follow Him and receive all He wants to bestow on us. Jesus says that those who do will receive a hundred times more in return.

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About a year ago, I was blessed with a two-week pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I know that I am very fortunate to be able to experience this kind of journey so I very much appreciate the opportunity.

The Holy Land is often called the “Fifth Gospel.” To walk in the land and culture today is truly an experience of walking in the footsteps of Jesus who is our Lord and our God.  This pilgrimage reminded me of our Church’s annual pilgrimage through Lent to the wonderful celebration of Easter.  During these final days of Lent we will continue to attempt to follow our Savior as he leads us through the purification of Lent to the renewal of our Baptismal life of the Easter Season.

One of my favorite sites in the Holy Land is in Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives.  Located among the many shrines and churches, there is a traditional site of the upper room where many believe that Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples.  In our tradition this is where Christ instituted the Eucharist – giving us his body and blood. [Read more…]