May 24, 2013
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- Written by Br. Daniel Thomas, OP
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May 24, 2013 – Friday in the Seventh Week of the Church Year.
Today’s special celebration for Dominicans:
Feast of the "Translation (read: transferal of the body) of our Holy Father Dominic"
Even though Dominicans will celebrate this Feast with special Scriptural Readings I will defer to the Universal Church with the Scripture Readings appointed for this day.
Scripture Readings for today's Liturgy:
Sirach 6:5-17
Psalm 119
Mark 10:1-12
Even after making the comment above I have to marvel at the way the Holy Spirit can still use whatever means to help us understand what it means to follow Jesus. The opening verse in today’s first Scripture reading from the Book of Sirach can easily be applied to St. Dominic: “A kind mouth multiplies friends and appeases enemies and gracious lips prompt friendly greetings.”(Sirach 6:5)
If there is one quote attributed to St. Dominic that all of us know, it would be his simple statement, “I want only to speak to or about God!”
It is well known that St. Dominic spent long hours in prayer and was often found in the Church during the night. But he was equally at ease conversing with heretics and unbelievers in inns and other public places – always speaking about God.
His words had the ability to be as sweet as honey yet, at the same time, to be able to cut to the quick and draw unbelievers from their erroneous ways. When it came time to move St. Dominic’s body from the outdoor cemetery into the Church, many of the friars were fearful of this move on the grounds that the natural decay of the body would leave worshippers with an awful stench and taint the memory of this holy man of God.
However, according to many eyewitnesses, just the opposite happened. As soon as the tomb was opened the entire area along with the clothes and people gathered were covered in such a sweet fragrance that lasted for days afterwards.
So, just as St. Dominic’s words during his lifetime were sweet to the ears of his listeners his memory after his death was as the sweetness of the Garden of Eden.
This is why the Church often speaks of the “Sweet odor of sanctity” which St. Dominic certainly lived and died in. Maybe all of us need to take St. Dominic’s most famous quote to heart and try “to only speak to or about God!”
Holy Father Dominic: pray for us! Amen!
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May 23, 2013
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Thursday in the Seventh Week of the Church Year.
Saint for the day: St. John Baptist Rossi (1698-1764)
Scripture readings for today's liturgy:
Sirach 5:1-8
Psalm 1
Mark 9:41-50
“Delay not your conversion to the Lord, put it not off from day to day.” (Sirach 5:6ff)
I only have a vague recollection of one of the religious orders who take a fourth vow, “conversion of ways” but it resounds with the quote above and reminds us of the daily need for “conversion.”
I remember walking across the campus at Arizona State University on my way to mid-day Mass in the campus chapel. I was wearing my Dominican habit so was highly visible to all the people milling around. I was stopped by one of those “overly evangelistic students” who asked me, “Have you accepted Christ as you personal savior?” When I answered, “yes,” he quickly followed up with, “when was that?” I think he was stunned by my answer: “I think - just a few moments ago when I decided to come over here to get ready for Mass. Before that, it was probably this morning when I woke up and asked God to be with me in all my endeavors of this day.”
“Delay not your conversion to the Lord …”
Then we come to today’s Holy Gospel! WOW! If we took this with every jot and tittle there would be a lot of crippled and maimed people hobbling around in our world. I think we have to take these word “with a grain of salt” in order to know what Jesus is aiming at.
Yes! All of us have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God and we have the promise of forgiveness seventy times seventy but we can’t try to turn that around with the thought, “let me just do this one, little sin and then I can ask forgiveness of God.
In this section of Mark’s Gospel Jesus is using a form of speech intended to catch people up quick and jar them loose from thinking everything’s OK and we can just cruise through life until we get to the Pearly Gates!
I remember – in my early days as a young Dominican - taking care of an elderly priests who was in his 90’s and asking him, “Father, when did it all come together and start to get easier?” His answer, in his unsteady, shaky voice, “Nnnn- not yet!” taught me something about conversion that I’ve not forgotten in all these years.
The ending of today’s Holy Gospel gives us these words, “Keep salt – in the sense of freshness and flavor and daily conversion – in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.” Amen!
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May 21, 2013
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Tuesday in the Seventh Week of the Church Year
Saint for the day: St. Eugene de Mazenod (1782-1861)
Scripture readings for today's liturgy:
Sirach 2:1-11
Psalm 37
Mark 9:30-37
“My son, when you come to serve the Lord, stand in justice and fear, prepare yourself for trials.”
These words from the beginning of our Scripture reading from the Book of Sirach – also know as Eccleiastes – are underlined in red in my bible because they are so important for us to know when we decide to follow Jesus. I often use them whenever I’m giving a talk to aspiring Dominicans or any people just beginning their Christian journey.
This Scripture reading is a good one for us to hear as we move out of the special seasons of Lent and Easter. Now, we have to get down to the business of seriously following the Lord. It might be good to go back and read this scripture passage again. Go slowly and savor each phrase. Hear how encouraging the Lord is with us. Every word is packed with hope. Don’t let the word, “fear” turn you off. Substitute a better word, “awe” as in “I stand [before you] in absolute wonder…”
The Responsorial Psalm continues this theme of how we should follow the Lord with the promise that He will always save us as we make our journey. This reminds me of the three falls of Jesus in the Stations of the Cross and also of Peter’s triple denial and the fact that there is no sin that can totally separate us from His forgiveness. These are great concepts that act as a frame that keeps us on the right path.
Then, in today’s Holy Gospel, Jesus gives us the conditions of following Him by warning us, “If anyone wishes to be first, … be the last and servant of all.” Today’s Gospel passage ends with the image of a child. Not that we are to be “childish” but that we are to have those trusting characteristic of a child that is dependent on others and can stand in awe of God’s love. Amen!
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May 22, 2013
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Wednesday in the Seventh Week of the Church Year
Saint for the day: St. Rita of Cascia (1381-1457)
Scripture Readings for today's Liturgy:
Sirach 4:11-19
Psalm 119
Mark 9:38-40
“But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power n my name will be able soon afterword to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us.’” (Mark 9:39)
This quote from today’s Gospel according to St. Mark is also repeated in Luke 9:50. But, then, Luke goes on and turns it around, “whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Luke 11:23)
So, what is it? “Are you with me or against me? Are you against me or for me?” This dilemma makes me think back to that saying, “God writes straight with crooked lines.”
Last night I watched a National Geographic TV program: “Jesus: Rise to Power.” It was the second part of what I presume will be a series and followed the development of the early Church from being persecuted to being “mainstream” under the efforts of the Roman Emperor, Constantine to make it the only way to authentically follow Jesus.
It was interesting to follow the history of what actually happened: the Christians, who in the beginning were persecuted and brutally murdered, turned around – after they were in the favor of the world, so to speak - to do the same thing that was done to them by killing the pagans.
The thought that struck me while watching this program was that you could so easily change the dates and the costumes and apply the exact same situations to any parts of our world today!
Given that we have just celebrated the Feast of Pentecost – the coming of the Holy Spirit – we are once again reminded that the Holy Spirit brings order out of chaos while, at the same time, not turning us into mindless robots. That phrase, “God writes straight with crooked lines” means that we need to allow God’s way to burn in our being and purify our lives. We can’t just wander through our world cutting down rain forests and re-directing rivers and then wonder why our houses get demolished by mudslides or floods tear through our villages.
If we torture people who don’t think the way we do we should know that – what goes around comes around – and the same thing most likely will happen to us one day!
“Are you with ME or against me? Are you scattering or gathering? Good questions for us to ponder … and honestly answer! Amen!
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May 20, 2013
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Monday in the 7th Week of the Church Year.
Saint for the day: St. Bernardine of Siena (1380 - 1444)
Scripture Readings for today's liturgy:
Sirach 1:1-10
Psalm 93
Mark 9:14-29
On the subject of the Church’s Liturgical Year, yesterday’s Feast of Pentecost brought us to the end of our Lenten and Easter Cycles. Today we “pick up where we left off” at the beginning of Lent and start counting the weeks which will take us all the way through spring and summer to the 33rd week of the Church Year which will fall on the 17th of November. The Liturgical Year officially ends with the celebration of the Feast of Christ the King which is followed by the 1st Sunday of Advent, December 1, 2013.
I know that I’ve said this before, but it still needs repeating: the term, “Ordinary Time” for most of us conjures up the notion of “un-importance” which is not at all what was intended. The Latin word, “Ordinal” is better understood to mean “counted” or “numbered” times. It’s just a way of keeping track of where we are in the Liturgical Year. It’s far better if we look at this “counted time” the way we kids used to “wait for Christmas.” “How many more days till …” whatever it is that we’re waiting for. Our attitude in this “Ordinary Time” would be better understood through the words of the old “spiritual:” “Will the circle be unbroken, by and by, Lord, by and by…”
After saying all of this, the first Scripture reading from the Book of Sirach begins with the words, “All wisdom comes from the Lord and with him it remains forever, and is before all time … who can number these””
The irony of the Church will always remain with us! And it’s almost as if we have to keep doing this over and over because we often just don’t get it!
In today’s Holy Gospel from St. Mark the disciples are unable to cure the possessed boy and Jesus lays it on the line in the closing words of this Gospel: “This kind [of healing] can only come out through prayer.” (Mark 9:29)
“Prayer” is the foundation stone of the structure of our journey with Jesus. Yesterday’s Feast of Pentecost had its center on the coming of the Holy Spirit – the “Power behind the throne” so to speak and it was the Holy Spirit that gave the disciples the ability to step out of their world of fear and go out to proclaim the Risen Lord.
When Jesus tells us of the importance of “prayer” He is more talking about placing ourselves in the presence of God. The “words” aren’t as important as the being with God. That might be why the disciples got the “gift of tongues” and spoke in many languages. God doesn’t speak in languages but in His loving presence.
Try just sitting quietly in your “prayer closet” and make your “prayer,” “Lord I believe! Help my unbelief!” Amen!
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