Bulletins by St. Clare Parish (Page 7)
November 19th – Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Like last week’s gospel reading, today’s passage encourages in us faithfulness in
the way we live. In the “Parable of the Talents,” each of the three servants was entrusted with something of value, “according to his ability.” The size of the gift did
not matter; what the servants did with the money did.
The question for each of us is whether we invest our gifts or hide them – burying
them in a hole, putting them under the proverbial mattress, where they are of no use
to anyone.
In the second reading from Saint Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, we hear
that we are children of the light and day, not of the night or darkness. As such, we
do not fear the Lord’s coming, for we have been faithful servants, using the gifts
entrusted to us for the good of others.
As we approach the end of this liturgical year, we look forward to the Lord’s coming at the end of time and the end of our lives, even as we will continue to do so in
the Season of Advent. We rejoice in the assurance that Christ who has died and is
risen will also come again. As children of the light, we have nothing to fear.
November 12th – Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, about
those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).
This Sunday’s second reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalo- nians is suited for our November liturgy. As you know, November is a special time for us to remember and pray for those who have died, especially members of our families and other loved ones. Paul is not advising that we not grieve for those we have lost, but that we not have the kind of grief of those “who have no hope.”
By nature, Christians are called to be a people of hope, people of the Resurrection. There is an old expression that “We are Easter people and “Alleluia” is our song.” While a bit trite, these words do express the reality of Christian faith. When we pray for the dead, it cannot be with the bitterness of the hopeless; our lives are charged with the faith that Saint Paul preached, and it makes all the difference. Even the Book of Wisdom teaches that “The souls of the just are in the hands of God” (Wisdom 3:1). If we believe this, or mourning can give way to rejoicing that our beloved dead live in God’s peace forever.
November 5th – Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time
In describing His own ministry, Jesus stated that “The Son of Man came not to be
served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for the many” (Matthew 20:8). It must be the same for the Lord’s followers: “The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts oneself will be humbled, and whoever humbles oneself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:11-12).
For many, this is a difficult lesson. Those who know success, achievement, and greatness usually expect their lofty status to accord them great privilege. For the Christian, the privilege is to serve others as did Jesus, the Master Who washed the disciples’ feet.
We do not need to look far to find these opportunities. Whether husbands or wives, children, sisters or brothers, each of us has the choice. . .to expect others to do whatever we want them to, or to be the ones who reach out to them. What Jesus did not say, but is implied in the example He gave, was that our service needs to be done in love, not grudgingly or under coercion.
That is the real test of discipleship.
October 22nd – Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
There are many interpretations of Jesus’ declaration, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to
God what is God’s” (Matthew 25:21). But the heart of the matter is found in the question that
Jesus asked regarding the Roman coin, “Whose image and whose inscription?” The answer was
that it was definitely that of Caesar. But the question that did not need to be asked was in whose
image His hearers were made. The answer to that is also as clear, for the Book of Genesis
narrates that God made man and woman in the divine image.
October 15th – Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Using another parable about the coming Reign of God, Jesus employs the image of
a wedding feast, to which the invited guests do not attend. To fill the banquet hall,
servants went looking for others to bring to the feast, any who could be found. The
troubling part of the parable relates to the person who did not wear his “wedding garment” to the banquet. Why was he cast out “into the darkness,” with hands and feet
bound? This seems problematic, since this guest was presumably one of those
gathered, “good and bad alike” from the highways and byways.
Jesus preached this parable against the Jewish leaders who refused to welcome Him as
the Messiah, the last-called are the non-Jewish people who become believers. Some
have theorized that the wedding garment is the metaphorical baptismal robe, worn by a
life of faith and virtue.
Jesus’ invitation is a fulfillment of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
On this mountain the Lord of hosts
will provide for all peoples
a feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines (Isaiah 25:6).
October 8th – Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
We sometimes fall into the same trap as the people of Israel at the time of the
prophets. Although God had chosen them to be His own, his “precious vineyard,”
they lived in such a way as to lose their status as highly favored by the Lord:
“Now, I will let you know
what I mean to do with my vineyard:
take away its hedge, give it to grazing,
break through its wall, let it be trampled!” (Isaiah 5:5)
Jesus echoes these words in telling the parable of the tenants who killed the landowner’s son so that they could have the vineyard for themselves:
“What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” . . .
“He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to
other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times”
(Matthew 21:41).
In all things, let us remember the expression that “The earth is the vineyard of the
Lord, and we are laborers there.” What does God ask of us? That we be faithful
coworkers, aware of our responsibilities toward God and toward one another.
All of this can be summed up in the words of our second reading from Saint Paul’s
Letter to the Philippians, which can be a source of hope and joy for us:
Brothers and sisters: Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace
of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever
is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is
any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these
things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen
in me. Then the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:6-9).
October 1st – Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The gospel passage this weekend tells the story of two brothers whose father sent to
work in the vineyard. One refused, but eventually did go, while the other brother
agreed to work, but never did. Jesus asks the question as to which son did what his
father wanted, and the answer is clear that it was the one who had originally said he
would not do the work.
God’s grace often enters our lives, not along straight lines, but through torturous
curves and turns, sometimes even reversing direction, as in the son who eventually
went to the vineyard. Let us be open to that grace, whenever it comes to us and let
us try to be that grace – God’s abiding presence in our world – to one another
September 24th – Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
In this Sunday’s gospel reading, Jesus teaches us about the coming Reign of
God. Set in terms of the owner of a vineyard who hired workers throughout the
day and paid all the same “usual daily wage” that had been agreed upon, no
matter what time of the day they began work. Perhaps, we might agree with the
complaint of those who worked a full day when they discovered that even those
who worked only one hour were paid the same amount. But the question asked by
the landowner should make us think: “Am I not free to do as I wish with my own
money? Are you envious because I am generous?”
It is true that faith comes to us in the context of family and community, the gospel
passage urges us to do our best and not to compare the progress of our growth in
the life of Baptism with that of others. In doing the best that we can, we trust in the
mercy and love of God Who, like the parable’s landowner, is generous
beyond our imagining.
Perhaps we can also be so generous in the ways we are with one another.