Bulletins from June 2024

Jesus’ time among the people prompted calls for Him to heal the sick, so much so that, on his way to cure a little girl, an ailing woman also reaches out to the Lord. Jesus did not complain or withhold healing from them, but responded to their faith with the love and care of God. As the Lord was present in these healings and in the boat that was tossed about by strong winds and rough seas (last Sunday’s gospel passage), He continues to be with us, especially in our moments of need, when we may think that all hope is lost. It is for us, also, to be signs of God’s abiding presence to one another.

“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” These words, placed on the lips of the apostles, who were in the storm-tossed boat with Jesus, echo many of our questions. We ask why God does not intervene to heal whatever ails us, whether in mind or in body. We wonder why we feel abandoned during our most difficult times. Job questioned the wisdom of God, Whose response forms this weekend’s first reading, addressing Job out of the storm: Who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb; when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands? When I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door, and said: Thus far shall you come but no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stilled! (Job 3:1,8-11) The Lord does care when we believe all is lost and that we are perishing. He is, so to speak, “in the boat” with us in those darkest days. He challenges us, also, to believe, to have faith in His nearness to us then, and every day of our lives.

When we think of the coming Reign of God, we may wonder why Jesus did not bring it about in its fulness instantaneously, why we still live in an imperfect world with all the problems which plague us. Why are there wars, injustice, poverty, hunger, illness, famine and climate change? The list could go on and on. Jesus used parables and images common to his hearers to teach them about God’s reign. In this Sunday’s gospel, we hear of seed scattered in a field and the small mustard seed that becomes a large plant. In both cases, the Lord invokes the miracle of life to explain the kingdom of God: it is organic, it takes time, and “once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches.” The Death and Resurrection of Jesus was not some “magic bullet” to put an end to what ails humanity. God’s reign is not imposed on the world; it is an invitation to conversion made to each person. Only when people allow themselves to be changed or converted will our world stand a chance of conversion. It takes time and we need to be patient with ourselves and with others. Sometimes, we call this “the already, but not yet.” Jesus has planted the seeds of God’s kingdom, but those seeds have not matured into what they will become. We cultivate the virtues of peace and justice in our lives and in the world around us, doing so in hope and trust in the Lord.

We resume Sundays in Ordinary Time this weekend. Since the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday (February 14), we have observed the seasons of Lent and Easter; in addition to this, the two Sundays following Pentecost are devoted to the Holy Trinity and the Body and Blood of the Lord. Here is a concise description of Ordinary Time, found in the Universal Norms of the Liturgy, 43: Besides the times of the year that have their own distinctive character, there remains in the yearly cycle thirty-three or thirty-four weeks in which no particular aspect of the mystery of Christ is celebrated, but rather the mystery of Christ himself is honored in its fullness, especially on Sundays. These weeks are not called, “ordinary,” because they lack a special character, but because they are “ordered” by number, from 1 to 34. During this time, except on feast days and commemorations of the saints, the liturgical color is green.