Bulletins (Page 10)

Immediately following (in last week’s gospel) the declaration by Peter that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” there is a not-so-pleasant encounter between Peter and the Lord. For Jesus, the revelation of His identity was inextricably bound with His coming suffering and death. In the gospels, everything builds to the event at Caesarea Philippi and flows from there toward the Crucifixion. This is not what Peter or the other Apostles had been expecting, so Peter tries to persuade Jesus to follow another path (“God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”), to which the Lord responds: “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Jesus could not and would not follow Peter. Instead, he invites him to “Get behind me,” to follow the Lord, instead of trying to lead along the easier path. Nearly 2000 years later, we believers are still tempted to take the path that leads from pain, suffering and loss. Jesus sees in us, too, obstacles to the work that He still needs to accomplish in our lives and in the world. In the end, we cannot avoid sorrow and suffering any more than Jesus did. It is the cost of being a disciple today, as it has been in every age.

The “confession” of Peter (“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”) was inspired by God, an inspiration to which Peter listened. However, Peter was slow to understand the implications of the truth that he had spoken. Peter’s heart was usually in the right place and from time to time his words were there, too. The challenge for Peter – and for us and all believers – is, in colloquial terms, “to say what we mean and mean what we say,” or to be those who hear the word of God and keep it, with all of its consequences – sometimes demanding and costly and at other times, the source of great joy and reward.

The polarization we experience in the Church and society is not healthy and does not contribute to the building up of the world, our nation or the Church into the very best that we can be. Instead, it tears us apart, reducing us to less than the sum of our parts. The recent experience of World Youth Day was an antidote to the kind of thinking that fosters a “we versus them” life. Young people from almost every nation gathered in a kind of chaotic harmony; every language under the sun was spoken, although English was clearly the most prevalent of all. The diversity of cultures was enriching and eye- opening, especially for the youth. As Pope Francis mentioned, they themselves are a sign of hope for a better world, not based on the politics of fear and division. I mention this in light of the readings we hear this weekend. The Lord, through the prophet Isaiah, declares that “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7). In our reading from the gospel of Matthew, Jesus praises the faith of a woman who was a Canaanite, a non-believer, and granted her request that he heal her daughter. As the “Apostle to the Gentiles,” Saint Paul broke down the barriers that had separated the Jews and the non-Jews who believed in Jesus. We need to translate these biblical passages into our lives, our politics and our faith. Where do we draw imaginary lines that exclude others for reasons of ethnicity, language, sexuality, or any other distinction? The politics of exclusion cannot be our way. As Pope Francis repeatedly stated in Lisbon earlier this month, the Church is for all. . . “Todos, todos, todos!”

Therefore, dearly beloved, may you too always rejoice in the Lord (Phil 4:4). And may neither bitterness nor a cloud of sadness overwhelm you, O dearly beloved Lady in Christ, joy of the angels and crown of your sisters! Place your mind before the mirror of eternity! Place your soul in the brilliance of glory! Place your heart in the figure of the divine substance! And transform your whole being into the image of the Godhead itself through contemplation! So that you too may feel what His friends feel as they taste the hidden sweetness which God Himself has reserved from the beginning for those who love Him. (Saint Clare of Assisi) These words of Saint Clare are an invitation to each of us toward unit (“communion”) with the Lord. As we observe the Feast of our Patroness this weekend, we focus at the Eucharist on her great devotion to the Eucharistic Mystery. Remembering that “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving,” we consider these words of Saint John Paul II: Her whole life was a Eucharist because. . . from her cloister she raised up a continual “thanksgiving” to God in her prayer, praise, supplication, intercession, weeping, offering and sacrifice. She accepted everything from the Father in union with the infinite “thanks” of the only begotten Son. May our celebration this weekend of our Patroness, Saint Clare, lead each of us – and all of us together – to a deeper appreciation of the gifts that God gives us. May this help us to join our lives with hers in giving thanks to God in all that we are.

When August 6 falls on a Sunday, the whole Church celebrates the Transfiguration of the Lord. Otherwise, it receives little more fanfare than a weekday at the beginning of August. We also hear the gospel of the Transfiguration each year on the Second Sunday of Lent. The Transfiguration is more than an historical accounting of an event in the life of Jesus and Peter, James and John. As it was a sign of hope to them, so it is for us; in facing His darkest days, Jesus remained faithful, not taking the easy way out. In the same way, we can find encouragement in the glory that we will share one day. An old Latin expression, quoted sometimes during Lent, comes to mind: Per crucem ad lucem – Through the cross to light. We live in the hope that no matter how things turn out in our lives and the life of our world, they will turn out well. If despair gives way to hope, then we have undergone a transfiguration to the depths of our being. Like Peter, we try to capture those moments, to hold on to them for ever, but they will pass, but not totally if we allow those “mountaintop” moments to change us.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus presents the Reign of God in terms of a treasure buried in a field and a pearl of great price. People are willing to sell everything to possess the treasure and the pearl. As in recent previous weekends, Jesus was not teaching about searching and finding things that are of monetary value any more than He was teaching farmers how to plant their crops or to pull weeds. He was using images familiar to his hearers; in so many ways these images continue to resonate with us 2000 years later. In another place (Matthew 6:21), Jesus taught that “wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be.” It is for us to discern what is so important in our lives that we would be willing to do anything to pursue it, no matter the cost. Perhaps, the way to God’s Reign is to discover for ourselves what things are most important in our lives, for which we would be willing to give up everything else. So a question for each of us is this: “Where is your heart on this last weekend of July?

In the parables of this Sunday’s gospel reading from the thirteenth chapter of Saint Matthew (Weeds among the Wheat, Mustard Seed, and Yeast and Dough), Jesus teaches about the coming Reign of God and about God’s patience with what it takes to bring about that Reign. The Kingdom of Heaven will not be imposed on humanity from above. Rather, its coming is a slow and gradual process, the work in which we are engaged, according to the gifts given to each of us. And God remains patient with our efforts. Some people have declared that God’s Reign is here on earth. I do not think so! While the seeds of the Reign of God have been planted here, there is still much to be done to foster the values of justice, love, peace and life, but it must begin in our lives, in the ways we treat one another, the ways we vote, the ways we allow our beliefs to influence the direction of the common life we share as members of society.

A sower went out to sow [some seed]. That is what sowers did, as found in the dictionary: “One who scatters seed on the ground to be grown for food.” And it was the seed that germinated, extended its roots and grew. The sower in Jesus’ parable is indiscriminate. Some seed falls on the path, or on rocky ground, or among the thorns. Some, though, fell on rich soil. It is this that produced abundant fruit. Relating this parable about God’s word to the first reading from the prophet Isaiah, we hear that the word of the Lord is like the rain and snow that make the earth fertile: “So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). God is as indiscriminate as the sower of the seed, broadcasting His word to all of creation, “groaning in labor pains even until now” (Romans 8:22). It is for us to be that fertile soil that accepts and nurtures the word we have heard. We do so in the lives we lead, lives of love and care for one another and for all creation