Bulletins (Page 16)

So often, this Sunday’s gospel passage has been seen as Jesus expressing His preference for prayer over action, Mary over Martha, since Mary had “chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” Based upon this, many believers have striven to be Mary, instead of Martha. Yet if we consider this passage in light of our reading this weekend from the Book of Genesis, we hear of the value of hospitality, as shown by Abraham when the Lord appeared to him. It seems that we should choose to be either Martha, the doer, or Mary, the listener; we must strive to be both, as we read in the Letter of Saint James: “Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works” (James 2:18). Prayer, contemplation and listening to the Lord’s word must be accompanied by action, as inspired by Luke 11:28: “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” May these weeks of summer give us opportunities to do both.

“And who is my neighbor?” This question was posed to Jesus by the legal expert who “wished to justify himself.” I am certain that the man did not go away feeling good about himself, because he had wanted to use the law to narrow the definition of who had to be counted as his neighbor. Instead, Jesus shows the foreigner, the Samaritan, to be neighbor to the man who was robbed on the road to Jerusalem. In the end, one’s neighbor is the person in need and, at the same time, the person who has the ability to address the other’s situation. Truly loving one’s neighbor as oneself opens to us a sense of relationship, belonging and connection with all people. Jesus’s words to the scholar of the law are also spoken to each of us: “Go and do likewise [treat others with mercy].”

Please join me in welcoming Father Victor Trinidad to our parish. He officially began his ministry here this past Friday, July 1. I know that you will welcome him as warmly as you did me this weekend, two years ago, and that he will be enriched by the life of our parish, just as we will all be enriched by his presence among us. The gospel reading this Sunday makes me smile, falling as it usually does on the first weekend of July, warning Jesus’ disciples: “Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.” This has never been my experience as I took up a new assignment over the years, and I know that it will not be Father Victor’s experience at Saint Clare. The instruction given by Jesus to the seventy-two disciples is worth repeating today: “Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.” In other words, travel light and do not get distracted from your mission. In this busy world, we can all learn the simplicity of such discipline, mindful that the Lord who sends us will always be with us.

We resume the Sunday readings of Ordinary Time, which will continue this year until November 20. “Ordinary” does not imply “regular” or “usual,” but an “ordered” presentation of the weeks, apart from the major seasons (Advent/ Christmas and Lent/Easter). That is why the Sundays are known by a number, for example today is the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. During the 33 or 34 Sundays of Ordinary Time, we read the gospel (this year from Saint Luke) in order, chapter by chapter; we do the same with the second reading, which usually comes from one of the letters of Saint Paul. The Old Testament reading, however, is chosen for its connection with the gospel reading each Sunday. Often it is from the first reading that one can get a sense of what can be emphasized in the gospel reading. Today’s readings tell of the cost of discipleship: Elisha’s request that Elijah allow him to kiss his father and mother goodbye before he followed him is rejected. And Jesus declares that “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). We, who want to be disciples of the same Lord, need to consider its cost in our lives: what are we willing to give up? How committed are we to go where He leads us? As we walk with the Lord these next five months, let us, as the song says, “see Him more clearly, love Him more dearly, follow Him more nearly. . .Day by Day” (from Godspell).

Today, we celebrate Jesus, as the “Living Bread that comes down from heaven.” Which we receive every time we share Holy Communion. On this feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Catholics across the United States are invited to join in a three-year process of renewal in one of our foundational beliefs: that Jesus Christ is totally and actually present in the Eucharist and that those who receive Holy Communion are sharers of His Body and His Blood. As part of this renewal, each of us can reflect upon the importance of the Eucharist in our lives. What we believe about the Lord’s presence “under the forms” of bread and wine guides us and encourages us, in the words of Saint Augustine, “to see what you are and become what you receive: the living Body and Blood of the Lord.

The great Feast of Pentecost is second only to Easter in its importance in the life of the Church. We do not give gifts, as we do at Christmas or even Easter, but the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples marked the new beginning for the proclamation of Jesus as Messiah and Lord. Today we pray that the same Holy Spirit will enliven our faith and its proclamation by the manner of our lives; may the same Spirit give us wisdom and courage

Just as love, the subject of last week’s Gospel reading, is elusive, so is the peace of Jesus, that he left to the disciples during the Last Supper: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid (John 14). But Jesus does believe that such peace is possible, because “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” The Lord knows that our world today is in need of a peace that is more than just the cessation of violence and war, though that would be a good start. According to Saint Pope John Paul II, “[Peace] involves mutual respect and confidence between peoples and nations. Like a cathedral, peace must be constructed patiently and with unshakable faith.” If the peace we seek for our lives and for the world is founded on Jesus, with Him as our Teacher and Guide, that peace may become real, but if we treat peace as though it is some temporary truce or cease-fire, we will fail. Paraphrasing the words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., quoted in my homily last weekend, if we allow ourselves to see the image of God in others, then peace has a chance. It must begin there.