This weekend, I spent part of my Saturday afternoon watching a fantastic movie called National Treasure. In seeking after a great hidden treasure amassed over centuries, and guarded by the Knights Templars and Freemasons, Ben Gates has to go through one of the United States's great national treasures, the Declaration of Independence, going so far as to steal the document from the National Archives. In so doing, he also recognizes the document's values, for what it represents, and especially for the ideas it contains that created the United States.
As I sat at Mass on Sunday morning, I couldn't help but think about how fitting it was to watch a movie about treasures with the readings speaking about treasures. Namely, they speak about the great riches of God. In light of who He is, all earthly riches treasures don't seem so valuable.
King Solomon senses this when God comes to Him in a dream and offers to grant him whatever he wishes. Solomon doesn't ask for any earthly pleasures, but asks for wisdom and a heart that can effectively aid him in ruling the great and vast people of God.
The people in Jesus's parables encounter treasures, small things in the realm of something larger. But they have such great worth, which compels them to sell everything they have to lay hold of those items of great worth.
So great is the Kingdom of God, that we give up everything else in life to lay hold of it, a constant effort throughout our lives. As St. Paul speaks of in the Epistle reading, we know that God has called us, and as we seek His Kingdom, He is transforming us into His great treasure. So even as we have to face evil and trouble in this world, we await the day God gathers the righteous into His fold, truly glorifying them.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Sunday, July 20, 2014
July 20, 2014: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Our God is an amazing God, and the eloquently-worded reading from the book of Wisdom explains why: By being just and mighty in His very nature, God shows mercy and compassion to people. He even makes possible for us to repent of our sins.
Perhaps this is why God does not rid the world of evil with one fell swoop. He works instead to grow the goodness of His people as they build the Kingdom of God, which starts in small ways, and builds to something great and mighty, like the mustard seed and the large bush that it becomes. For even in the midst of evil, God works mightily in us, as the Spirit intercedes for us, as St. Paul writes in the 2nd reading from Romans. He is able to leaven the whole batch of dough with a little yeast.
That is why we hope, and strive by faith to build the Kingdom on Earth, until the day when we who have so worked shine so gloriously for our Father.
Perhaps this is why God does not rid the world of evil with one fell swoop. He works instead to grow the goodness of His people as they build the Kingdom of God, which starts in small ways, and builds to something great and mighty, like the mustard seed and the large bush that it becomes. For even in the midst of evil, God works mightily in us, as the Spirit intercedes for us, as St. Paul writes in the 2nd reading from Romans. He is able to leaven the whole batch of dough with a little yeast.
That is why we hope, and strive by faith to build the Kingdom on Earth, until the day when we who have so worked shine so gloriously for our Father.
Monday, July 14, 2014
July 13, 2014: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Agricultural imagery abounds in this weekend's readings.
As Isaiah says, God's Word comes down to the Earth to accomplish its purposes, just as the rain and snow water the Earth to bring it alive in great abundance.
According to the Gospel reading, this abundance comes when the seed sown by the farmer lands in fertile soil, which allows it to produce a great yield. But when Jesus interprets the parable for the disciples, it is clear that there are different responses to the Word of God, and it is received by many, but is not fertilized and nourished, especially considering how some aren't able to respond and comprehend the Word. So we must give of ourselves in fertilizing the Word of God, so that it produces an abundance.
Indeed, God has sent forth to send His Word forth upon the Earth, to bring it alive. All of Creation is awaiting the day when God restores it to its full beauty, even as we wait for the fullness of our redemption, being accomplished now as God's Word works in us to produce such abundance.
As Isaiah says, God's Word comes down to the Earth to accomplish its purposes, just as the rain and snow water the Earth to bring it alive in great abundance.
According to the Gospel reading, this abundance comes when the seed sown by the farmer lands in fertile soil, which allows it to produce a great yield. But when Jesus interprets the parable for the disciples, it is clear that there are different responses to the Word of God, and it is received by many, but is not fertilized and nourished, especially considering how some aren't able to respond and comprehend the Word. So we must give of ourselves in fertilizing the Word of God, so that it produces an abundance.
Indeed, God has sent forth to send His Word forth upon the Earth, to bring it alive. All of Creation is awaiting the day when God restores it to its full beauty, even as we wait for the fullness of our redemption, being accomplished now as God's Word works in us to produce such abundance.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
July 6, 2014: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus gives us an invitation to come to Him in this weekend's Gospel reading. He invites us into a life in which we are caught up in the great mysteries of God, which He reveals not to the proud, but to the meek and humble. We are forgiven of our sins, and brought to new Life by God's Spirit, the same One who raised Christ from the dead. We are made part of the new reign of God, in which our King reigns with great peace over all the Earth, even in our own hearts.
We are invited to leave behind the old life of sin, and take up this new Life, in which Christ is ever present with us as we bear this life's burdens. We take on his yoke, so that our burdens are no longer so great, because He's alongside us.
We are invited to leave behind the old life of sin, and take up this new Life, in which Christ is ever present with us as we bear this life's burdens. We take on his yoke, so that our burdens are no longer so great, because He's alongside us.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
June 29, 2014: Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
The liturgy for this Sunday is replaced by this Solemnity, commemorating the two saints who are pillars of the Church. They were chosen by God to have important leadership roles in building up the Church in its earliest days, and ultimately, to give witness to Christ in dying as martyrs. Yet, as we see in the story in the First Reading, God delivered St. Peter from death for a time, so that he could continue the work God had set for Him to do.
And as St. Paul writes in the selection from 2 Timothy for the second reading, He had truly striven after doing God's work faithfully, giving his life in service to God's call, and now awaited the great reward from God.
They lay an important foundation for the Church: They established the teachings to which we still hold this day, and their example guides us in living faithfully before God and doing His work of proclaiming the Gospel.
And as St. Paul writes in the selection from 2 Timothy for the second reading, He had truly striven after doing God's work faithfully, giving his life in service to God's call, and now awaited the great reward from God.
They lay an important foundation for the Church: They established the teachings to which we still hold this day, and their example guides us in living faithfully before God and doing His work of proclaiming the Gospel.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
June 22, 2014: Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ
This feast day, also known as Corpus Christi Sunday, focuses our attention on a special part of our faith, and the Paschal Mystery, too:
We remember--and that's the important word--that Jesus Christ is God's provision to us, and He offers us His Body and Blood to nourish us that we may truly live, all the while as we recall that God alone truly sustains us. Because Jesus Christ has come and established the Paschal Mystery, He is now the only source of nourishment for the Life we live in God. In a similar spirit to His saying, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life", in John chapter 14, it's like He says, "I am nourishment".
It is a Life we live together the people of God, as One Body, because we partake of the One Source of nourishment--we become what we consume, the Body of Christ. So this feast is a celebration of God's provision through us in Jesus Christ and the life we live as One Body, the Church.
So as God shows Himself alive and present in the Eucharist, as we partake, becoming Christ, we show Him to be alive and present as we manifest His presence in the world.
As an aside: this Feast gives me further reason to think back upon my First Communion 15 years ago. But I seem to have erred in my post for Sunday, May 3, 2014, when I said that occasion was on May 9, when more than likely it was May 2, 1999.
We remember--and that's the important word--that Jesus Christ is God's provision to us, and He offers us His Body and Blood to nourish us that we may truly live, all the while as we recall that God alone truly sustains us. Because Jesus Christ has come and established the Paschal Mystery, He is now the only source of nourishment for the Life we live in God. In a similar spirit to His saying, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life", in John chapter 14, it's like He says, "I am nourishment".
It is a Life we live together the people of God, as One Body, because we partake of the One Source of nourishment--we become what we consume, the Body of Christ. So this feast is a celebration of God's provision through us in Jesus Christ and the life we live as One Body, the Church.
So as God shows Himself alive and present in the Eucharist, as we partake, becoming Christ, we show Him to be alive and present as we manifest His presence in the world.
As an aside: this Feast gives me further reason to think back upon my First Communion 15 years ago. But I seem to have erred in my post for Sunday, May 3, 2014, when I said that occasion was on May 9, when more than likely it was May 2, 1999.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
June 15, 2014: Most Holy Trinity Sunday
The Trinity is one of the great mysteries of our faith. It's hard to understand how God is One yet of Three Distinct Persons at the same time.
Father Larry, pastor at Ascension Church, in regards to the Trinity, recalls the teaching of one of his seminary professors, who said that we ought not explain the doctrine of the Trinity, but live out the doctrine.
And while we can't easily explain the Trinity, we are aware of its effects in our lives. God the Father created us, and all the beauty of this world. Jesus Christ, the Son, has redeemed us, so that we could be restored to relationship with the Father. And the Holy Spirit guides us in living out that relationship in righteousness before Him. This is all tied up in the Paschal Mystery, which we have just spent nearly 100 days of the year commemorating.
The readings for this weekend speak of God's characteristics, grace, mercy, and kindness, shown most especially in how he sought to save us through the Son, and not leave us to be condemned. Having experienced this amazing Love, which binds the Trinity together, and us to the Trinity, we live in love with each other, as we give praise to our Almighty God, of Three, but in essence, One.
Father Larry, pastor at Ascension Church, in regards to the Trinity, recalls the teaching of one of his seminary professors, who said that we ought not explain the doctrine of the Trinity, but live out the doctrine.
And while we can't easily explain the Trinity, we are aware of its effects in our lives. God the Father created us, and all the beauty of this world. Jesus Christ, the Son, has redeemed us, so that we could be restored to relationship with the Father. And the Holy Spirit guides us in living out that relationship in righteousness before Him. This is all tied up in the Paschal Mystery, which we have just spent nearly 100 days of the year commemorating.
The readings for this weekend speak of God's characteristics, grace, mercy, and kindness, shown most especially in how he sought to save us through the Son, and not leave us to be condemned. Having experienced this amazing Love, which binds the Trinity together, and us to the Trinity, we live in love with each other, as we give praise to our Almighty God, of Three, but in essence, One.
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