These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Remember your last days, set enmity aside;
hate not your neighbor; and overlook faults.
(Sir 28:6-7)
In the Rule of Saint Benedict the monk was counseled: To keep death daily before one's eyes. This is not some dark purpose to keep monks perpetually depressed . . . rather as that particular chapter of the Rule suggests it’s one of the “instruments of good works.” Saint Benedict knew, as well as the writer of the book of Sirach, that in the light of eternity the everyday squabbles that arise from living in community don’t really amount to much. If we can keep death before our eyes we might be able to “set enmity aside . . . and overlook faults” especially the faults of others. Forgiveness is not optional. As Jesus says:
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart (Mt 18:35).
The cup of blessing that we bless,
is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ?
The bread that we break,
is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?
Because the loaf of bread is one,
we, though many, are one Body,
for we all partake of the one loaf.
(1 Cor 14:16-17)
Our communion in the Body and Blood of Christ satisfies the deepest hunger of the human heart. And today as we celebrate the Most Holy Name of Mary, we remember her hymn of praise as she blesses the One who fills "the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty" (Lk 1:53).
Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 84)
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young—
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
I remember this day 19 years ago when I was on retreat at Saint Meinrad Seminary. After my session with my spiritual director, he told me that something had happened and that I should go directly to the television in the faculty lounge. It was terrible to watch in real time as reporters and the whole country tried to figure out exactly what was taking place. But the seminary had no problem . . . we knew just what to do. We all gathered in the chapel to pray. As the psalmist says: How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
“Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.
Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”
(Lk 6:36-38)
So many riches in the readings for today’s Mass! To be merciful just as our Father is merciful . . . well, that’s the secret of the saints! Which is why we remember with great devotion those who have followed the Way of Jesus. Of course, there are selfish, narcissistic people who are incapable of understanding self-sacrifice and who will stand at the tombs of saints and of those who laid down their lives for others and ask the question: “I don’t get it . . . what’s in it for them?” As people of faith, we “get it” and we know that giving of ourselves as the Lord gave himself for us all on the Cross is the full measure of devotion. As the Lord himself says: there is no greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13).
The photo today is from the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Belleau, France. The inscription on the cross reads: "To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die."
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
But woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
(Lk 6:24-25)
Most of us could probably come up with one or two of the Beatitudes if we had too . . . but the WOES? I don’t think so. We usually don’t spend much time on those. And perhaps that’s a mistake. When the church speaks about the preferential option for the poor, or when Pope Francis talks about a poor church, a church for the poor, we are entering into the mystery of the kingdom, and the secret of the saints. Saint Peter Claver came to Colombia to be a minister of the gospel, and what he found were the horrors of the slave trade. He dedicated the rest of his life to be a “slave to the slaves.”
Today’s picture is of the memorial to Saint Peter Claver (pictured with a slave) in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.
