Is the End Near? (33rd Sunday - Cycle C)

The Catholic liturgical year runs from the First Sunday of Advent to the Feast of Christ the King, which we will celebrate next Sunday. As we get close to the end of the liturgical year, the readings at Mass focus on the end of the world. Predicting when the world will end is something of a pastime in some parts of American culture. However, the Catholic Church has never tried to predict the time of the end of the world, since Christ has clearly told us that it is not for human beings to know when the world will end.

Instead, we are to live with the expectation that the world might end at any time, while still being focused on our day-to-day responsibilities. A good way to approach the question is with the Benedictine Latin motto "ora et labora," which means to pray and to work. We should pray as if we were about to die in any moment, as if Christ were to return right now. At the same time, we should work as if we were to live in this world indefinitely.

Read more...


Photo Credit: The Last Judgement by Fra Angelico from Wikimedia Commons.

Living With a Single-Minded Focus (25th Sunday - Cycle C)

One significant theme in the writings of the Old Testament prophets, a theme we see in this Sunday's first reading as well, is the condemnation of the exploitation of the poor. Dishonest business practices are immoral in any situation, but they are especially reprehensible when the people defrauded lose everything. Most people in ancient times lived in a subsistence-based agricultural economy, with very little margin to protect against starvation. The passage from Amos lists several business practices that were used by some unscrupulous merchants to take advantage of such vulnerable families. Then, once a family's livelihood was destroyed, those who exploited them could force them into slavery, causing them to work for the benefit of others on their own ancestral lands. Amos and the other prophets decried such exploitative practices in no uncertain terms.

The Psalm for this Sunday goes further. In this passage, we see the depiction of a new social order, in which the poor are lifted up and are seated with princes. We see the creation of a new social order without the stratified economic divisions that have characterized most societies in history, where birth determined one's economic condition for life. The fullness of the vision might only come to fruition in Heaven, but God wants us to strive for bringing about a more just society already here on earth.

Read more...


Photo Credit: Parable of the Unjust Steward by A. Mironov, from Wikimedia Commons.

The Cross Alone Gives Meaning In This Life (Exaltation of the Holy Cross - Cycle C)

This year, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross falls on a Sunday, the 24th in ordinary time. The feast supplants the regular Sunday readings and prayers, which very rarely happens. The change underscores just how deeply the Church honors the Holy Cross.

As we look at the feast, we see that the assigned Gospel Reading contains perhaps the single most famous passage from the Bible in American culture - John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." The passage is often quoted especially by fundamentalist and evangelical Christians and is a favorite verse to hold up on signs at sporting events. How does the Catholic Church interpret this passage?

Read more...

Photo Credit: Wayside cross in Baroña, Galicia, Spain, from Wikimedia Commons.

Why Did Jesus Speak of Hate? (23rd Sunday - Cycle C)

The message of the Gospel passage for this Sunday might seem shocking at first sight. What could Jesus possibly mean by this statement: "If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple" (Matthew 14:26)? Doesn't Jesus want us to love our families? Doesn't he want us to have a healthy sense of self-love? How should we interpret his words?

To understand his words in this passage, we need to bear in mind two important aspects of the society in which Jesus proclaimed the Gospel. Ancient Israelite culture relied greatly, as do many cultures today, on the use of hyperbole, which entails deliberate and often excessive exaggeration in order to drive a point home. The manner in which Jesus spoke very much reflected the conventions of his culture.

Read more...

Photo Credit: Conversion of St. Paul by Michaelangelo from Wikimedia Commons.

What Is Humility? (22nd Sunday - Cycle C)

Both the First Reading and the Gospel Reading for this Sunday teach about humility. The Greek philosopher Aristotle and later St. Thomas Aquinas, who drew upon his work, both saw virtues as the golden mean between two extremes. Humility can be seen as a virtue between the two extremes of self-absorption and self-hatred.

On the one hand, an exaggerated ego is clearly a vice. In this state, we make ourselves the center of the universe and consider our own wants and desires the most important thing in the world. Being egocentric is deadly for us because it closes us off from God's love and destroys our relationships with others in our lives.

Read more...

Photo Credit: Foot washing - Chapel of the Holy Sacrament - Basílica of Aparecida - Aparecida 2014 Wikimedia Commons.

Two Traps to Avoid (21st Sunday - Cycle C)

The Gospel reading for this Sunday warns against presumption. It is not enough to just claim to be Christian. It is not enough merely to say the words. Being a follower of Christ entails action, the reorienting of our entire lives, with Christ as our center.

There are at least two major ways that presumption can manifest itself. One is complacency. We begin with true dedication and enthusiasm. We follow Christ with a sense of excitement. But the danger is that, like the seed planted in shallow ground, we start to lose focus. We might still think that we are on the straight and narrow and are truly following Christ. But in reality, the word Christian no longer truly describes us. We might still be going through some motions, but when we are complacent, Christ is no longer central in our lives.

Read more...

Photo Credit: Храм Христа Спасителя, Cathedral of Christ the King from Wikimedia Commons.

Does Jesus Want Division? (20th Sunday - Cycle C)

Years ago, I heard a Jesuit mention in his homily that when he visited the headquarters of the Society of Jesus in Rome, he saw a life-size statue of Jesus with the Sacred Heart in an alcove. Under the statue was inscribed a verse from the Gospel Reading for this Sunday: "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!" (Luke 12:49) The priest said that he didn't know if it was an oversight or someone's idea of a bad joke, but right next to the alcove, someone had placed a fire extinguisher.

The priest went on to say that the unfortunate juxtaposition was a good illustration of what we tend to do with the Gospel. We have the powerful message of Christ, which is meant to fundamentally transform all of society, reshaping human life entirely. But we tend to domesticate the Gospel message, robbing it of its power, making sure that the message does not disturb our comfort too much. But the Gospel message is meant to upend everything in our lives, to transform our perspective on everything and reorder all of our interactions in life. The Gospel of Christ is not to be a simple veneer on an otherwise earthly life, but a force that transforms us from within.

Read more...

Photo Credit: Altar of the church of Libyan Martyrs in Minya from Wikimedia Commons.