28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 10, 2021

Who or what keeps me from loving God completely?

Mark 10:17–30

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.

You know the commandments: ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.’”

He replied and said to him, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.”

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”

The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

It is easier for a camel to pass through [the] eye of [a] needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.”

Peter began to say to him, “We have given up everything and followed you.”

Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.”

Music Meditations

• “Seek Ye First” (sung by Maranatha! Praise Band) [YouTube]
• “The Summons” (sung by Robert Kochis) [YouTube]
• “Be Thou My Vision” (sung by Fernando Ortega) [YouYube]

Opening Prayer

Jesus, you ask us to leave everything and to follow you. I think you mean all those things that insulate me from your love and from the love of others. Let me examine what is the one thing holding me back from freedom. I can walk away or I can ask you help me to deal with this stumbling block. Help me to see what is truly necessary and life-giving and to use whatever goods and talents I have for the purpose of loving. Help me to be free of those attachments, even to those I love, that hold me back, that weigh me down. Help me to set myself free to follow you.

Companions for the Journey

Adapted from “Living Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

Today we have the story of a rich man, that is, a man who believed he was rich or who believed that in his material wealth was his happiness. He was a well-meaning man. “Good Teacher, what must I do to share in everlasting life?” “You know the commandments,” says Jesus and then proceeds to list only those commandments which involve our relations with others, omitting those relating directly to God: not killing; not committing adultery; not stealing; not bearing false witness; not defrauding; respecting parents.

“I have kept all these things since I was young,” says the man. He was indeed a good man insofar as he did respect his parents and he did not do any of the sinful things mentioned.

Jesus looked at the man with a real love. This is not a love of affection or attraction. It is the love of agape, a love which desires the best possible thing for the other. This man was good but Jesus wanted him to be even better. So he said to him: “But there is one more thing: go and sell all you have and give to the poor. After that come and follow me.”

On hearing this, the man’s face clouded over. He walked slowly away full of sadness because he was very rich. Jesus had asked him for the one thing he could not give up. Jesus had asked for the one thing which the man believed showed he was specially blessed by God. He had not expected this. After he had gone Jesus looked at his disciples and said: “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” Now it was his disciples’ turn to be alarmed and shocked.

Their whole tradition believed that wealth was a clear sign of God’s blessings; poverty was a curse from God.

Jesus removes any misunderstanding on their part: “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.” In other words, quite impossible. This was really too much for them. “In that case,” they asked each other, “who can be saved?” If those who have done well in this life cannot be saved what hope can there be for the losers? It would take them time to learn the truth of Jesus’ words. And it is a lesson that many of us Christians still have to learn.

And we might ask, Why is it so difficult for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God? Is there something wrong with being rich? The answer depends on what meaning we give to ‘rich’ and to ‘Kingdom of God’.

A person at a lower middle class level in Europe or the United States may be extremely wealthy with the same resources if living in some African or Asian countries. Similarly a ‘rich’ peasant in a remote village may live a life that is primitive compared to a family on welfare in Europe.

When Jesus uses the word ‘rich’ he means a person who has more, a lot more, than those around him and especially when many of those around him do not have enough for their basic needs. For a person to cling to their material goods in such a situation, to enjoy a relatively luxurious standard of living while those around are deficient in food and housing is in contradiction to everything that Jesus and the Kingdom stand for.

And we need to emphasize that the ‘Kingdom of God’ here is not referring to a future life in ‘heaven’. Jesus is not saying that a rich person cannot go to heaven. He is concerned with how the rich person is living now. The Kingdom is a situation, a set of relationships where truth and integrity, love and compassion and justice and the sharing of goods prevail, where people take care of each other.

The man in the story said that he kept the commandments. One should notice that, except for one, all are expressed negatively. The man could observe several of them by doing nothing! Jesus was asking him to do something very positive, namely, to share his prosperity with his brothers and sisters in need. That he was not prepared to do. As such, he was not ready for the kingdom. He could not be a follower of Jesus. Nor can anyone else who is in a similar situation.

We might also add that the teaching applies not only to individuals but to communities and even nations. There are countries in the world today enjoying very high levels of prosperity with all kinds of consumer luxuries available while a very large proportion of the rest of the world lives mired in poverty, hunger, disease. It is one of the major scandals of our day. This is not a Kingdom situation and much of it is caused not by an uncaring God, or natural causes but by human beings who just refuse to share their surplus wealth. As someone has said, the really rich are those whose needs are the least.

A final reflection. We may feel that, in our society, we personally could by no stretch of the imagination be called rich and so the story does not apply to us. But we can cling to other things besides money. I might profitably ask myself today if there is anything at all in my life which I would find it very difficult to give up if God asked it of me. It might be a relationship, it might be a job or position, it might be good health.

To be a disciple Jesus means that he is asking me to follow him unconditionally, without any strings, ready to let go of anything and everything (although he may not actually ask me to do so). It is the readiness that counts. The man in the story did not even seem to have that. And still Jesus looked at him with love…

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

There is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• Who are some people I know who might fit this description of the rich young man?
• Has there been a time in my life when I found “getting and spending” no longer enough and yearned for something else to focus on?
• Why did Jesus tell him to sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor before following Jesus?
  What are the implications for us?
• Realistically speaking, do I think Jesus is asking everyone, including me, to give everything I have to the poor?
  How then, do I interpret this suggestion, for myself?
• In my desire to enter the kingdom, is there some one thing that I lack?
• What are some hindrances besides wealth that can keep us from following Jesus?
• In my daily life do I think of wealth or talent as a blessing?
  How has my wealth or talent been a blessing in my life?
  How can it be a distraction from our relationship to God?
  Why do I think Jesus seems to find wealth a problem?
• Are riches always condemned in the gospels?
  How can we reconcile our “riches” with God’s kingdom?
• Do I know people who seem to want to be sure that they will receive eternal life, or say that they know that they are saved?
  Do I feel that these people have a sense that they are guaranteed eternal life?
  Why is that so important to them?
  What, besides “keeping the rules” must we do to obtain eternal life?
• How does our consumer culture make it hard to say we have enough?
• Was I surprised at Jesus reaction to the rich young man’s refusal to do what He suggested?
  Have I ever been involved with someone who asked for advice, then refused to take it?
  How do we feel/react when people refuse to accept advice we give them “for their own good”?
• How does my family/society treat those who choose to turn their backs on wealth and success in order to, say, work with the poor or disenfranchised?
  Would my loved ones be happy or dismayed if I made such a choice?
  Or:
  Would I be happy if my child made such a choice?
• All normal people feel bad if they do something bad.
  Have I ever felt bad about something good I DID NOT do?
• If we focus on the eye of the needle, trying to drag our particular camel through it, do we see it is a pretty discouraging responsibility? So how do we deal with those issues?
• What is the difference between an invitation and a command?
  If I were the young man, how would I have reacted?
  What does that tell me about my own spiritual life?
• How can we as individuals respond to God’s powerful gift?
• Nothing is impossible for God. When we invoke God’s power on our behalf, what do we humans usually ask for?
  What does Jesus seem to be saying we ought to ask for?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

What do you think the phrase “Kingdom of God” means? We have to think about this a lot, because many were taught that the kingdom of God only refers to heaven—the afterlife. But a more complete reading of scripture holds two images of the kingdom in a sort of tension: it is a world in this life which mirrors God’s ultimate plan for everyone, a world of justice peace and love. It is also life with God where all of these thing are ultimately completed. Beyond this life. Today’s passage does manage to conflate the two ideas: The Kingdom of God is now and not yet. If we only focus on getting into heaven, then we squander all our energies just trying to stay out of sin. Exhausting! But trying to make a better world is not exactly easy either.

This is where we need God. So I ask myself:
Where in my spiritual life have I focused all my energies?
What attachments do I need to free myself from to be free to love as Jesus did?
What if I cannot be perfectly good or perfectly generous of my time and treasure?
Do I ask God’s help in this mighty endeavor of a lifetime?
Do I understand that no matter where I am in my journey, God is right there with me helping my drag my particular camels through a narrow passage we call the saintly life?

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Adapted from Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

I allow myself time to think about what Jesus loves about me. This is not attraction or friendship, this is AGAPE (a love that wants only the best for me, and is unconditional). I rest in the knowledge that anything Jesus hopes for me, wants for me is my happiness and joy—and I don’t move on until I do!

Jesus may show me the one thing that is holding me back from freedom. I can walk away or I can ask for help to deal with it.

Can I assure Jesus that I adhere to his basic commandments? If not, which one is most difficult for me right now?

Is Jesus asking more of me—a loving concern for my poorer neighbors that gives generously without counting the cost? Taking the extra time to talk to someone in my family or friend circle who is lonely—needy and maybe annoyingly so, yes, but also lonely? Jesus does not invite me to mediocrity. I need to challenge myself a little.

He asks everything but he does it with great love. What is Jesus asking of me right now? What is my answer? Do I realize he loves me no matter what my answer is?

Speak to Jesus about your response to his invitation; speak to him also about your recognition of his great love.

Poetic Reflection:

The rich young man was asked to “go further in”. What does Thomas Centollela (former Stegner fellow) say it means to do so?:

“At Big Rec”

A few hours spent in the dry rooms of the dying.
Then the walk home, and the sudden rain
comes hard, and you want it coming hard,
you want it hitting you in the forehead
like anointment, blessing all the days
that otherwise would be dismissed
as business as usual. Now you’re ready
to lean on the rail above the empty diamonds
where, in summer, the ballplayers wait patiently
for one true moment more alive than all the rest.
Now you’re ready for the ancient religion of dogs,
that unleashed romp through the wildness, responding
To no one’s liturgy but the field’s and the rain’s.
You’ve come this far, but you need to live further in.
You need to slip into the blind man for a while,
tap along with his cane past the market stalls
and take in, as if they were abandoned,
the little blue crabs which within an hour will be eaten.
You have to become large enough to accommodate
all the small lives that otherwise would be forgotten.
You have to raise yourself to the power of ten.
Love more, require less, love without regard
For form. You have to live further in.

Closing Prayer

Lord, your world is so wide, so big, and my heart is often so small, so narrow. Help me to focus less on sin and staying out of it, and more on love and staying in it.

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 26, 2021

Who is a true disciple; who is a false disciple?

Mark 9:38–43, 45, 47–48

John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.”

Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me.

For whoever is not against us is for us.

Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe [in me] to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.

And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.

And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,

where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’”

Music Meditations

• Make Me a Channel of Your Peace---Vincent Ramkhelawan
• Here I am, Lord---John Michael Talbot

Opening Prayer

Lord, open my eyes to all the good that is being done in your name, whether it be by people in my religious group, or by others. Help me to understand that discipleship is not a competition to prove that I and my religious cohorts are better, more faithful followers. May I show generosity of spirit in welcoming others to join in your mission to save all. I especially commend to you [a specific person], who is not of my religious tradition, but who is a powerful witness to your message.

Companions for the Journey

Commentary Gospel for 26 Sunday B by Walter Burghardt, S.J, in Lovely in Eyes Not His (1988, from a homily given at Georgetown 1985)

What might all of this say to you and me right now? Jesus’ incisive “cut it off” and Vatican II’s “penetrate [your world] with the spirit of the gospel”, how ought these twin commands of Christ and church shape your concrete experience?

First,” cut it off”. Forty-four years of priestly ministry have brought me profound joy and painful sadness. Joy because I have experienced thousands of you struggling day after day to live like Christ, to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Sadness because I have seen so many—dear friends and casual acquaintances—set up false gods, idols that controlled their lives, forced the living and true God into the background, ruined human relationships.

The strange gods have been several and seductive: pride or passion, work or play, lust for power or lure of beauty, another human person. Today, sociologists suggest, the strangest and strongest god might be myself, looking out for Number Out never a plaything. Absorbed in your work, but more preoccupied with, the god of [personal fulfillment] incarnate in megabucks. This is not just a green-eyed Jesuit envying your greenback future. Four years ago, a survey in Psychology Today revealed that, from their own responses, a central passion of men and women between 18 and 25 is money. In consequence, they are, in disturbing measure, sexually unsatisfied, in worsening health, worried and anxious, discontented with their jobs, and lonely as hell. And I’m afraid, at odds with the God who alone can give meaning to their lives. Not all, by any means, but enough to cause me deep distress.

All all-important question for each of us, including your homilist: What claims top priority in my case? What tops my Top Ten? Who or what rules my life? What sits up on that throne, commanding me “go!”, and I go, “Move!”, and I move, “Do this!”, and I do it? If it not in some way the God who made me, The God for whom I am made, I am in desperate straits; I had better get my Christian act together. There is no surer way to start than the simple question St. Paul asked after Jesus knocked him from his horse: “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10) I say: “Carry Christ”. Not by mounting a soapbox and spouting scripture. You carry Christ by being Christ. I mean fully human and, by God’s grace, more than human. Fully human, therefore attractive; more than human, therefore a challenge. Concretely a man of woman of flesh and blood, but of spirit and imagination as well. Liking who you are, but loving others as much as you love yourself. Open to all that is alive and life-giving, closed only to what deals in death. Sensuous and sensual and sexual. But always with reverence—sex indeed play, but never a plaything. Absorbed in your work, but even more preoccupied with people. Eager to get ahead, but not at the expense of God’s “little ones”, at the cost of community. Content to live in comfort, but uncomfortable as long as your brothers or sisters hunger for bread or justice or love. In love with God’s creation—persons and things—but more deeply in love with God himself. Critical of the Church, but poignantly aware that the Church is you, that the prophet Nathan can face you as he did the adulterous David:” You are the man” (2 Sam 12:17)

Good friends in Christ: across the centuries we Catholics have been accused of a nauseously negative approach to life on this side of the grave. And many of us lend warrant to such a charge; in religion we are “sad sacks”. Mass is an obligation, and the faith is an endless “don’t”. Lent means “give up”, and holiness says “cut it off”. For ages we have prayed to Mary: “To thee we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.”

Of course the cross is a constant in our lives; death in some form haunts us every day. But you are less than Catholic if you fail to see that “cut it off” is not mutilation but liberation: it frees you to love God with every fiber of your being… you are missing the depth and the thrill and the joy in Catholic living if you carry Christ only into Church, if you fail to carry him from Communion to the concrete and glass outside, to the condo and the slum, to the desk and your bed—in a word, to the men and women who people your days.

Love God above all else and you won’t have to calculate just how you carry Christ to your turf; it will be second nature, as easy as breathing. All you will need is to be yourself; for that self will be Christ. It may not be all fun—even Christ himself did not laugh on Calvary. But I can promise you a delight in human living that will only grow richer as you grow grayer, a fascination with your creation that will rival the breathless day when “God look on what He had shaped and behold it was very good”. (Gen 1:31)

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• Why does there seem to be competition between religious groups, or between certain members of our own religious group?
• Do we regard our Catholicism as some sort of personal privilege to be jealously guarded, refusing to acknowledge any good being done by those of another faith tradition?
• Too oft we think our church is right The other branches wrong It’s we! who spread the gospel light Who sing the one true song ( author unknown to me) Can we often be proprietary about our own religion, dismissing what good things others are doing, or good ideas others may have who are not part of our "tribe"?
• Do we assume that someone who is not speaking with specific approval from our religious authorities or institutions has nothing to say? Has anyone ever criticized our Church and been right?
• What is the difference between “Whoever is not against us is for us”, and “Whoever is not for us is against us.”? Which adage do we seem to follow in our present culture?
• In our personal secular lives, have we ever seen the negative effect of jealousy and possessiveness or the positive effect of being able to rejoice that good is being done, irrespective of the person who is doing it?
• How do we discern when someone is speaking or acting in God's name and when someone is merely self-promoting, or simply causing trouble to be provocative?
• How hard is it in our world to “empower” others and let go of the need for personal praise or gain?
• In Baptism we are anointed as priests and prophets. Do we believe this? Do we live it?
• How DO we preach? How ARE we disciples in our own little sphere of influence?
• Overemphasis on the sheer drama of this passage may lead us to forget that Jesus was about love… Basically, anything that denies or negates that love is not what Jesus wants us to embrace. Have you ever done something for someone and had its positive effects ripple out beyond your expectations? Have you ever done something negative to someone and had this action cause more damage than you ever intended?
• Can you think of anyone who has led others astray and caused great damage to Church or society?
• Is there anything in my life which I need to “cut out” in order to follow Jesus more closely?/li>
• When has my need for affirmation or self-gratification let to behaviors that hurt myself or others?
• Ignatius: Everything on earth is created by God to help us get close to him. What gets in the way? What gifts can be misused?

Catholic Community at Stanford’s Encounter Christ small group faith sharing offers the opportunity to meet and reflect with others on questions like these as well as other aspects of the journey of faith.

Meditations

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship/Memory:

I think of those in my own life who have been an example to me, or who have nurtured my growth and development. Did their religion matter? Why or why not? Who, besides those of my own religious tradition, were mentors and advisors to me? Have I ever let any of them know how much they changed my life for the better? Have there been others from whom I learned how to be more Christ-like, even if they did not know they were mirroring Christ for me? Do you think there is anyone in your life new for whom you might be an example or a mentor? Do I ever stop and appreciate the good deeds done by others? Have I ever acknowledged that to them?

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Adapted from “Sacred Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits: Jesus noes not jealously protect his power. Rather, He empowers others, or whatever religion or none, and whether they know it or not. He even says that his followers will do greater things than he has done (John 14:12) Do we ever need this reminder? Does it warn me against thinking that I, or my group, have a corner on God’s grace? When I see others doing good or tackling evil, and just because they are “not following us”, do I feel a proprietary resentment? Do I understand that the salvation of the world is collaborative event and not given to one group alone? How can I overcome my narrowness of heart and jealousy of the good others do?

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

Read the gospel story of the Good Samaritan, (Lk 10:29-37) putting yourself in the place of the outcast who stopped to help a stranger from another culture. How did you feel when you saw this severely wounded person who clearly was a Jew –someone who traditionally hated people like you? Were you tempted to pass him by? What led you to stop and help? Were others around you looking at you strangely, such as the innkeeper suspicious of your motives when you brought this bedraggled stranger to his door? What led you to go the extra distance and leave money for the stranger’s care? Now, imagine you are one of Jesus’ audience listening to this story. Does it make you irritated or even angry that he makes a hero out of someone from group of people that are considered enemies of God and enemies of Israel by those in your culture? Do you believe such a story is possible, or does it seem like a tall tale or purely provocative teaching to you? How do you feel when he discusses the callousness or religious scrupulosity of “your own? Does this parable simple make you angry, does it close your mind to what Jesus is teaching, or are you provoked onto looking at “the other” differently? In your own life, have you ever run into religious and sincere people who clearly have nothing good to say about what is being done in the name of Jesus? Have you ever fallen into the trap of slyly belittling the good works done by another tradition, as if it were a competition between Roman Catholicism and all other religions?

Poetic Reflection:

Here are two poems roundly criticizing the smugness of those who think their religious tradition and beliefs are better than others. What do they seem to say about how God views them and those of us who sometimes think we have a corner on the truth and on God’s regard?

“The Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls”

the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls  are unbeautiful and have comfortable minds (also, with the church’s protestant blessings  daughters, unscented shapeless spirited)  they believe in Christ and Longfellow, both dead, are invariably interested in so many things— at the present writing one still finds  delighted fingers knitting for the is it Poles? Perhaps. While permanent faces coyly bandy scandal of Mrs. N and Professor D  .... the Cambridge ladies do not care, above  Cambridge if sometimes in its box of  sky lavender and cornerless, the  moon rattles like a fragment of angry candy

—e.e.cummings

“The Hippopotamus”

The broad-backed hippopotamus  Rests on his belly in the mud;  Although he seems so firm to us  He is merely flesh and blood.

Flesh-and-blood is weak and frail,  Susceptible to nervous shock;  While the True Church can never fail  For it is based upon a rock.

The hippo's feeble steps may err  In compassing material ends,  While the True Church need never stir  To gather in its dividends.

The 'potamus can never reach  The mango on the mango-tree;  But fruits of pomegranate and peach  Refresh the Church from over sea.

At mating time the hippo's voice  Betrays inflexions hoarse and odd,  But every week we hear rejoice  The Church, at being one with God.

The hippopotamus's day  Is passed in sleep; at night he hunts; God works in a mysterious way --  The Church can sleep and feed at once. I saw the 'potamus take wing  Ascending from the damp savannas,  And quiring angels round him sing  The praise of God, in loud hosannas.

Blood of the Lamb shall wash him clean  And him shall heavenly arms enfold,  Among the saints he shall be seen  Performing on a harp of gold.

He shall be washed as white as snow,  By all the martyr'd virgins kist,  While the True Church remains below  Wrapt in the old miasmal mist.

 

—T.S. Eliot

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 19, 2021

What it means to be first in the Kingdom of God

Gospel: Mark 9:30–37

They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

Music Meditations

• “The Summons” (sung by Robert Kochis) [YouTube]
• “The Servant Song” (sung by Maranatha! Vocal Band) [YouTube]
• “Baba Yetu” (music by Christopher Tin; words by Chris Kiagiri) [YouTube]
  Christopher Tin is a Stanford alum. The words of the song are a Swahili adaptation of the Lord’s Prayer. The song was composed for the video game “Civilization IV”.

Opening Prayer

Jesus, keep me innocent and trusting of you and others… Help me to view everyone as beloved, as you did. Give me wisdom to discern what matters and who matters in my life. I lift up my prayers to you for all those who feel lost and abandoned, all those in pain and sorrow… [think of and name those specific people for whom you especially pray]. Lord, keep my eyes open for opportunities to serve.

Companions for the Journey

From Living Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

Commentary on Mark 9:30-37

Jesus was now spending more time with his disciples alone and teaching them. He was teaching them things that the crowds were not yet ready to hear. As we will see, his disciples were not too ready either.

Today we have the second of three predictions of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection which he communicates to his disciples. On each occasion, the pattern is exactly the same:

1. a prediction of what is going to happen to Jesus
2. total lack of comprehension of the meaning of what Jesus is saying on the part of the disciples
3. a teaching of Jesus arising out of their lack of understanding.

The prediction is stated simply:

• Jesus will be “handed over into the hands of others”. This is the standard term used many times. John the Baptist is handed over; Jesus is handed over; the disciples later on will be handed over; and, in the Eucharist, the Body of Jesus is handed over for our sakes (“This is my Body, which will be handed over [tradetur] for you”).
• he will be put to death
• three days later he will rise again.

They arrive in Capernaum and, in the house, Jesus asks them a question. (Once again we have a reference to the “house” with overtones of the church, the place where God’s people gather, as they do here to listen to the Word of God.) Jesus asks his disciples what seems an innocuous question: “What were you arguing about on the road?”

Here we have another important word of Mark’s: “road” (Greek, hodos, ’odos). In the context of the Gospel it has theological overtones. Jesus is the Way or the Road and Christians are those who walk on this Way or Road. The disciples arguing then has implications about Christians arguing among themselves as they follow Christ ‘on the road’.

Jesus’ question is met with an embarrassed silence because they had been arguing among themselves which of them was the greatest. The minute the question was asked they knew they were in the wrong. Why were they arguing about this? I once heard it suggested that, as Jesus had now for the second time announced his coming death, they were beginning to accept the possibility of it really happening. They began to wonder what would happen to them as a group without Jesus. Who would be in charge? Which of them had the best qualifications? Hence their argument. If that was the case, then Jesus’ question was even more embarrassing. They could hardly say, “Well, we were wondering which one of us would take over when you are no longer with us.”

Jesus, of course, knew exactly what was going on in their minds so he gave them some guidelines if they wanted to be truly his followers. “If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.” This is quite a hard saying and most of us find it difficult to put fully into practice. It is, of course, totally in opposition to what goes on in the secular world where “success” means being on top, being in charge, being in control, calling the shots.

Yet, who are really the greatest people in our society? Is it not those, especially those who are especially talented intellectually or in other ways, who use their talents totally for the well-being of others to the point of even sacrificing their lives?

Apart from the obvious example of Jesus himself, we have many of the great saints. In our own times we have marvelous people like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Oscar Romero, Jean Vanier, Mother Teresa. It is a long list but they all have one thing in common: they put themselves totally at the service of their brothers and sisters. Success, promotion, status, material wealth, executive power meant nothing to these people. They served and in serving was their power, a power which inspires in a way that no mere politician or business tycoon or dictator could ever do.

To serve is not to be submissive or weak; it is not putting oneself on a lower level than those being served. It is simply to be totally committed to the good of others and to find one’s own well-being in being so committed.

Jesus then takes a little child, as a symbol of all those who are vulnerable, weak and exploitable. Children are used by Jesus as symbols of the anawim, the lowly and weak in our society. They are the ones who are most of all to be served and protected and nurtured. In so doing one is recognizing the presence of Jesus and the presence of God in them.

As Christians, we have much to be proud of in our record of service to our brothers and sisters, especially those who are weak and vulnerable. But we also have to confess that within our Church and in our dealings with the “world” we have had our fair share of hungering for power, status and position. And we have so often argued bitterly with each other “on the Road”, about just such things.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• What does Jesus’ willingness to endure whatever came his way do to help us through some miserable times in our own lives?
  What are the up-sides and the down-sides of ambition?
• In our culture, how much do we dwell on what makes us different, separate, better than those around us?
  What is the role of ambition in our spiritual life?
  What does it mean to cultivate “downward mobility”?
• Thomas Merton said; “No person enters heaven alone.” What does that mean in terms of our own spiritual development?
• Is spirituality a competition for some as well?
  How does it manifest itself?
  Do I know anyone who is a spiritual braggart?
  How do we avoid it?
• How does one “wish to be last”?
• Walter Burghardt, S.J. wrote a homily on the occasion of the jubilee celebrations (50 years) of several priests. In it, he defined a true priest as a man of joy, a man for others, and a man of prayer.
  Do I know any priest who fits this description?
  Do I know any non-priest who does so?
  Do I fit this description? Which quality is the hardest for me?
• To be disciple means more that spreading Christ’s message; it means living his life. Where am I on the road to discipleship?
• Do I live to serve the gospel?
• Am I willing to suffer humiliation to become a servant of Jesus?
  Have I ever made someone feel “lesser” because of the way I related to him or her?
  Was I aware of it at time?
  How can I avoid the habit of viewing people on a scale and consciously or unconsciously competing with them?
• What is the cost of being “a servant of all”, which can also be translated “deacon”?
  How do we view deacons in our church?
  How has the term “servant of all” been used against women historically?
• How does our call to social justice find resonance in this gospel?
• From “First Impressions” 2021:
  What “Christian Servant” Role am I currently involved in?
• What is the role of openness to God’s plan (another word: obedience) in being a servant of the Lord? How hard is this?
• Walter Burghardt says faithful servanthood is a movement from a person to a person through a person. It is making it easier for a man or woman to live a more human, a more Christian existence. How, exactly, does that play out in our lives?
• Why did Jesus choose to focus on children in this passage?
  What was the position of children in the ancient middle east? What is the role in our culture?
  Does the difference affect how we hear this passage?
  What does the tragedy in our own country of children ripped from their parents at the border tell us about how well, as a people, we listen to Jesus?
• How does the notion of children as powerless extend to all those in this world who lack power and are at the mercy of others (anawim)?
  Name some people who have worked and given up much to serve those without power.
  What is my personal obligation to the powerless, here and now?
• What, as a Church, do we owe our children?
  What do we do as a Church to welcome children?
  What have we done as a Church to marginalize children? To hurt some of them?
• What is my “inner child”? How do I honor that?
  Do I really accept and nurture the child within myself?
• Do I ever try to “tame” the gospel so it is not uncomfortable or threatening?

Catholic Community at Stanford’s Encounter Christ small group faith sharing offers the opportunity to meet and reflect with others on questions like these as well as other aspects of the journey of faith.

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Read the following passage from Sunday’s Letter of James (an early Christian author). How does it mirror the sentiments of the gospel? Does any of it apply to you? Speak to Jesus about your desires to live as He would want you to.

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Examen:

Spend some time this week, just before bed, going over the events of the day and making a little “Examination of Consciousness”. First, become present to God in your life right this moment. How aware were you of God in your life today? Take time to give thanks for all the good thinks that happened, however small. Like a child, revel in small things like sunshine or cool weather, for a text from someone you care about, for simply being alive. Did you receive any kindness from anyone today? Did you extend kindness to anyone today? Is there anything you did which might reflect your understanding of yourself as a “servant of the Lord”? Reflect on even the smallest details of your day, including any slights, hurts or failures that might have occurred. What did you learn about yourself from those experiences? Be sure to thank God for them, as well. Throughout the week, in each prayer experience, be sure to reflect on gratitude as a spirit building mindset, and reflect also on one habit of the heart you might wish to cultivate this week in order to be the person Jesus calls you to be.

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Adapted from Songs of Life: Psalm Meditations from the Catholic Community at Stanford by Anne Marchand Greenfield, 2004:

In New Seeds of Contemplation, Thomas Merton said:

I am thinking of the particular unreality that gets into the hearts of saints and eats their sanctity away before it is mature. There is something of this worm in the hearts of all religious people. As son as they have done something which they know is good in the eyes of God, they tend to take its reality to themselves and make it their own. They tend to destroy their virtues by claiming them for themselves and clothing their own private illusion of themselves with values that belong to God.

The saints are what they are not because their sanctity makes them admirable to others, but because the gift of sainthood makes it possible for them to admire everybody else.

I write my own letter to God in my journal, thanking God for my own particular spiritual gifts, but being very careful not to think those gifts make me better than others. Talk to God about the ways in which you want to avoid comparing yourself to someone else, good or bad.

Poetic Reflection:

How does the following poem from the Rev. Ed Ingebretsen, S.J. illustrate the difficulty of responding to the question “Who do You say that I am”?

“Lonely Christ”

Lonely Christ
I pray to you.
You are a puzzle to me
as those I love
always are.

My soul is at odds
with the words.
What mad reach of mine
touches any thread of you?
Or what of mine, arms or eyes,
ever shares with people
where they may lie—
as they always do—
in a hard place!

What of mine shall make good
their taking of a breath,
their rising, caring, feeding
their sleeping in fear—
what shall make good
their slight faith,
their enormous promises
made in iron
for a child, man, a woman—

what of mine shall be with the people
as they caress a special grief
fondled again and again
In bludgeoned love?

What do I bring
with which to clutch
the merest hint of your shadow?

Closing Prayer

Lord, you know my heart; you know its generosity and its venality. Help me to notice the thinking patterns in myself what wish to deny reality. Help me to face life squarely and honestly, as you did. Help me also to avoid the temptation to vie with others for your attention and the attention of the world. Help me to be an island of healing and calm when there is squabbling and backbiting among those I love or those with whom I work. Make me an instrument of peace, not competitiveness.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 12, 2021

Who do I say Jesus is and what does that mean for me?

Gospel: Mark 8:27–35

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.

He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”

Music Meditations

• “Jesus” (by Chris Tomlin) [YouTube]
• “In Christ Alone” (composed by Keith Getty, Stuart Townend) [YouTube]
• “The Summons” (John L. Bell) [YouTube]
• “Psalm 116: In the Presence of God” (Tom Kendzia) [YouTube]

Opening Prayer

From Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

Lord, when I fail to understand your ways, don’t lose hope in me. May I heed your call to ‘get behind you’ like a good disciple following the master… Strengthen me in times of suffering: may I patiently bear unavoidable suffering, as you did. May I believe that what I endure helps the suffering of the world.

Companions for the Journey

From Jude Siciliano, O.P. (First Impressions, 2000):

I was riding behind a shiny BMW recently, a sleek model of high-priced engineering. There was a bumper sticker on it that said, “Jesus is my co-pilot.” So what did that tell me? With Jesus as a co-pilot would this driver (and the gorgeous car) never get in an accident? Judging from the sticker this person was obviously a Christian. Was the implied message that if you believe in Jesus you will be successful? If I really believed, would life be prosperous and I too afford such a car? A bumper sticker might proclaim a person’s faith or even give the name of the congregation in which the car owner worships, but it doesn’t quite say it all. It doesn’t come anywhere near saying how the person-of-the-bumper-sticker lives his or her faith; what sacrifices are they willing to make for their beliefs? It takes a lot of faith to believe, as the Servant in the first reading professes, “the Lord God is my help, who will prove me wrong?” When we are trying to do the right things in Jesus’ name, we may get little recognition or popular acclaim. It’s even tougher to believe when following God’s ways puts us at odds with those around us. Isn’t God supposed to “bless” those who believe with visible signs of approval? It’s hard to find proof of that reward and assured success in today’s readings.

A twenty-seven-year-old woman recently made a serious life-altering decision. Though she had been raised by nominal Catholic parents and rarely went to church while in high school, she says she felt something “tugging at my soul.” So, while away at a state university, she started attending Sunday mass at the campus chapel. She was attracted by the dynamic pastoral team she met there, a priest, sister and lay minister. She loved the music, and the preaching she heard touched her, “I felt as if my soul was a parched desert and every time I went to church I found fresh water for my thirst”. At first her participation was on again, off again, but little by little, her faith life began to heat up. In her sophomore year she went with the pastoral team and 30 other students on a weekend retreat. That retreat was a turning point and it became the core experience out of which some important future decisions were made. After her graduation she got a job in a city far from home. First thing she did was to seek out a local church. Soon she became a volunteer religion teacher for the 4th Grade. The more she taught, the more she learned and the deeper became her commitment to faith and the parish community. She had been dating a young man for about a year and though he had many features she admired, she realized his ambitions were contrary to her values and he did not share her belief in Jesus and her commitment to her church community. She decided to end the relationship; she says she wants more in a potential life partner.

She was planning this Sunday’s religion class. This gospel was to be the focus of her class. “But it had a very personal meaning for me,” she said. “I see this gospel as an expression of my life. I have had to make a very painful decision. I had to deny myself a possible husband and a comfortable life. In some ways, I am ‘losing my life’ to follow Christ. But I really believe I will gain my life in the long run, not just in the after-life, but in this life as well. I believe my life will be deeper and richer because of the choices I am making. It’s just that it is a cross right now, because the decision to end my relationship with N. has been very painful. I feel very lonely and it hurts.”

Our life in faith will most likely run counter to the prevailing wisdom. Peter expresses that “wisdom”—no one should have to suffer. For the follower of Jesus, life should be smooth. If Jesus is who he says he is, all his followers should be in for a good time, royal positions and prestige. But Jesus will have none of that. To follow him is to run counter to the prevailing wisdom of our age. Just ask the young woman what the costs are. Ask the couple, married 35 years, who have spent so much energy to make their marriage work. Ask the business person who follows his/her principles even when it costs a quick profit. Ask the doctor who spends extra time to get to know her patients even though it will affect her bottom line. Ask the high school kid who stays friends with an unpopular classmate. Ask the repair person who takes care to really repair that copier, those brakes, or that sink—and who charges an honest fee for labors.

Jesus summons the crowd—all of us—to hear what he has to say. Are our ears open? He does not lay a guilt trip on them or us. He is not threatening us with God’s wrath if we don’t follow him… “Follow me; do as I say or you will all be destroyed!” Rather, the invitation is broadcast widely, like the sower of seeds (4:1-9). Anyone is invited to hear and follow him. “WHOEVER wishes to come after me…” There’s the free choice and also a clear statement of what it will cost, “deny self and take up your cross and follow me.”

Sounds like the cross will be particular to each person, “his cross, her cross.” Each of us is asked to make particular sacrifices, painful choices in our following Jesus. We ask ourselves during this liturgy and afterwards, “In my life, what choices are before me? What or who is my guide as I make these choices?” With [re-election, recall and voters’ rights] rhetoric heating up in this country, the choices we make for our elected officials may be for people who will protect our own vested interests. That would seem to be the prevailing “wisdom.” But maybe, we need a broader perspective. We may even have to choose ways that might not benefit us as much, but will help a group in more need with less political voice than we have.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Get you behind me, Satan

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• If Jesus were to ask me “Who do you say that I am?”, how would I answer?
• Do I see Jesus in those around me—in the poor, in annoying relatives or friends, in the neediness/greediness in every person I meet?
• What does the word “Messiah” mean? (hint: in Hebrew it did not mean God)
  What did Jesus as Messiah model for Peter and the others?
• Is it hard to hear when someone predicts bad fortune for himself or herself and I know they are right?
  How do I respond?
• Another word for Satan is “tempter”. How was Peter tempting Jesus, even without realizing it?
  Have I ever been in a situation when someone tried to get me to live in denial about a reality I had to face?
• Simon and Garfunkel wrote in a song; “a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”.
  What did Peter want to hear from Jesus?
  What do I want to hear from Jesus?
• Peter wanted to manage Jesus… Do I seek to limit the role Jesus has in my life, preferring to tell him what I want or need rather than to follow?
• How does Jesus’ belief that death is not the end influence his actions?
  Do I think Jesus ever had any second thoughts?
  Do I believe, really believe, that death is not the end?
  How does my belief that death is not the end influence my actions?
• Is there a redemptive role in suffering?
  What is the difference between suffering what fate or others causes for me and suffering that is self-inflicted?
  Should we seek to suffer?
• When I feel weak, confused or adrift, do I experience God with me or absent?
  During those periods where do I turn for help?
• Fr. Walter Burghardt, S.J. said in a homily long ago that he doesn’t “think” as much as he used to about who Jesus is—in other words theology has to move out of the head and into the heart, and then into all that we do. In what stage of my relationship to Jesus do I find myself (head, heart, or action)?
• Adapted from Walter Burghardt, S.J.:
  “Who do you say that I am?” How do we Catholics answer?
  Here are three ways to explore answers to that question: (which is easiest; hardest?)
  Creed: What do we believe about Jesus?
  Cult: How we worship Jesus
  Code: How we live out the message of Jesus
• Doing the right thing doesn’t guarantee we’ll succeed. It’s not about success, but about being faithful.
  But how can we be faithful when suffering is the price we sometimes must pay for doing what is right?
  What will keep us from yielding and turning in another direction?
• Why do the good suffer?
  Where does God play out in our lives in terms of suffering?
• What is our culture’s attitude toward suffering?
  What is my attitude?
• When Jesus turns his attention from the crowds who follow him to instructing his personal followers and friends, his disciples, he has a sobering message: “Whoever wants to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”
  How often do we avoid thinking about or dealing with this sentence in this gospel?
• Does following Jesus involve any suffering/pain for people?
• What life choices might be the hardest for people to make?
  Have I ever suffered or been penalized for doing what was right?
• What part of my life might I have to “lose” to follow Jesus? Why?
• If I were to ask Jesus “Who do you say I am?”, how do I think he would answer?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

Adapted from a publication called “Devotions for Lent with Mary Oliver”:

Start with this excerpt from “In Blackwater Woods”, and read it once a day for a week:

Every year everything I have ever learned in my lifetime leads back to this: the fires and the black river of loss whose other side is salvation, whose meaning none of us will ever know, To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones Knowing your own life depends upon it; and, when the time comes to let it go, Let it go.

Then begin each day this week by lighting a candle of salvation, praying, “God of grace, help me to love what is mortal. Help me to hold on to what needs to be embraced, let go of what needs to be let go—and have the wisdom to know the difference.”

Experiment with a “letting go” fast this week, creating little sanctuaries of Sabbath time. Try fasting from technology for an hour, a day, or for the whole week; try fasting from conversations that keep you rooted in old grudges or crippling nostalgia; try fasting from mindless and repetitious chores, either manual or mental, that seem to keep you stuck.

Reach out to someone living an “all-in” life of service and thank them for their commitment and inspiration. Try to learn from them what motivates and sustains them try to learn from them ways that you can help. Get out of your “yourself-and-family-and-career” absorption rut.

On a beautiful piece of paper to save, using your most decorative handwriting and pens, make a list of what you need to embrace and release in order to love and live more fully. Put it where you will see it each day. Perhaps expand on these thoughts in personal prayer or in a personal journal this week.

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

From A Retreat with Thomas Merton by Anthony Padovano, p.10

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

In his book Thoughts in Solitude Merton reveals that he is unsure about the journey, that he cannot see clearly ahead, that he does not know for certain where the journey will end or who he himself is.

When Merton wrote these words he had lived through seventeen years of monastic discipline and contemplative prayer as a Cistercian. It is helpful for us to reflect that if such a man could be confused or insecure, there is little reason to blame ourselves for our own perplexity.

Pause now and in silence consider these points: 1. To know the outcome of the journey is to trust God less. 2. If the Spirit leads us, the journey is not ours alone. 3. A journey of clarity and ease cannot reach a God of mystery and love. 4. The experience of uncertainty brings us closer to our companions on the journey. 5. No matter how unsettling the journey may be at times, God will not permit us to be lost.

Literary Reflection:

Does this poem by Father Michael Kennedy, SJ. from “First Impressions”, 2009, strike a chord?

“No, Of Course Not”
(24th Sunday ordinary time)

When they were Giving Jesus an update On the gossip about who The Master might be the Discussion ended when Peter Gave that great answer that He was clearly the Messiah And after smiles all around The mood changed after He said that the Son of Man would suffer and Be killed and rise After three days But it got worse After Peter opened his Mouth and began to rebuke The Master for suggesting That the vision put out There by the Lord was Too negative showing a Trait that continues to Plague believers today Since we do not want To deal with pain And suffering even Though we pay Lip service to it For if we were Honest we would admit We were not sure that This Guy was not kidding For we want to believe that He did not mean that stuff About suffering and death He couldn’t have could he? No, of course not

Closing Prayer

Adapted from the Irish Jesuits and Thomas Merton:

Lord, your question to the disciples echoes down the centuries, and I hear it now addressed to me. Strengthen the bonds between us. Help me to see you in the others around me. Keep me close behind you as I pick up the crosses and burdens that come from being your disciple.

[Think of one or more specific people who are carrying particular burdens right now and pray for God to help you lighten them.]

Help me to remember that you will never leave me to face my burdens alone.

Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, August 15, 2021

Mary’s Assumption was a gift

As the mother of Our Lord, she always thought of others, even when it was difficult. We are to do likewise.

First Reading: Revelation 11:19a; 12:1–6a, 10ab

God’s temple in heaven was opened,
and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.
A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.
Then another sign appeared in the sky;
it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns,
and on its heads were seven diadems.
Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky
and hurled them down to the earth.
Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth,
to devour her child when she gave birth.
She gave birth to a son, a male child,
destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.
Her child was caught up to God and his throne.
The woman herself fled into the desert
where she had a place prepared by God.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have salvation and power come,
and the Kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed.”

Gospel: Luke 1:39–56

During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.
He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.
He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Music Meditations

• “Holy Is His Name” (composed by John Michael Talbot) [YouTube]
• “Ave Maria” (Franz Biebl; sung by Chanticleer) [YouTube]
• “Ave Maria” (Rachmaninoff; sung by University of Praetoria Camerata) [YouTube]
• “How Can I Keep From Singing?” (sung by Enya) [YouTube]

Opening Prayer

Lord, give me an intimate knowledge of the many gifts I have received at your hands. May I show my gratitude by using those gifts in service to the poor, the lonely, the sick, the bereaved. [Take a moment to think of and pray for one or more specific people.]

Companions for the Journey

Liturgical Note:

History of the Solemnity: Soon after the council of Ephesus (431) proclaimed Mary to be Theotokos, the Bearer of God, a feast of her “dormition” or death began to spread. Within a few centuries, the church in Rome began observing this feast, which came to be known as the Assumption. At the first National Synod of the American church (1791), the nation was placed under the patronage of Mary with the title of the Assumption. The cathedral of the diocese of Baltimore, at that time the See for the whole country, was given the same name. In 1950, Pope Pius XII defined the Assumption as dogma. At that time, he listed the benefits that should flow from this proclamation: a stronger piety towards Mary, a more universal conviction on the value of human life devoted to God’s will, a repudiation of the materialism that diverts body and soul from their lofty goal, and “Finally, it is our hope that belief in Mary’s bodily Assumption into heaven will make our belief in our own resurrection stronger and render it more effective.” The images of the feast reflect its history. In its earliest form, the day focused on the paschal mystery as expressed in the death of Mary. Making her entrance into heaven explicit was the second stage, with language about a triumphal procession, a bridal march and Mary’s bodily assumption later added a third layer of texts for the feast. Liturgy today: Recent history has focused strongly on the bodily assumption of Mary. The readings for the vigil and the day, however, suggest a stronger focus on Mary’s share in the paschal mystery, and on our own share in the same mystery.

(From Lawrence Mick in Sourcebook for Sunday and Seasons: An Almanac of Parish Liturgy, 1995 Year C. (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publication, 1995) page 188.)

From Fr. Jude Siciliano O.P., in “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province, 2021:

It isn’t often that we get a reading from Revelation in our lectionary selections. Perhaps your biblical reading doesn’t include Revelation as well. Here is a chance to do something about that, so I will focus on the first reading and add some notes I found helpful about this feast. When I did prison ministry at San Quentin in California, I was struck by how many of the inmates who read the bible favored the Book of Revelation. What was it that they found so attractive in its exaggerated and stark symbolism--- in a biblical book that most Christians seem to avoid? I came to realize they were drawn to its description of the harsh struggle between good and evil that permeates the entire book. They found it comforting to hope that the larger punishing system in which they lived would someday be overthrown, with all the powers of the world. This was reassuring news both to the early Christians suffering under the Roman persecutions and the men in North Bloc at San Quentin. It is reassuring news for all of us who struggle against the powers of “the dragon” in our world. Another attraction for the inmates, it seemed to me, was that they believed they knew the code; that they could figure out the symbols and metaphors so prevalent in Revelation. Somehow, they felt part of an inner circle with special knowledge---everyone else was outside that circle. They even used this “knowledge” as a way of feeling superior to those in their same situation. But whatever misinterpretation they may have made of Revelation, you could understand their attraction to this book of visions and prophecies. The book speaks to people suffering under extreme external pressures. The early Christians, for whom this book was written, were being forced to venerate the Emperor. Not to do so had, not only religious ramifications, but political as well. Christians were asked to choose one Lord to serve--- a choice had to be made. If they chose in favor of their Christian belief, they paid for it with their lives. Revelation is not an abstract book of fantastic imagery and other-worldly events. It was written to help Christians remain faithful and to offer reassurance that the Lamb (or as in today’s reading, the child) would be triumphant.

Is it any easier for us to believe and for our faith to flourish? A casual perusal of just this day’s newspaper tells us of still more climate- related disasters: floods, fire, hurricanes; a virus that seems to defy efforts to contain it; political animosity and unrest in our country as well as many other countries around the world; countless migrants fleeing violence and extreme poverty. We have to ask the question, “Who is in charge here anyway?” We look around the world and are shocked by the scale of evil we see. Which force will win out? Are we believers on the side that will prevail or is our seeming small human effort going to pale into insignificance before the “red dragon with its 7 heads and horns”? Revelation intends to assure us that goodness will win. Like the early Christians we may be tempted to drop out of our faith commitments in the light, allure and power of the opposing forces. Who is the Sovereign we Christians follow? God is and we want and can be faithful to the biblical God of justice—the One who will set things right. Revelation then, invites us to set our gaze, not on our hardships and calamities but on God. The power of the beast is awesome, its tail sweeps away a third of the stars in the sky. But the child being born is protected by God and will triumph.

While there is no secret code to this book to help us in its interpretation, the language does appeal to our imagination and makes it possible to interpret it in many ways. The struggle is clear and the threat of evil, devouring all that is good, is real and very ominous. A new people, the Christian community, are being born amid great pain and struggle. But despite the threats to its existence, the child is caught by God and is safe. No bible reader could miss the allusions to the Hebrew scriptures. Just as the God of the Jewish people protected them, so God continues to protect the new people of God. God’s Word is not past tense, but actively protecting and recreating the community for which Jesus gave his life.

The community John has in mind is experiencing extreme hostility. They are being encouraged through this book to trust that God knows their plight and will come to their rescue. Evil shall not triumph. It is no wonder then, that on this feast of the Assumption, this reading is linked to Mary’s “Magnificat.” Mary’s rejoices in the saving work of God, “scattering the proud...casting down the mighty from their thrones....” Here biblical faith, expressed in two different forms, voices the same hope in God. John is not writing a prediction of specific future events, as some today claim, but is trying to encourage and console Christians in his day for their very present suffering. He writes to help them and us keep faithful and to assure us that God’s rule and justice will prevail.

The church celebrates the Assumption of Mary today. We see in her a model for our faith. We too give birth to Christ in our world. We are reminded that though Christ suffered, he has been kept safe by God, to whom he has returned and will come to bring us all to that place of protection and life. So, the dragon is not triumphant. The Christian is ready to say in the midst of the battle against evil’s many manifestations, “Now have salvation and power come.” The God of our assurance is offering that assistance to us now in our present struggle.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• How did Mary wait for the coming of Jesus into her life?
  How do I?
• Do you think Mary traveled to her cousin’s house to give support or seek support, or both?
  Have I proactively gone to support someone when (s)he needed it, even though I might not have been asked?
  What are the dangers of offering support when I have not been asked to do so?
  What are the blessings?
• Have I ever been bursting with good news and needed to share that good news with someone?
• Have I ever sought support from someone whose experience was similar to mine?
  Did it help?
• Do I believe that every time I meet another person I can bring God’s joy to them?
  Do I try to do so?
• Do I think that “The Magnificat” reflects my relationship to God?
  What has God done for me?
  Where have I experienced God’s mercy?
  Am I collaborating with God to fill the hungry with good things?
• What is the role of belief in dealing with my own issues and with the issues of someone I am trying to help?
• Abraham Joshua Heschel reminds us that the question of religion is not what we do with our solitude, but what we do with the presence of God among us. What does my sense of religion move me to do?
• Why do YOU think Mary was assumed into heaven—because she bore Jesus or something else?
  Do I believe that I will be in heaven with all my loved ones?
• Does my belief in God’s love for me make it possible for me to share my life with others, to enjoy life and to help other do so?
• How is Mary an inspiration for me as I navigate the challenges of life?
• Adapted from “Sacred Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits:
  The feast of the Assumption recognizes that Mary responded fully to God’s invitation. What holds me back from such a response?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

I Read the Magnificat several times, slowly. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever. Then, I reflect on how God is the author of every good thing in my life and write my own version addressing God personally, e.g.: My soul reflects your greatness, Lord.

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

Pick a time today to walk around a place of beauty. Look, listen, smell and taste the bounty God has bestowed on creation. Pick a phrase or a line from the Magnificat and repeat it as a mantra as you walk in the magnificence God has created. Reflect on and be sure to express thanks for the ways God has protected you in good times and bad, throughout your whole life.

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Adapted from “Sacred Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

There is no false humility in Mary’s tremendous prayer. There is the true humility that understands that everything being accomplished in her is being accomplished by God. “For the mighty God has done great things for me”. Mary makes no effort to minimize this greatness. She accepts it, fully, joyfully and expectantly. Her great song of praise is Mary’s expression of hope.

Do I understand that my gifts and talents were not something I earned, but were freely given by God? What does God want me to do with those talents and gifts? Have I taken time to listen to the voice of God and has my response been a firm “yes” or a tentative “I don’t know if I can do that”? I stop to consider what is holding me back from answering God’s call, and I pray for hope and courage as well as the belief (faith/trust) that Jesus will not leave me to face the future by myself.

Poetic Reflection:

No one saw the Assumption; it is not recorded in scripture or history. So, what really happened?
This poem by Edward Seifert, published in “Emmanuel” in 1985, looks imaginatively on this event:

“Assumption”

What does it mean, this assumption?
For her it was simply a matter of following
Her son to where his lights led her,
Follow before the worms got at her
Or that musty underground smell.
She followed him to a portico near the big stars
To look out over a night and a universe also.
They sat there in silence deep as a well
As they once sat in Nazareth counting the stars.
They watched and saw an old star sputtering
And a new star spinning out into the spaces
That lapped her like cool black waters.
Her son said, “This is for ever”
And she, with heart listening,
Sought to believe him.

Closing Prayer

Lord, help me to do your will with joy and with courage… Help me to answer your call with a joyful “yes!!”… Help me always to remember your presence in my life as it was in the life of Mary.