St. Joseph Church (Cottleville)
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B
February 21-22, 2009 - 5:00 p.m., 7:00 & 8:45 a.m.
Is 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25
Ps 41
2 Cor 1:18-22
Mk 2:1-12
This may be one of those gospel readings that we have heard so many times it no longer strikes us as extraordinary. If we take the time, however, to really think about the scene we just heard described, we come to see that there is something incredible about what happened at Peter’s house in Capernaum. A couple weeks ago we heard how our Lord had cured Simon Peter’s mother-in-law in that very house. Now He returns, after traveling all over Galilee preaching and healing. Now He returns here to Capernaum, which is His home-base of sorts. It was the custom in that part of the world for people to leave the doors of theirs homes open during the day as a sign that visitors were welcome. Well apparently our Lord drew quite a crowd of visitors, since Mark tells us that there were so many that there wasn’t even room around the door of the house for more people to listen to Christ’s preaching.
Into this fray come four men carrying their friend who is paralyzed. They must have heard of the miraculous healings our Lord had been performing and realized that this was their chance to help their friend. Already here we should admire the love of these men for their paralyzed friend. They knew that they couldn’t do anything for him, but they also knew someone who could. Imagine their dismay when they saw the great crowd of people. Imagine how hard they must have tried to get through the crowd to Jesus without any success. And yet even this would not deter them. They were so determined to bring the paralyzed man to Christ that they came up with a pretty crazy plan. They carried him up to the roof of the house, and then they literally had to bread through the thatch and clay roof in order to have access to the house. (Makes you wonder how Peter felt about all of this…) Imagine too the reaction of the crowd as they saw this man being lowered on his mat into the house.
And now we come to the key point of the Gospel. Our Lord works a miracle of healing after He sees the determination of those who are seeking Him. How could He not fulfill their request after all they have gone through to reach Him. Their desire for Him is so strong that nothing was going to get in the way of their reaching Him.
This Gospel fulfills the words of the Lord in our reading from the prophet Isaiah: “See, I am doing something new!” Our Lord was doing something new when He forgave the sins of the paralytic and healed his physical ailment. The words of the prophet remain true for us today. In the midst of the monotony of our daily routine, Jesus Christ wants to do something new for us –even here at this very Mass. Maybe we are burdened by some sin that we can’t seem to get rid of. Christ wants to do something new for us. Maybe we, on the other hand, we feel that we’re on the right track, that we’ve been living a truly Christian life, in accord with the teachings of the Church, for some time now. Even then, Christ wants to do something new. Wherever we find ourselves, we have not exhausted the infinite riches that Jesus Christ has to offer to us. He always wants to take us deeper into the very life of the Trinity – the very life that He enjoys with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
So the question falls to us. Are we as determined as the four men in the Gospel to get to Christ? Are we so convinced that He has something to give us – something that no one else can give us – that we will do whatever it takes to make our request heard? Notice in the Gospel that Christ is hard to reach not because He has hidden Himself but because of the large crowd. In a similar way, our lives are crowded with all kinds of things that could stand between us and Christ – everything from the lies we are told by the world to our own attachments to things other than Him.
As I’m sure you all know, Lent is now just a few days away. This Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, will mark the beginning of that ever-important season that prepares our hearts to meet Christ in His passion, death, and resurrection. Jesus Christ wants to do something radically new for every one of us during this Lenten season. He wants to do something radically new for us this year when we celebrate the Paschal Mystery at Easter. The season of Lent, then, is an opportunity to show to Him how deeply we long to reach Him, to be touched by Him. It’s our chance to take drastic measures to reach Him – to climb to the roof and to break through in order to get around whatever might stand between us and deeper union with Him.
This Lent, let us take seriously those traditional practices that cannot fail to show our Lord how much we need Him – the practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. In these next few days, each of us needs to reflect upon how we are being called to embrace these practices this Lent. What will I do differently in my prayer life? Maybe I’ll commit myself to spending some time each week here in the adoration chapel or some time each day at home reflecting on the Scripture readings for the day. What will I fast from during these days? Maybe it will be a traditional fast from certain types of food. Or maybe it will be a fast from something else. Maybe I’ll commit myself to spending less time on the Internet or watching television. And how will I heed our Lord’s call to give alms? Maybe I can increase my contributions to the parish or to a charitable organization. Maybe I can go through my closet and give away those extra clothes that I don’t really need. Maybe I could even give of my time to serve the poor by volunteering.
Our Lord stands ready with His grace at every moment, and in a particularly strong way He does so during the holy season of Lent. At every moment He longs to do something new for us. May we receive from Him at this Mass and throughout the season of Lent the grace we need to do something as radical as those four men in the Gospel – the grace to be willing to do whatever it takes to reach our Lord and His healing touch. Then, when Easter comes, we will reflect upon what God has done for us in our Lenten journey, and we will be able to repeat with the crowd in today’s Gospel: “We have never seen anything like this.”
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Blessed Be the Name of the Lord!
St. Joseph Church (Cottleville)
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B
February 8, 2009 - 12:15 p.m.
Job 7:1-4, 6-7
Ps 147
1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23
Mk 1:29-39
Would you believe that in the first reading today you heard some of the oldest words in the Bible? Many scholars believe that Job is the oldest book of the entire Bible, probably written about 1500 years before Christ. Now, we don’t know for sure whether it is the oldest of all the books – that’s merely speculation – but it is certain that Job is a very intriguing figure.
Job, Scripture tells us, was a blameless and upright man (Job 1:1). He was very successful – married with ten children, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen; the list goes on and on. Now God was obviously quite pleased with Job, and it happened one day that He was kind of bragging to Satan about His faithful servant. Satan, on the other hand, was quite annoyed by Job, since he was such an upright man, and he said to the Lord, “Job isn’t that great of a man. Anyone who has so many material blessings would be just as faithful as him. Take that all away. Then you’ll see the true Job.” So God gave Satan permission to do anything he wanted other than take Job’s life. And so it happened, that one-by-one Satan began to destroy every good thing in Job’s life. First he lost all of his possessions. Then his children all died. Finally his own health began to give him trouble. The words we heard in today’s reading are spoken by Job to friends who come to visit him. They are an honest expression of the great pain the trial has caused him. And yet, through it all, Job refuses to turn his back on the Lord. He remains faithful, even when it seems that God has abandoned him completely. He says, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (1:21).
Now look at the contrast between Job and the people who come to Christ in today’s Gospel. Jesus is working mighty deeds of healing in Capernaum. St. Mark tells us that the whole town was gathered at the door of the house where He was staying. Now certainly it’s not wrong that people were coming to the Lord seeking the healing He offered. But the fact remains that the people weren’t’ coming to Christ out of love. They weren’t coming for Him. They were coming because they knew that they could get what they wanted from Him. They came not for Him but for what He could do for them. That’s very different from Job. He was faithful to the Lord even when everything in his life and even his best friends were telling him that God had abandoned him. He wasn’t concerned so much with what God could do for him. Instead, he had faith. He knew that he owed everything, even his very life, to God. And so he remained faithful, even when his faithfulness was greatly tried.
So the readings today give us an opportunity to ask ourselves where we stand – here and now – in our relationship with Christ. Are we like Job? Do we call ourselves Christians because our lives are totally centered upon Christ for who He is in Himself? Or are we more like the people who come to our Lord in the Gospel? Are we more concerned with what’s in it for us, with what Christ can do for us? Spiritual writers have written about this struggle for centuries. We have to reach a point in our spiritual lives, they say, where we are purified of our attachment to the favors and blessings the Lord pours upon us and fix ourselves totally on God Himself. The question we must ask ourselves is simple: Do I love the gifts of God? Or do I love God Himself?
This has a very practical implication for our attitude each week when we come here to the Mass. Mother Church tells us that the Mass has two primary ends or goals: first is to glorify God, second is to receive His grace that sanctifies us. The Mass is certainly the source of every grace we could ever need in our lives, but the Church tells us that if we’re coming here simply to get that grace, then our priorities are all wrong. We should be here first and foremost to give glory to God. In other words, it’s not about what I get out of Mass but what I put into Mass. Maybe I can’t stand the music. (Surely no one would say that about this music…) Maybe I hate the way the church looks. (Surely no one would say that about this church.) Maybe I’m tired of hearing that priest or that deacon ramble on in his homily. (Surely no one would say that about this deacon!) All of that is secondary. Our primary concern must be offering all of ourselves with Christ to God the Father. Think of that beautiful doxology, when the Precious Body and Blood of Christ are raised and the priest sings, “Through Him, with Him, in Him, all glory and honor is yours, Almighty Father, forever and ever.” We must come here first and foremost to pour out our lives to the Father, praising and glorifying Him – yes, for His wonderful gifts – but even more for who He is in Himself.
The story of Job didn’t end with all his misery. After he had been tested and proved faithful, Satan’s power over him was taken away, and God poured forth upon him more blessings than he knew even before he was tried. Scripture tells us that he lived another 140 years! He had ten more children, and – you can’t make this stuff up – his three daughters were the most beautiful in all the land! He received double the possessions and riches he had before! You see, if we get our priorities straight, we don’t have to worry about a thing. If we give our lives over to the praise of God, if we seek first the kingdom, everything else will be given us besides. If we come to this altar week after week and pour out our hearts completely in praise of God, offering everything we have and are out of love for Him, we are going to leave here having received more abundantly from His riches than we ever thought possible. We’re going to receive not progeny or riches, not health or good feelings. We’re going to receive something infinitely greater than those passing things. We’re going to receive nothing short of God Himself, dwelling in our hearts as a foretaste of eternal life with Him in heaven.
So wherever we find ourselves today – whether basking in God’s abundant gifts or suffering through great trial – let us offer fitting worship to glorify the Father. Through our participation in the Mass today, let us re-echo the words of Job: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B
February 8, 2009 - 12:15 p.m.
Job 7:1-4, 6-7
Ps 147
1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23
Mk 1:29-39
Would you believe that in the first reading today you heard some of the oldest words in the Bible? Many scholars believe that Job is the oldest book of the entire Bible, probably written about 1500 years before Christ. Now, we don’t know for sure whether it is the oldest of all the books – that’s merely speculation – but it is certain that Job is a very intriguing figure.
Job, Scripture tells us, was a blameless and upright man (Job 1:1). He was very successful – married with ten children, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen; the list goes on and on. Now God was obviously quite pleased with Job, and it happened one day that He was kind of bragging to Satan about His faithful servant. Satan, on the other hand, was quite annoyed by Job, since he was such an upright man, and he said to the Lord, “Job isn’t that great of a man. Anyone who has so many material blessings would be just as faithful as him. Take that all away. Then you’ll see the true Job.” So God gave Satan permission to do anything he wanted other than take Job’s life. And so it happened, that one-by-one Satan began to destroy every good thing in Job’s life. First he lost all of his possessions. Then his children all died. Finally his own health began to give him trouble. The words we heard in today’s reading are spoken by Job to friends who come to visit him. They are an honest expression of the great pain the trial has caused him. And yet, through it all, Job refuses to turn his back on the Lord. He remains faithful, even when it seems that God has abandoned him completely. He says, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (1:21).
Now look at the contrast between Job and the people who come to Christ in today’s Gospel. Jesus is working mighty deeds of healing in Capernaum. St. Mark tells us that the whole town was gathered at the door of the house where He was staying. Now certainly it’s not wrong that people were coming to the Lord seeking the healing He offered. But the fact remains that the people weren’t’ coming to Christ out of love. They weren’t coming for Him. They were coming because they knew that they could get what they wanted from Him. They came not for Him but for what He could do for them. That’s very different from Job. He was faithful to the Lord even when everything in his life and even his best friends were telling him that God had abandoned him. He wasn’t concerned so much with what God could do for him. Instead, he had faith. He knew that he owed everything, even his very life, to God. And so he remained faithful, even when his faithfulness was greatly tried.
So the readings today give us an opportunity to ask ourselves where we stand – here and now – in our relationship with Christ. Are we like Job? Do we call ourselves Christians because our lives are totally centered upon Christ for who He is in Himself? Or are we more like the people who come to our Lord in the Gospel? Are we more concerned with what’s in it for us, with what Christ can do for us? Spiritual writers have written about this struggle for centuries. We have to reach a point in our spiritual lives, they say, where we are purified of our attachment to the favors and blessings the Lord pours upon us and fix ourselves totally on God Himself. The question we must ask ourselves is simple: Do I love the gifts of God? Or do I love God Himself?
This has a very practical implication for our attitude each week when we come here to the Mass. Mother Church tells us that the Mass has two primary ends or goals: first is to glorify God, second is to receive His grace that sanctifies us. The Mass is certainly the source of every grace we could ever need in our lives, but the Church tells us that if we’re coming here simply to get that grace, then our priorities are all wrong. We should be here first and foremost to give glory to God. In other words, it’s not about what I get out of Mass but what I put into Mass. Maybe I can’t stand the music. (Surely no one would say that about this music…) Maybe I hate the way the church looks. (Surely no one would say that about this church.) Maybe I’m tired of hearing that priest or that deacon ramble on in his homily. (Surely no one would say that about this deacon!) All of that is secondary. Our primary concern must be offering all of ourselves with Christ to God the Father. Think of that beautiful doxology, when the Precious Body and Blood of Christ are raised and the priest sings, “Through Him, with Him, in Him, all glory and honor is yours, Almighty Father, forever and ever.” We must come here first and foremost to pour out our lives to the Father, praising and glorifying Him – yes, for His wonderful gifts – but even more for who He is in Himself.
The story of Job didn’t end with all his misery. After he had been tested and proved faithful, Satan’s power over him was taken away, and God poured forth upon him more blessings than he knew even before he was tried. Scripture tells us that he lived another 140 years! He had ten more children, and – you can’t make this stuff up – his three daughters were the most beautiful in all the land! He received double the possessions and riches he had before! You see, if we get our priorities straight, we don’t have to worry about a thing. If we give our lives over to the praise of God, if we seek first the kingdom, everything else will be given us besides. If we come to this altar week after week and pour out our hearts completely in praise of God, offering everything we have and are out of love for Him, we are going to leave here having received more abundantly from His riches than we ever thought possible. We’re going to receive not progeny or riches, not health or good feelings. We’re going to receive something infinitely greater than those passing things. We’re going to receive nothing short of God Himself, dwelling in our hearts as a foretaste of eternal life with Him in heaven.
So wherever we find ourselves today – whether basking in God’s abundant gifts or suffering through great trial – let us offer fitting worship to glorify the Father. Through our participation in the Mass today, let us re-echo the words of Job: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
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