OF PROPHETS AND BULLFROGS

Pastor's Column

 Medford

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 18, 2019

Jeremiah was a bulldog! Perhaps, but Jeremiah was also one of the Great Prophets of Israel.  In our First Reading, he calls the fallen people of Israel to repentance and unity. His words fell on “deaf ears”, and he was exiled.  Later a court official rescued him.  He recognized Jeremiah to be without fault, and 800 years later, we have his wisdom teaching.  Through mercy, he was saved! 

Jesus calls us to mercy through salvation and unity.  

Here are some critical dates in salvation history:

2000 B.C.        Abraham and Sarah begin their pilgrimage of faith- Judaism

1500 B.C.        Moses rescued the Jews from Pharaoh- EXODUS

1000 B.C.        The Great United Kingdom of David- The “Zenith” of Judaism

500  B.C.         The Babylonian Exile- The Temple is destroyed, the low point of Judaism

                        The Jewish people are scattered, and their nation-state destroyed. 

0     A.D.         The birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ, The Son of God

Notice a pattern there?  Every 500 years, there seems to be a massive event, none more magnificent than the birth of the Messiah.  We are now 2000 years since his birth.  Has this pattern continued? 

0       A.D.       Jesus’ birth

500   A.D.       The reforms of Saint Benedict and Monasticism

1000 A.D.       The Great Schism, the Church splits into two (Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy)

1500 A.D.       The Reformation and The Council of Trent

2000 A.D.       The Second Vatican Council

All of these 500-year epics have something in common:  either disunity or unity.

At the Last Supper, Jesus calles us to unity.  Why was this all necessary, His crucifixion, death and resurrection?  For UNITY!

Jesus explains his goal of unity in the Gospel of John, Chapter 17, verse 21 (Jn 17:21)

That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,^[a] so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

When we are united, things are peaceful, calm, and filled with goodness.  I suggest that this is the lesson here, that we all may be as one.

Jesus expresses God, the Father's mercy.  Pope Benedict said that Jesus is the Face of God's Mercy. Pope Francis said the Gospels are the expression of Jesus’ Mercy.

Thank goodness for His Mercy, otherwise, how could we get to Heaven?  Certainly not merely by our own merits.  Instead, because Jesus saves us through his sacrifice on the cross. Praise be to Him, now and forever Amen!

FOR ALL THE SAINTS!

Pastor's Column

SS Medford

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 11, 2019

This past Tuesday, we celebrated the Feast of the Transfiguration. Next Thursday, we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a holy day of obligation.

These two great feasts of Jesus and Mary help us to unpack the "mystery of faith." Every time we attend Mass, we hear those words sung or spoken. Faith is a mystery, a consent to something beyond our total comprehension. God is greater than us, much greater. It rests then that He must be beyond our understanding. Saint Anselm gives us this: The study of God (our faith, theology) is faith seeking understanding.

In the Transfiguration, Jesus shows himself in his glorified body. He does so to just a select few of his followers, and he appears speaking with Moses and Elijah. These are two of the super Prophets of Israel.

We may wonder why he chooses just a few to reveal his glorified body? There on Mount Tabor are only Peter, James, and John. The three would be key players in the early days of Christianity: Peter, our first Pope, James, the first Bishop of Jerusalem and John as Evangelist, Prophet and the one who Jesus entrusted the care of his Mother to. 

Speaking of Mary, her Assumption was declared on Saints Day in 1950 by Pope Pius XII. The question of Mary being assumed into Heaven was a profound spiritual question that was debated about for years among theologians around the world. Finally, in the late 1940s, Pope Pius asked that the Bishops of the world gather these opinions and send them to the Vatican so he could pray and, with God's guidance, decide if this Dogma should be declared.

He did and what the Dogma of the Assumption means is that Mary was lifted body and soul directly into Heaven at the end of her earthly days. Jesus loves his Mother so much that he lifts her instantly into Heaven when she finishes her earthly pilgrimage. What a most fitting tribute to His earthly Mother that helps us understand His mercy, compassion, and love for creation.

Our Feasts on the Catholic Calendar are meant to inspire us to holiness as we examine the mystical events and persons that dot creation history and our tradition. They help us take a supernatural outlook so that we may focus what awaits those who are the just and the good. It is never too late to start; God's efficacious mercy is ever-flowing. Let us contemplate the transcendent truths of our faith so that we may live every moment as supernatural people.