Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 06-22-05, Opt. Sts. Paulinus-Nola, John Fisher & Thomas More

[1] After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, "Fear
not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." [2] But
Abram said, "0 Lord God, what wilt thou give me, for I continue childless,
and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" [3] And Abram said,
"Behold, thou hast given me no offspring; and a slave born in my house will
be my heir." [4] And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, "This man
shall not be your heir; your own son shall be your heir." [5] And he brought
him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are
able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
[6] And he believed the Lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.

[7] And he said to him, "I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the
Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess." [8] But he said, "0 Lord God,
how am I to know that I shall possess it?" [9] He said to him, "Bring me a
heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a
turtledove, and a young pigeon." [10] And he brought him all these, cut them
in two, and laid each half over against the other; but he did not cut the
birds in two. [11] And when birds of prey came down upon the carcasses,
Abram drove them away.

[12] As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and lo, a dread
and great darkness fell upon him.

[17] When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking firepot
and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. [18] 0n that day the Lord
made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I give this land,
from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates."

Commentary:

15:1-21. God rewards Abraham for his generosity towards Mechizedek and for
his renouncing of the riches offered him by the king of Sodom. He appears to
him in a vision and promises his help, many descendants and the land of
Canaan. Here all that is required of Abraham is that he believe in the
promise that God himself, through a rite of covenant, undertakes to fulfill.
This passage emphasizes the gravity of God's promise and speaks of the
faithfulness of God, who will keep his word.

15:2-3. Abraham does not understand how God can keep the promise he made to
him in Haran (cf. chap. 12). The fact that he has no children is a severe
test of his faith; and anything else God may give him means little by
comparison. This is the first time Abraham speaks to God, and their
conversation shows the deep intimacy between them. He makes his concerns
known to God: because Lot has left him and Abraham has no son of his own, he
needs to appoint an heir who will take over leadership of the clan in return
for serving Abraham in his lifetime. This is the first friendly dialogue the
Bible records between God and a man since the dialogue God had with Adam in
paradise (cf. 3:9-12). It is a conversation between friends and the first
example, therefore, of a prayer of friendship and filiation, for to pray is
to speak to God.

"Of Damascus": this is the translation most frequently given for a word
which is very unclear (the original text is unrecoverably corrupt). It does
not seem to mean that Eliezer was a native of Damascus, for he was a slave
or servant born in Abraham's house (v. 3); therefore, it must be some other
sort of title whose meaning escapes us.

15:4-6. Once more Abraham is asked to make an act of faith in the word of
God, and he does so. This pleases God and is reckoned righteous. This makes
Abraham the father of all those who believe in God and his saving word.

In the light of this passage St Paul sees Abraham as the model of how a
person becomes righteous in God's eyes--through faith in his word, the
definitive word being the announcement that God saves us through the death
and resurrection of Jesus. In this way, Abraham not only becomes the father
of the Jewish people according to the flesh, but also the father of those
who without being Jews have become members of the new people of God through
faith in Jesus: "We say that faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.
How then was it reckoned to him? Was it before or after he was circumcised?
It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received circumcision as
a sign or seal of the righteousness which he had by faith while he was still
uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe
without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them,
and likewise the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised
but also follow the example of the faith which our father Abraham had before
he was circumcised" (Rom 4:9-12).

Abraham's faith revealed itself in his obedience to God when he left his
homeland (cf. 12:4), and later on when he was ready to sacrifice his son (cf
22:1-4). This is the aspect of Abraham's obedience which is given special
emphasis in the Letter of St James, inviting Christians to prove the
genuineness of their faith with obedience to God and good works: "Was not
Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon
the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was
completed by works, and scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham
believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness'; and he was
called the friend of God" (Jas 2:21-23).

15:7-21. The strength of God's resolve to give the land of Canaan is vividly
demonstrated by his ordaining a rite of covenant to externalize the
commitment undertaken by both parties. According to this ancient rite (cf.
Jer 34:18), the action of the two parties--"passing between" the pieces of
the victims-indicated a readiness to be similarly cut in pieces if one were
guilty of breaking the pact. The text makes the point that God (represented
by the flaming torch: cf Ex 3:2; 13:21; 19:18) "passes between" the bloody
limbs of the victims, to ratify his promise.

This is how the book of Genesis portrays the people of Israel's right to the
land of Canaan and explains how the land came to belong to it only in recent
times, after the Exodus. During the ceremony Abraham is given advance
information about the afflictions the people will suffer before the promise
is fulfilled. An explanation is also given as to why God will take the land
away from the Canaanites (here described as Amorites): their evil-doing will
have gone too far. God emerges here as the Lord of the earth and of nations.
On the sojourn of the people of Israel in Egypt, cf. the note on 37:2-50:25.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Matthew 7:15-20

False Prophets

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [15] "Beware of false prophets, who come
to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. [16] You
will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or
figs from thistles? [17] So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the
bad tree bears evil fruit. [18] A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit,
nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. [19] Every tree that does not bear
good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. [20] Thus you will
know them by their fruits."

Commentary:

15-20. There are many references in the Old Testament to false prophets;
perhaps the best-known passage is Jeremiah 23:9-40 which condemns the
impiety of those prophets who "prophesied by Baal and led my people
Israel astray"; "who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes; they
speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord [...].
I did not send the prophets, yet they ran. I did not speak to them, yet
they prophesied"; they "lead my people astray by their lies and their
recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them; so that they do
not profit this people at all."

In the life of the Church the Fathers see these false prophets, as of
whom Jesus speaks, in heretics, who apparently are pious and reformist
but who in fact do not have Christ's sentiments (cf. St Jerome, "Comm.
in Matth.", 7). St John Chrysostom applies this teaching to anyone who
appears to be virtuous but in fact is not, and thereby misleads others.

How are false prophets and genuine prophets to be distinguished? By the
fruit they produce. Human nobility and divine inspiration combine to
give the things of God a savor of their own. A person who truly speaks
the things of God sows faith, hope, charity, peace and understanding;
whereas a false prophet in the Church of God, in his preaching and
behavior, sows division, hatred, resentment, pride and sensuality (cf.
Gal 5:16-25). However, the main characteristic of a false prophet is
that he separates the people of God from the Magisterium of the Church,
through which Christ's teaching is declared to the world. Our Lord also
indicates that these deceivers are destined to eternal perdition.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Tuesday, June 22, 2005
Saint John Fisher, Bishop, Martyr

First Reading:
Psalm:
Gospel:

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Psalm 105:1-4, 6-9
Matthew 7:15-20

Present sorrow and suffering is the way to glory, the way to the kingdom.

-- St Bernard

Catholic Culture

Collect:
Father, you confirm the true faith with the crown of martyrdom. May the prayers of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More give us the courage to proclaim our faith by the witness of our lives. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Recipes:

» Beef in Beer

Activities:

Prayers:

June 22, 2005

Optional Memorial of St. Paulinus of Nola, bishop and confessor; Optional Memorial of Sts. John Fisher, bishop and martyr and Thomas More, martyr

Old Calendar: St. Paulinus; St. Alban

St. Thomas More was born in London, England and was Chancellor of King Henry VIII. As a family man and a public servant, his life was a rare synthesis of human sensitivity and Christian wisdom.

St. John Fisher studied Theology in Cambridge (England) and became Bishop of Rochester. His friend, Thomas More, wrote of him, 'I reckon in this realm no one man, in wisdom, learning and long approved virtue together, meet to be matched and compared with him.' He and his friend St. Thomas More gave up their lives in testimony to the unity of the Church and to the indissolubility of Marriage.

St. Paulinus was born of a patrician Roman family at Bordeaux. He was successively prefect, senator and consul. His wife, wishing to consecrate herself to God, gave up rank and riches; he followed her example and went to live an austere hermit's life at Nola in Italy. There he became a priest and then bishop of the city, and gave his people not only an example of virtue but also wise guidance during the ravages and calamities of the Gothic invasion. He died in 431, aged 78, and was buried at Nola near the tomb of St. Felix.

Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar, today was also the feast of St. Alban who was venerated as the proto-martyr of Britain. He was a citizen of Verulam and was converted by a persecuted priest whom he sheltered in his house. He was executed on Holmhurst Hill. On that spot King Offa erected the Benedictine abbey of St. Alban's by which name Verulam has since been known.

St. Thomas More

His belief that no lay ruler has jurisdiction over the church of Christ cost Thomas More his life.

Beheaded on Tower Hill, London, July 6, 1535, he steadfastly refused to approve Henry VIII's divorce and remarriage and establishment of the Church of England.

Described as "a man for all seasons," More was a literary scholar, eminent lawyer, gentleman, father of four children and chancellor of England. An intensely spiritual man, he would not support the king's divorce from Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Nor would he acknowledge Henry as supreme head of the church in England, breaking with Rome and denying the pope as head.

More was committed to the Tower of London to await trial for treason: not swearing to the Act of Succession and the Oath of Supremacy. Upon conviction, More declared he had all the councils of Christendom and not just the council of one realm to support him in the decision of his conscience.

Four hundred years later, in 1935, Thomas More was canonized a saint of God. Few saints are more relevant to our time. In fact, in 2000, Pope John Paul II named him patron of political leaders. The supreme diplomat and counselor, Thomas More did not compromise his own moral values in order to please the king, knowing that true allegiance to authority is not blind acceptance of everything that authority wants. Henry himself realized this and tried desperately to win his chancellor to his side because he knew More was a man whose approval counted, a man whose personal integrity no one questioned. But when Thomas resigned as chancellor, unable to approve the two matters that meant most to Henry, the king felt he had to get rid of Thomas.

Excerpted from Saint of the Day, Leonard Foley, O.F.M.

Patron: Adopted children; diocese of Arlington, Virginia; civil servants; court clerks; difficult marriages; large families; lawyers; diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee Florida; politicians; politicos; statesmen; step-parents; widowers.

Things to Do:

If you haven't watched or read it yet, put it on your priority list: A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt is a wonderful play that captures much of St. Thomas More's vitality. There is a 1966 movie by the same title that stars Paul Scofield as St. Thomas. A definite must see!
Read more on the life of St. Thomas More. For youth, Saint Thomas More of London by Elizabeth Ince, a reprint of the wonderful Vision Books series. For adults, the newer book King's Good Servant But God's First by James Monti which explores the life and writings of St. Thomas More. Also Scepter Publishers has a biography Thomas More: A Portrait of Courage by Gerard B. Wegemer.
For some writings by St. Thomas More, see The Sadness of Christ, Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation, and The Four Last Things - The Supplication of Souls - A Dialogue on Conscience.
If you or your children are considering a career as a lawyer you might find Dr. Charles Rice's article helpful.

St. John Fisher

John Fisher is usually associated with Erasmus, Thomas More and other Renaissance humanists. His life, therefore, did not have the external simplicity found in the lives of some saints. Rather, he was a man of learning, associated with the intellectuals and political leaders of his day. He was interested in the contemporary culture and eventually became chancellor at Cambridge. He had been made a bishop at thirty-five, and one of his interests was raising the standard of preaching in England. Fisher himself was an accomplished preacher and writer. His sermons on the penitential psalms were reprinted seven times before his death. With the coming of Lutheranism, he was drawn into controversy. His eight books against heresy gave him a leading position among European theologians.

In 1521 he was asked to study the problem of Henry VIII's marriage. He incurred Henry's anger by defending the validity of the king's marriage with Catherine and later by rejecting Henry's claim to be the supreme head of the Church of England.

In an attempt to be rid of him, Henry first had him accused of not reporting all the "revelations" of the nun of Kent, Elizabeth Barton. John was summoned, in feeble health, to take the oath to the new Act of Succession. He and Thomas More refused because the Act presumed the legality of Henry's divorce and his claim to be head of the English church. They were sent to the Tower of London, where Fisher remained fourteen months without trial. They were finally sentenced to life imprisonment and loss of goods.

When the two were called to further interrogations, they remained silent. Fisher was tricked, on the supposition he was speaking privately as a priest, and declared again that the king was not supreme head. The king, further angered that the pope had made John Fisher a cardinal, had him brought to trial on the charge of high treason. He was condemned and executed, his body left to lie all day on the scaffold and his head hung on London Bridge. More was executed two weeks later.

Excerpted from Saint of the Day, Leonard Foley, O.F.M.

Patron: Those persecuted for the Faith.

Symbols: Palm

Things to Do:

Read more about St. John Fisher.
Exposition of the Seven Penitential Psalms is available from Ignatius Press.

St. Paulinus

In 353 Pontius Meropius Anicius Paulinus was born of a prominent Bordeaux family. He received his education in the school of the rhetorician Ausonius. At an early age he attained the dignity of senator and then of consul. As governor of Campania, he chose Nola as his seat. Here he was converted to the faith by St. Felix of Nola. He resigned his position and returned to Gaul, where St. Martin of Tours restored his eyesight.

Despite personal remonstrances, Paulinus was ordained a priest in Spain, and from there he returned to do honor at the grave of his sainted spiritual father. In 409 he became bishop of Tours. Paulinus was an author and poet; he corresponded with the great saints and scholars of his time, Ambrose and Augustine. During the Vandal invasion he used every possible means to feed the poor. When a poor widow asked for money to ransom her son, he gave himself into slavery. With God's aid he returned to his flock and died at the age of seventy-eight in 431. His last words were: "I will prepare a lamp for My anointed" (Ps. 131). His particular virtue was love toward the poor.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Prayer to St. Thomas More for Lawyers and Judges

Dear Scholar and Martyr, it was not the King of England but you who were the true Defender of the Faith. Like Christ unjustly condemned, neither promises nor threats could make you accept a civil ruler as head of the Christian Church. Perfect in your honesty and love of truth, grant that lawyers and judges may imitate you and achieve true justice for all people. Amen.

Faith-sharing bump.

The true story of St. Thomas More's courage is a humbling read, even 500 years after the fact. It's admirable that More stood up against all the pressures of official society to defend the truth.

Truly a supper saint, isn't he?

Oops, that should have been:

Truly a super saint, isn't he?

American Cathlic's Saint of the Day

June 22, 2005

St. Thomas More

(1478-1535)

His belief that no lay ruler has jurisdiction over the Church of Christ cost Thomas More his life.

Beheaded on Tower Hill, London, July 6, 1535, he steadfastly refused to approve Henry VIII’s divorce and remarriage and establishment of the Church of England.

Described as “a man for all seasons,” More was a literary scholar, eminent lawyer, gentleman, father of four children and chancellor of England. An intensely spiritual man, he would not support the king’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Nor would he acknowledge Henry as supreme head of the Church in England, breaking with Rome and denying the pope as head.

More was committed to the Tower of London to await trial for treason: not swearing to the Act of Succession and the Oath of Supremacy. Upon conviction, More declared he had all the councils of Christendom and not just the council of one realm to support him in the decision of his conscience.

Comment:

Four hundred years later, in 1935, Thomas More was canonized a saint of God. Few saints are more relevant to the 20th century. The supreme diplomat and counselor, he did not compromise his own moral values in order to please the king, knowing that true allegiance to authority is not blind acceptance of everything that authority wants. King Henry himself realized this and tried desperately to win his chancellor to his side because he knew More was a man whose approval counted, a man whose personal integrity no one questioned. But when Thomas resigned as chancellor, unable to approve the two matters that meant most to Henry, the king had to get rid of Thomas More.

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	If Wishes Were Horses, Beggers Would Ride!
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Gn 15:1-12,17-18 / Mt 7:15-20

Once in a while in very pensive moments, most of us get to wondering what God really thinks of us as individuals. What does he think of the way we've managed our lives and handled our challenges so far? If we died tomorrow, would God be delighted to welcome us home, or would he be saddened to have us up so close? Are we good persons or not so good at all? We can wind ourselves into some fairly tangled knots with such questions and get no closer to the truth than we were when we began.

It's for that reason that today's gospel is a welcome source of clarity. Jesus tells us we can know for sure whether a tree is good or bad by checking its fruit. In the same way we can get a clear and reliable reading on who we are at our center by checking the patterns of our deeds. We all do things that are out of character at least once in awhile. But whether beautiful or ugly, such things are aberrations that don't define the essence of who we are. It's the big, consistent patterns of our deeds that tell the tale and infallibly speaks who we are.

Note, it's not what we'd like to do that tells us who we are, but what we actually do. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. So check your deeds, not your wishes, check the big patterns, not the aberrations, and let what you see be your guide as you set the course for the next leg of your journey toward God.

A Voice in the Desert

Wednesday June 22, 2005 Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading (Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18) Gospel (St. Matthew 7:15-20)

In the first reading today, we hear this dialogue between God and Abram, and Abram saying to God, “How am I to know?” God had made promises to Abram; first, that he would have his own heir, and secondly, that he would have this land. And Abram was looking for a way to be able to know how this promise was going to be fulfilled. How did he know? So God made very clear to him how it was going to happen; He made a covenant with him.

In the Gospel reading today, Our Lord also tells us how we are going to know, that is, how we are going to know which people we should associate with, which people we should follow. He tells us that a tree is known by its fruits. So if a tree is bearing good fruit, then that’s the one you want to be with. If it’s not, then you don’t. Now, of course, the difference in this case is that if there is a tree (by analogy) that is not bearing good fruit, while on the natural level that tree is going to be cut down and thrown into the fire, we are talking here about human beings rather than just physical trees. Consequently, if we see someone who is not bearing good fruit, we can pray for them and we can pray for their conversion. But, at the same time, we need to be very careful that we do not follow them.

If someone is not preaching the truth, if someone is not living the truth, then we do not want to be like that. On one level, we can look at it and say, “None of us is perfect. We’re all going to sin and we’re all going to fall short.” True enough, but it is also very evident when someone is trying to live according to the truth and when someone is not. In our society, it is far more convenient to live in opposition to the truth. It is more politically correct, it is more acceptable to those who want to live a worldly life, and it seems on the surface to be a whole lot more fun. If you do not want to live according to the way of Jesus, you are going to have all kinds of friends. So it seems like a pretty easy way to go. It might even seem like the better way to be. Yet, at the same time, because God has written His law in our hearts and on our minds, we know fully well that it is not right. It may be easier and it may be more fun and we may even have people who tell us that the things we are doing wrong are in fact good because we are being just like them. But then we have only to look at our own lives and we will see that we are not bearing good fruit when we are like that.

Most of us can probably look back to some point in our life where it is going to be pretty self-evident that we were not living the right way. Look at the fruit that was borne. Look at the people you were with. Look at the things you were doing. Look at what came from it and ask yourself, “Was there good fruit from that time in my life? Was I doing what was right?” You will know by the fruit that you bore.

That is the thing we have to look at. We have to look for a tree that is bearing good fruit. On a practical level, that means the friends we should be with and associate with are people who are good, who are trying to live according to the truth, who are trying to do what is right. It means that the voices we are going to listen to and follow need to be preaching the truth – not saying what we want to hear, not doing what Saint Paul warns us of, that is, be careful of preachers who tickle your ears, because there are plenty of them out there. Turn on the TV and you will find all kinds of them. They will tell you anything you want to hear as long as you give them lots of money. We need to hear the truth. We are made for the truth, and the truth will set us free. It is just that simple. The truth is Jesus Christ. Therefore, if we are living according to the truth, we will bear good fruit. We might not be well liked. We might even be rejected, but the fruit of our lives is going to be good and it will also be very evident.

So that is what we all need to look at: first of all, the question of whether we are bearing good fruit; secondly, the question of whether the people we are associating with are bearing good fruit; and thirdly, whether the voices we are listening to and following are speaking the truth, and whether the lives of those individuals are bearing good fruit. That is what the whole situation comes down to for us, because if we are not bearing good fruit and we are associating with those who are not bearing good fruit, we are going to be cut down and thrown into the fire. That is not a very happy idea. If we want to be able to spend eternity with God, it does not matter if we are popular, it does not matter what people think of us. All that matters is that we are living the truth and bearing good fruit for Jesus Christ.

* This text was transcribed from the audio recording with minimal editing.

For all those having their supper now, he can be a "supper" saint, hehehe.

Homily of the Day bump.

A Voice in the Desert bump.

The Word Among Us

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Meditation
Matthew 7:15-20

When John the Baptist sent a message to ask whether he was the Messiah, Jesus could have just said “Yes.” Instead, he invited John to consider the evidence: “The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them” (Luke 7:22). In other words, John was told to apply to Jesus the very criterion that Jesus taught as the way to tell good prophets from false ones: “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16).

The “fruits” test is a good reality check for us, too. We all know we’re supposed to be a light to the world. But we also know that talk is cheap. The real question is whether our actions back up our words. In our witness within our family and to the world around us, is there a good fit between what we say and what we do? If we are parents raising children, do we practice what we preach?

When it comes to forming children’s consciences, expectations, and habits, parents’ example is uniquely important. But for children to really get it, the message must also be communicated by other adults. So if I’m a grandparent, aunt or uncle, educator, or simply and adult with a concern for the next generation, are the “fruits” of my example consistent with my words? Do I pray for family life? And what about my contacts with neighbors, coworkers, and friends? If I want them to know the greatness of God’s love, then how I live my day-to-day life must reveal it. As St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.”

Good fruits imply good roots. Jesus wants us to be rooted in him every single day, not only through prayer and Scripture but also by allowing him to prune us. With some active listening, we can catch the Spirit’s still, small voice. Let’s not tune it out when he speaks of things we need to change or put aside! Let’s live in a way that makes us prophetic witnesses in the world! Then we’ll all bear abundant fruit—“fruit that will last” (John 15:16).

“Search me, O God, and know my heart. Help me to root out whatever sin you reveal. Lead me in the fruitful way of life everlasting!”

Genesis 15:1-12,17-18; Psalm 105:1-4,6-9

One Bread, One Body

<< Wednesday, June 22, 2005 >>

St. Paulinus of Nola
Sts. John Fisher & Thomas More

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

Psalm 105:1-4, 6-9

Matthew 7:15-20

View Readings

COVENANT KNOWLEDGE

“ ‘O Lord God,’ he asked, ‘How am I to know?’ ” —Genesis 15:8

At God’s command, Abram left his homeland at age seventy-five (Gn 12:4). “Some time” passed with little visible improvement, and so God decided to reassure Abram of his great future (Gn 15:1, 7). Abram, now quite old, asked God how he could know that this would happen (Gn 15:8). God didn’t answer Abram’s question with specifics. Instead, God’s answer to Abram was: “Make a covenant with Me, and then you’ll know for sure” (see Gn 15:9ff).

To the logical, modern mind, God’s answer might sound somewhat like the politician who answers his challengers by saying: “Trust me!” We often want to see concrete plans and results before we’ll entrust ourselves to someone’s promise. The blind trust God requests of Abram and us flies in the face of conventional human wisdom.

How can we know God will make good on His scriptural promises to us? Make (or renew) a covenant with Him. We make our first covenant with God through our Baptism. If you are already baptized, renew your baptismal covenant and live your baptism in a new way. In each Mass, we covenant with the Lord when we receive the eucharist (Lk 22:20). Some people commit themselves to join covenanted Christian communities as a way of living out their baptismal covenant (see Acts 2:42). “Commit to the Lord your way; trust in Him, and He will act” (Ps 37:5).

Prayer: Father, with every Mass I attend, may I enter more deeply into the Paschal mystery and your “new covenant” (1 Cor 11:25).

Promise: “He remembers forever His covenant.” —Ps 105:8

Praise: Sts. John and Thomas were martyred because they stood up publicly for the teaching of the Church on the sanctity of marriage.