Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 11-03-05, Optional, St. Martin de Porres

November 3, 2005
Thursday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time

Psalm: Thursday 47

Reading I
Rom 14:7-12

Brothers and sisters:
None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.
For if we live, we live for the Lord,
and if we die, we die for the Lord;
so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
For this is why Christ died and came to life,
that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Why then do you judge your brother or sister?
Or you, why do you look down on your brother or sister?
For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God;
for it is written:

As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.

So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 27:1bcde, 4, 13-14

R. ( 13) I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.

Gospel
Lk 15:1-10

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So Jesus addressed this parable to them.
“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.

“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”

From: Romans 14:7-12

Seeing Things from the Other Person's Point of View (Continuation)

[7] None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. [8] If
we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so
then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. [9] For to
this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the
dead and of the living.

[10] Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you
despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat
of God; [11] for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee
shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God." [12] So
each of us shall give account of himself to God.

Commentary:

4-12. These ideas and counsels addressed to the faithful at Rome
provide the basis of the motto traditional in the Church, "Unity in
essentials, freedom in doubtful matters, and in all things clarity"
(cf. John XXIII, "Ad Petri Cathedram"; Vatican II, "Unitatis
Redintegratio", 4). They mark the limits within which Christians should
exercise their freedom--at one extreme, what is laid down by lawful
authority; at the other, the need to practice charity towards all. The
freedom of the "strong" ends where the demands of charity begin:
therefore, they should not scandalize the weak; and the mistake the
weak make is to regard as obligatory something which is not, something
a person can do or not as he pleases.

Love for freedom, properly understood, is never a danger to the faith:
"The only freedom that can assail the faith is a misinterpreted
freedom, an aimless freedom, one without objective principles, one that
is lawless and irresponsible. In a word, license [...]. This is why it
is inaccurate to speak of 'freedom of conscience', thereby implying
that it may be morally right for someone to reject God [...]. I defend
with all my strength 'freedom of consciences' (Leo XIII, Enc. "Libertas
Praestantissimum"), which means that no one can licitly prevent a man
from worshipping God" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 32).

Freedom is "an exceptional sign of the image of God in man. For God
willed that man should 'be left in the hand of his own counsel' (Sir
15:14) so that he might of his own accord seek his Creator and freely
attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him. Man's
dignity therefore requires him to act out of conscious and free choice,
as moved and drawn in a personal way from within, and not by blind
impulses in himself or by mere external constraint" (Vatican II,
"Gaudium Et Spes", 17). Therefore, the exercise of freedom consists in
obeying a well formed conscience and thereby, with the help of grace,
attaining one's last end and the means necessary thereto. In fact, man
will be judged on his obedience or disobedience to the law written on
his heart. "Conscience is man's most secret core, and his sanctuary.
There he is alone with God" ("ibid.", 16f). Its dictates must always be
obeyed, even if they be mistaken, and others should always respect a
person's conscience, for only God can read and judge the human heart,
and he forbids us to judge the inner blameworthiness of others (cf.
"ibid.", 28).

"The just man, when he finds no way to excuse the action or the
intention of someone whom he otherwise knows to be honest, not only
does not judge him but rejects the very idea of doing so and leaves
judgment to God. Our Lord on the Cross, not being able fully to excuse
the sin of his crucifiers, at least lessened their malice saying that
they did not know what they were doing. When we cannot excuse someone
of sin, let us have pity on him, and try to find grounds for excusing
him, such as ignorance or weakness" (St Francis de Sales, "Introduction
to the Devout Life", III, chap. 28).

7-9. We do not own ourselves, we are not our own masters. God, One and
Three, has created us, and Jesus Christ has freed us from sin by
redeeming us with his Blood. Therefore, he is our lord, and we his
servants, committed to him body and soul. Just as the slave is not his
own master, but he himself and all he does redounds to the benefit of
his master, everything we are and everything we have are geared, in the
last analysis, not to our own use and benefit: we have to live and die
for the glory of God. He is lord of our life and of our death.
Commenting on these words St Gregory the Great says: "The saints,
therefore, do not live and do not die for themselves. They do not live
for themselves, because in all that they do they strive for spiritual
gain: by praying, preaching and persevering in good works, they seek
the increase of the citizens of the heavenly fatherland. Nor do they
die for themselves because men see them glorifying God by their death,
hastening to reach him through death" ("In Ezechielem Homiliae", II,
10).

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.

Parable's of God's Mercy

[1] Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear
Him (Jesus). [2] And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying,
"This man receives sinners and eats with them."

The Lost Sheep

[3] So He told them this parable: [4] "What man of you, having a
hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the
ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost,
until he finds it? [5] And when he has found it, he lays it on his
shoulders, rejoicing. [6] And when he comes home he calls together his
friends and his neighbors, saying to them, `Rejoice with me, for I have
found my sheep which was lost.' [7] Just so, I tell you, there will be
more joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine
righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Lost Coin

[8] "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she lost one coin, does
not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she
finds it? [9] And when she has found it, she calls together her
friends and neighbors, saying, `Rejoice with me, for I have found the
coin which I has lost.' [10] Just so, I tell you, there is joy before
the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

Commentary:

1-32. Jesus' actions manifest God's mercy: He receives sinners in order
to convert them. The scribes and Pharisees, who despised sinners, just
cannot understand why Jesus acts like this; they grumble about Him; and
Jesus uses the opportunity to tell these Mercy parables. "The Gospel
writer who particularly treats of these themes in Christ's teaching is
Luke, whose Gospel has earned the title of `the Gospel of mercy'" (John
Paul II, "Dives In Misericordia", 3).

In this chapter St. Luke reports three of these parables in which Jesus
describes the infinite, fatherly mercy of God and His joy at the
conversion of the sinner.

The Gospel teaches that no one is excluded from forgiveness and that
sinners can become beloved children of God if they repent and are
converted. So much does God desire the conversion of sinners that each
of these parables ends with a refrain, as it were, telling of the great
joy in Heaven over sinner who repents.

1-2. This is not the first time that publicans and sinners approach
Jesus (cf. Matthew 9:10). They are attracted by the directness of the
Lord's preaching and by His call to self-giving and love. The
Pharisees in general were jealous of His influence over the people
(cf. Matthew 26:2-5; John 11:47) a jealousy which can also beset
Christians; a severity of outlook which does not accept that, no
matter how great his sins may have been, a sinner can change and become
a saint; a blindness which prevents a person from recognizing and
rejoicing over the good done by others. Our Lord criticized this
attitude when He replied to His disciples' complaints about others
casting out devils in His name: "Do not forbid him; for no one who does
a mighty work in My name will be able soon after to speak evil of Me"
(Mark 9:39). And St. Paul rejoiced that others proclaimed Christ and
even overlooked the fact they did so out of self-interest, provided
Christ was preached (cf. Philippians 1:17-18).

5-6. Christian tradition, on the basis of this and other Gospel
passages (cf. John 10:11), applies this parable to Christ, the Good
Shepherd, who misses and then seeks out the lost sheep: the Word, by
becoming man, seeks out mankind, which has strayed through sinning.
Here is St. Gregory the Great's commentary: "He put the sheep on His
shoulders because, on taking on human nature, He burdened Himself with
our sins" ("In Evangelia Homiliae", II, 14).

The Second Vatican Council applies these verses of St. Luke to the way
priests should approach their pastoral work: "They should be mindful
that by their daily conduct and solicitude they display the reality of
a truly priestly and pastoral ministry both to believers and
unbelievers alike, to Catholics and non-Catholics; that they are bound
to bear witness before all men of the truth and of the life, and as
good shepherds seek after those too who, whilst having been baptized in
the Catholic Church, have given up the practice of the Sacraments, or
even fallen away from the faith" ("Lumen Gentium", 28). However, every
member of the faithful should show this same kind of concern--expressed
in a fraternal way--towards his brothers and sisters, towards everyone
on the road to sanctification and salvation.

7. This does not mean that our Lord does not value the perseverance of
the just: He is simply emphasizing the joy of God and the saints over
the conversion of a sinner. This is clearly a call to repentance, to
never doubt God's readiness to forgive. "Another fall, and what a
fall!... Must you give up hope? No. Humble yourself and, through
Mary, your Mother, have recourse to the merciful Love of Jesus. A
"miserere", and lift up your heart! And now begin again" ([St] J. Escriva,
"The Way", 711).

8. This silver coin was a "drachma", of about the same value as a
denarius, that is, approximately a day's wage for an agricultural
worker (cf. Matthew 20:2).

Catholic Culture

Collect:
O God, the rewarder of the humble, you raised up the blessed confessor Martin to the kingdom of heaven. May his merits and prayers help us to imitate his humility on earth that we may be exalted with him in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Recipes:

» Pissenlit au Lard
» Venaison Roti

Activities:

less

Prayers:

» Daily Acceptance of Death

less

November 03, 2005

Optional Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, religious

Old Calendar: Hubert of Liege

Today the Church celebrates the optional memorial of St. Martin de Porres, religious, who lived a life of fasting, prayer and penance as a Dominican lay brother. He was born in Peru of a Spanish knight and a Negro woman from Panama. Martin inherited the features and dark complexion of his mother, and for that reason his noble father eventually turned the boy out of his house. After a turn as a surgeon's apprentice, the young man joined the Dominicans as a laybrother and was put in charge of the infirmary of a friary in Lima. Soon he was caring for the sick of the city and the slaves brought to Peru from Africa — not to mention the animals with which he is often pictured. Martin had the gift of miracles; and although he had no formal training, he was often consulted on theological questions by great churchmen of his day. St. Rose of Lima and Bl. John Massias were among his close friends. He is unofficially called the patron of social justice.

Before the reform of the Roman Calendar in 1969, this was the feast of St. Hubert, priest. His feastday is no longer on the Universal Roman Calendar, but has been transferred to particular calendars.

St. Martin de Porres
St. Martin de Porres was born at Lima, Peru, in 1579. He was the illegitimate son of a Spanish gentleman. His mother was a freed-slave from Panama, maybe black but also possibly of Indian blood. At fifteen, he became a laybrother at the Dominican Friary at Lima and spent his whole life there — as a barber, farm-laborer, almoner, and infirmarian among other things.

Martin had a great desire to go off to some foreign mission and thus earn the palm of martyrdom. However, since this was not possible, he made a martyr out of his body, devoting himself to ceaseless and severe penances. In turn, God endowed him with many graces and wondrous gifts, such as aerial flights and bilocation.

St. Martin's love was all-embracing, shown equally to humans and animals, including vermin, and he maintained a cats' and dogs' hospital at his sister's house. He also possessed spiritual wisdom, demonstrated in his solving his sister's marriage problems, raising a dowry for his niece inside of three days' time, and resolving theological problems for the learned of his Order and for Bishops. A close friend of St. Rose of Lima, this saintly man died on November 3, 1639 and was canonized on May 6, 1962.

Taken in part from Lives of the Saints, Rev. Hugo Hoever, S.O.Cist., Ph.D., Catholic Book Publishing Company

Patron: African-Americans; against rats; barbers; bi-racial people; hair stylists; hairdressers; hotel-keepers; innkeepers; inter-racial justice; mixed-race people; mulattoes; paupers; Peru; poor people; public education; public health; public schools; race relations; racial harmony; social justice; state schools; television.

Things to Do:

If you live close to Washington, D.C., make a pilgrimage to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and visit the Chapel of Our Mother of Africa located in the Crypt Church. If not, make a virtual visit.
Volunteer at a local soup kitchen or do some other act of service for the poor.
Say a Hail Mary for those sold into slavery in the Sudan where tens of thousands of children and adults have been snatched from their homes, or anywhere in the world where slavery is practiced.

St. Hubert

Late in the eighth century, so runs the story, a hunter named Hubert, neither better nor worse than he should have been, was tracking a stag through the forest of the Ardennes. As he readied himself to shoot the animal with his arrow, he was startled when the stag turned suddenly in its flight, and he saw between its antlers a luminous cross. This experience caused Hubert to change his way of life, and he never hunted again. Yet only a few centuries later he was known as the patron of hunters, and is a saint greatly honored in France and Belgium.

Saint Hubert lived a full life. He became bishop of Tongres and traveled through his huge diocese on horseback and by boat, preaching and building churches to the glory of God. He was the friend of the great of his day — Pepin of Heristal and Charles Martel among them — and also of the poor. In particular his heart went out to prisoners, and he would secretly place food for them before their dungeon windows. As he died he said to those about him, "Stretch the pallium over my mouth for I am now going to give back to God the soul I received from Him."

In parts of France and Belgium there has long been a custom of holding stag hunts on Saint Hubert's Day, and the hunters gather before the chase for Mass and the blessing of men and horses and dogs. After the hunt is over, those taking part gather for a bountiful breakfast consisting of fish, meat, salad, cheese, and dessert. Naturally the meat is venison of some sort, and the salad may well be one of dandelion greens.

Excerpted from Feast Day Cookbook

Patron: Archers; dog bite; dogs; forest workers; furriers; hunters; hunting; huntsmen; hydrophobia; liege, Belgium; machinists; mad dogs; mathematicians; metal workers; precision instrument makers; rabies; smelters; trappers.

Symbols: Bishop celebrating Mass as an angel brings him a scroll; bishop with a hound and hunting horn; bishop with a stag with a crucifix; huntsman adoring a stag with a crucifix in its antlers; kneeling before a stag as an angel brings him a stole; kneeling in prayer, a hound before him and often with hunting gear nearby; knight with a banner showing the stag's head and crucifix; stag; stag with a crucifix over its head; young courtier with two hounds.

Things to Do:

Have roast venison in honor of St. Hubert, patron of hunters.

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	What Kind of Steward Are You?
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Thursday, November 3, 2005

Rom 14:7-12 / Lk 15:1-10

One of the great strengths of our society in the United States is the broad range of freedoms that are guaranteed by our Constitution and the freedom of spirit that goes along with them. But, as always in this life, there's a possible downside to all that freedom. It can take the form of an excessive individualism, which looks solely to one's own interests and thinks little or not at all about the needs and concerns of others. It's an isolating view of the world and of life, and it sets the stage, not only for much unnecessary suffering within the community at large, but also for the painful sense of alienation that afflicts so many people, even the most affluent.

In today's epistle, Paul speaks rather pointedly: "None of us lives as his own master and none of us dies as his own master... Both in life and in death we are the Lord's." None of us possesses either our life or our gifts as absolute possessions, but as loans from a generous God who gave us both life and gifts for a specific purpose, namely, to be shared with his family. To decline to share our life and to carry our gifts to those who need them is not only bad stewardship, it is stealing from those for whom the gifts were intended in the first place.

So where do you stand on the gift continuum? Are you sitting on your gifts and hoarding them for some unnamed rainy day, or are you learning the God-like joy of giving your gifts and talents away? Where you stand on this most basic question is probably the key to how and where you'll be spending your eternity, so it will be wise to consider your answer well.

American Cathlic's Saint of the Day

November 3, 2004

St. Martin de Porres

(1579-1639)

"Father unknown" is the cold legal phrase sometimes used on baptismal records. "Half-breed" or "war souvenir" is the cruel name inflicted by those of "pure" blood. Like many others, Martin might have grown to be a bitter man, but he did not. It was said that even as a child he gave his heart and his goods to the poor and despised.

He was the illegitimate son of a freed woman of Panama, probably black but also possibly of Native American stock, and a Spanish grandee of Lima, Peru. He inherited the features and dark complexion of his mother. That irked his father, who finally acknowledged his son after eight years. After the birth of a sister, the father abandoned the family. Martin was reared in poverty, locked into a low level of Lima’s society.

At 12 his mother apprenticed him to a barber-surgeon. He learned how to cut hair and also how to draw blood (a standard medical treatment then), care for wounds and prepare and administer medicines.

After a few years in this medical apostolate, Martin applied to the Dominicans to be a "lay helper," not feeling himself worthy to be a religious brother. After nine years, the example of his prayer and penance, charity and humility led the community to request him to make full religious profession. Many of his nights were spent in prayer and penitential practices; his days were filled with nursing the sick and caring for the poor. It was particularly impressive that he treated all people regardless of their color, race or status. He was instrumental in founding an orphanage, took care of slaves brought from Africa and managed the daily alms of the priory with practicality as well as generosity. He became the procurator for both priory and city, whether it was a matter of "blankets, shirts, candles, candy, miracles or prayers!" When his priory was in debt, he said, "I am only a poor mulatto. Sell me. I am the property of the order. Sell me."

Side by side with his daily work in the kitchen, laundry and infirmary, Martin’s life reflected God’s extraordinary gifts: ecstasies that lifted him into the air, light filling the room where he prayed, bilocation, miraculous knowledge, instantaneous cures and a remarkable rapport with animals. His charity extended to beasts of the field and even to the vermin of the kitchen. He would excuse the raids of mice and rats on the grounds that they were underfed; he kept stray cats and dogs at his sister’s house.

He became a formidable fundraiser, obtaining thousands of dollars for dowries for poor girls so that they could marry or enter a convent.

Many of his fellow religious took him as their spiritual director, but he continued to call himself a "poor slave." He was a good friend of another Dominican saint of Peru, Rose of Lima.

Comment:

Racism is a sin almost nobody confesses. Like pollution, it is a "sin of the world" that is everybody's responsibility but apparently nobody's fault. One could hardly imagine a more fitting patron of Christian forgiveness (on the part of those discriminated against) and Christian justice (on the part of reformed racists) than Martin de Porres.

Quote:

Pope John XXIII remarked at the canonization of Martin (May 6, 1962), "He excused the faults of others. He forgave the bitterest injuries, convinced that he deserved much severer punishments on account of his own sins. He tried with all his might to redeem the guilty; lovingly he comforted the sick; he provided food, clothing and medicine for the poor; he helped, as best he could, farm laborers and Negroes, as well as mulattoes, who were looked upon at that time as akin to slaves: thus he deserved to be called by the name the people gave him: 'Martin of Charity.'"

Lk 15
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
1	Now the publicans and sinners drew near unto him to hear him.	erant autem adpropinquantes ei publicani et peccatores ut audirent illum
2	And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying: This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them.	et murmurabant Pharisaei et scribae dicentes quia hic peccatores recipit et manducat cum illis
3	And he spoke to them this parable, saying:	et ait ad illos parabolam istam dicens
4	What man of you that hath an hundred sheep, and if he shall lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after that which was lost, until he find it?	quis ex vobis homo qui habet centum oves et si perdiderit unam ex illis nonne dimittit nonaginta novem in deserto et vadit ad illam quae perierat donec inveniat illam
5	And when he hath found it, lay it upon his shoulders, rejoicing?	et cum invenerit eam inponit in umeros suos gaudens
6	And coming home, call together his friends and neighbours, saying to them: Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost?	et veniens domum convocat amicos et vicinos dicens illis congratulamini mihi quia inveni ovem meam quae perierat
7	I say to you that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance.	dico vobis quod ita gaudium erit in caelo super uno peccatore paenitentiam habente quam super nonaginta novem iustis qui non indigent paenitentia
8	Or what woman having ten groats, if she lose one groat, doth not light a candle and sweep the house and seek diligently until she find it?	aut quae mulier habens dragmas decem si perdiderit dragmam unam nonne accendit lucernam et everrit domum et quaerit diligenter donec inveniat
9	And when she hath found it, call together her friends and neighbours, saying: Rejoice with me, because I have found the groat which I had lost.	et cum invenerit convocat amicas et vicinas dicens congratulamini mihi quia inveni dragmam quam perdideram
10	So I say to you, there shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance.	ita dico vobis gaudium erit coram angelis Dei super uno peccatore paenitentiam agente

A Voice in the Desert

Thursday November 3, 2005 Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Reading (Romans 14:7-12) Gospel (St. Luke 15:1-10)

Saint Paul, in the first reading today, tells us that each one of us is going to have to stand before the judgment seat of God, and each one of us is going to have to give to God an account of our lives. So he asks, Why then do you judge your brother, because we have a judge, and the judge is the Lord. “Why do we stand in judgment with regard to other people?” is Saint Paul’s question. Who are we to judge others? We can judge actions, but we are not to be judging the people.

The Lord makes clear to us in the Gospel reading what it is that we have to be doing. We need to be praying for the people. If there is somebody whom you find yourself judging, if there is somebody whom you do not like, if there is someone who just kind of gets under your skin, pray for that person. What we tend to do instead is stand in judgment of them. We tend to harbor anger against them, or bad thoughts against them, or sometimes we just plain and simply try to ignore them. But if there is going to be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine righteous people, if there is someone who is giving into some sort of sinfulness then we need to pray for them so that they would repent. What we would want is for them to go to heaven.

Now we also need to look at it and say, “If I am the one standing in judgment of others, maybe I’m the one who needs to repent. Maybe that is going to give far more glory to God and more joy to the angels than anything else that I could think of,” because if we are standing in judgment of others, we are the ones who are sinning. The interesting thing is (probably like that lost sheep wandering around in the hills) we think we are doing just fine. We do not even realize we are lost because we are so caught up in self-righteousness that we think we are doing just fine and we are on the right path. It is the other ninety-nine sheep that are wandering aimlessly–we are the ones that are right, after all. It does not work that way. We have to look at our own selves in light of Christ and we need to realize that we are the ones who need to repent, that we are the ones who are the sinners who need to change our lives. That is a humbling thing to be able to recognize.

So whether it is that we see somebody doing something that needs our prayers, or whether we look at ourselves and find ourselves judging others and therefore we recognize our own need to repent, it does not matter; either way the cure is the same: We need to pray. We need to keep our hearts and our minds focused on Christ. That is the only thing that is important. All we need to do is stop and think about what Saint Paul is telling us, that each of us is going to have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Do we really want to try to explain to Jesus why we thought it was okay for us to be a judge? why we thought it was okay to condemn somebody else? We have no business doing that. And if He is the judge, how do we think we are going to explain our own actions? It is not going to work very well because He knows what we did and He knows why we did it. We are not going to be able to weasel around it and we are not going to be able to lie, so if we really look honestly at ourselves then we are going to have to ask, “Why did I do what I just did?” There ultimately is only one reason: “Because I myself am the sinner in this case.” That is the one who then needs to repent.

So when we look at our own actions and we look at our own selves in the light of judgment and ask ourselves, “Now how am I going to explain to the Lord why I just did what I did,” again, remember that there is not going to be any cutting corners, no neat little stories that we can lie our way through. He is the Just Judge who knows perfectly well what we have done. How are we going to explain ourselves? Since there is not any good explanation for why we do some of the things we do, there is only one option, and that is to repent. When we repent, not only do we save our own souls, but we will find ourselves being much more merciful to others, we will give God glory, and we will provide great rejoicing for the angels in heaven.

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

The Word Among Us

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Meditation
Luke 15:1-10

In response to his critics’ complaints, Jesus compared himself to a shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep to go in search of just one sheep that had gone astray. He then compared himself to a woman searching carefully for one lost coin even though she still had the other nine coins. Where some people faulted Jesus for spending so much time with the “lost” of his generation, Jesus made it clear that this was God’s way. Nothing brings Jesus more joy than “finding” someone who has lost his or her way and bringing that person back into the Father’s loving embrace.

We tend to think of conversion stories mainly in terms of what the person does who has been found. What decisions did he or she make? How did he or she turn from sin and turn back to Jesus? But if we factor in these two parables, we can see that an equally important dimension to conversion is Jesus’ own independent activity in seeking us out and winning us over.

As you pray about these parables, ask yourself, “How often do I let myself be ‘found’ by Jesus?” Even if you have had a prior, dramatic conversion experience—perhaps in your youth or as a young adult—Jesus is still seeking you out. He wants to convert us to him more and more. This belief is at the heart of the church’s teaching on the “universal call to holiness,” and it shows itself in many ways. For instance, when a Benedictine professes final vows, he or she includes a vow called conversatio morum—that is, conversion of life in an ongoing way. Each of us is called to such ongoing “searching” and “being found” as we grow in the life that Jesus has for us.

Here is a concrete suggestion to help you embrace this conversion process more fully. Take a moment, close your eyes, and try to visualize Jesus coming toward you, looking for you. See him stretching out his arms and smiling warmly as he finds you. Then, let him embrace you. With all your heart, try to respond to Jesus by telling him whatever is on your mind. And listen, too, to whatever he wants to tell you. Let Jesus find you, and you will find yourself!

“Jesus, thank you for searching for me and bringing me back to you. I love you, Lord! You are my Savior and my Shepherd.”

Romans 14:7-12; Psalm 27:1,4,13-14

One Bread, One Body

<< Thursday, November 3, 2005 >>

St. Martin de Porres

Romans 14:7-12

Psalm 27

Luke 15:1-10

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PARTY-POOPER

"Rejoice with me." —Luke 15:6, 9

The Father, Son, Spirit, angels, and saints of heaven are constantly rejoicing "over one repentant sinner" (Lk 15:7). The Heavenly Father is throwing a great party on the occasion of our repentance and forgiveness. But we, like the older brother of the prodigal son, often don't come to the party (Lk 15:28). Some of us are jealous and unforgiving of the forgiven. Others just aren't that thrilled about sinners repenting, but we're excited about money, football, or a new car.

Have we ever felt the need to throw a repentance party? How many of us rejoice with heaven through regular monthly Confession? Do we feel excitement and joy every time someone goes into the confessional? Let's be ambassadors of Christ and ministers of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18, 20). Let's go to Confession and invite others to do the same. Throw a Confession party. Invite a few friends to Confession. Pray and praise together. Go to Confession individually. Thank the Lord; then celebrate (Lk 15:32).

Prayer: Father, forgive me for turning down your invitation to the party. May I repent, confess, and celebrate Your loving forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Promise: "But you, how can you sit in judgment on your brother? Or you, how can you look down on your brother? We shall have to appear before the judgment seat of God." —Rm 14:10

Praise: St. Martin rejoiced in doing the simplest tasks, such as manual labor, scrubbing and cleaning, because he did it for his Beloved.

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