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Homily of the Day

Title:	Stay Connected or You'll Lose Your Way
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Monday, November 14, 2005

I Maccabees 1:10-15,41-43,54-57,62-63 / Lk 18:35-43

We have the beginnings of a great tragedy in today's reading from the book of Maccabees. The Greeks had decided to impose their own language and culture on the various parts of their empire. And that meant zero tolerance for the religion of all conquered peoples, including the Jews. The temple at Jerusalem was converted into a gymnasium, and all Jewish religious observances were forbidden under pain of death.

It was decision time for the Jews, young and old, and many of them forgot what it was that made them special, what made them who they were: It was their conscious connection to the Lord. Hoping to win acceptance and advancement from those who held power, many of the Jews turned their backs on their connection to the Lord. And in doing so they lost their identity and lost their way.

It's a temptation that presents itself in every age, if not in so dramatic a way. We face it now, the temptation to give in to a culture that in so many ways has considerable appeal, but is simultaneously seriously flawed. It's hard not to fall victim to its subtle allures and distorted values without even noticing we've done so. Only one thing can prevent that from happening, and that is serious time spent with the Lord every day.

Take that time every day. Let Him help you remember who you are and what really matters. Let Him give you the energy to be faithful and true.

The Worod Among Us

Monday, November 14, 2005

Meditation
1 Maccabees 1:10-15,41-43,54-57,62-63

From their sojourn in Egypt to the time of Hitler and beyond, the Hebrew people have always lived precariously in the midst of hostile neighbors. They survived conquest by Assyria and captivity in Babylon, returning in rags to rebuild their homeland. Alexander the Great was the first Greek to sweep through the area, and by 175 b.c., the Jews were under a more serious threat from Alexander’s Seleucid successors.

The ruler Antiochus IV determined to consolidate his power by putting an end to divisive nationalism. He urged everyone in his kingdom to adopt the “superior” Greek culture. Many Israelites accepted these ways. Why not pay lip service to pagan gods just as the agnostic Greeks did? Where was the harm in eating pork in order to preserve one’s life? Was it really that important to be circumcised?

The voices of those urging accommodation seemed reasonable, just as they do today. Those who clung to the traditional ways of speech, worship, and culture seemed stubborn, behind the times, fanatic, even barbaric, again just as they do today. Does God really expect you to have more than two children? How cruel that the male-dominated church excludes women from public ministry! Where will we draw the line? We must prayerfully discern what entertainment enters our airwaves, what causes we will indirectly support with our shopping dollars, what proposed laws and actions of our government we will tolerate. St. Paul advised, “Do not be conformed to this world”—one translation says, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its mold”—“but be transformed by the renewing of your minds” (Romans 12:2). Now that is a rallying cry we can all respond to. Together, we can change this world!

“Holy Spirit, you have made us your new creation. Re-create us in your image and move us with passion and conviction when the world tries to squeeze us into its mold.”

Psalm 119:53,61,134,150,155,158; Luke 18:35-43