Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 9-13-02, Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor

Reading I
1 Cor 9:16-19, 22b-27

Brothers and sisters:
If I preach the Gospel, this is no reason for me to boast,
for an obligation has been imposed on me,
and woe to me if I do not preach it!
If I do so willingly, I have a recompense,
but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
What then is my recompense?
That, when I preach, I offer the Gospel free of charge
so as not to make full use of my right in the Gospel.

Although I am free in regard to all,
I have made myself a slave to all
so as to win over as many as possible.
I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
All this I do for the sake of the Gospel,
so that I too may have a share in it.

Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race,
but only one wins the prize?
Run so as to win.
Every athlete exercises discipline in every way.
They do it to win a perishable crown,
but we an imperishable one.
Thus I do not run aimlessly;
I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.
No, I drive my body and train it,
for fear that, after having preached to others,
I myself should be disqualified.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 84:3, 4, 5-6, 12

R (2) How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young—
Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my king and my God!
R How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
Blessed the men whose strength you are!
their hearts are set upon the pilgrimage.
R How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
For a sun and a shield is the Lord God;
grace and glory he bestows;
The Lord withholds no good thing
from those who walk in sincerity.
R How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!

Gospel
Lk 6:39-42

Jesus told his disciples a parable:
"Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher;
but when fully trained,
every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,'
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother's eye."

From The Word Among Us

Friday, September 13, 2002

Meditation
Luke 6:39-42

Nothing delights the Father more than seeing his children care for one another in love and humility. Why? Because it is in our selfless service of our brothers and sisters that we most imitate his Son Jesus. Imagine, then, how it must break his heart when he sees different members of his family “serving” others with impure motives. Perhaps we consider ourselves as more advanced in the spiritual life than someone else. Or maybe we write off a neighbor as hopeless because he or she doesn’t think the way we do. How quickly judgments form in our hearts—and we may be so accustomed to them that we do not even realize what we’re doing.

It is this unawareness of pride that Jesus warned against when he told his followers to remove the “log” that was in their eyes before they tried to tend to the “speck” in their neighbor’s (Luke 6:41-42). As Jesus said, such an attempt is like the blind trying to lead the blind: Neither one benefits!

So, what do we do? Should we stop trying to help others until we are completely holy? No one would ever help another soul. Of course we should continue to help everyone we feel God puts in our path. But at the same time, we should be ever willing to have the Lord examine our hearts and bring us deeper repentance and healing. With the psalmist, we can pray: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any wicked way in me” (Psalm 139:23-24).

Whenever you find yourself in a position of ministry—at home, in your parish, or at work—fix your eyes on Jesus. As a suffering servant, he embraced all the pain and weakness of God’s people, even to the point of death on a cross. So selfless was his love that his last breath was not an appeal for our punishment but a prayer for our forgiveness. Jesus swallowed up the darkness of self-love with the light of his self-giving, and by his Spirit, he can empower us to do the same.

“How much you love us, Jesus! You came to redeem us, not to judge us. Help us to become humble servants, as you were a humble servant. Teach us to be witnesses to the selfless love which you showed to us.”

St Paul Does Not Exercise This Right , The Need for Asceticism

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Commentary:

15-18. As he already said in v. 12, St Paul makes it clear that he has
not exercised so far, nor does he envisage doing so, his right to be
supported by the faithful. Conscious that his God-given calling obliges
him to preach the Gospel, he prefers to carry out that mission without
receiving anything in exchange. His attitude shows both his greatness
and his humility: he faces every kind of suffering, privation and
danger for the sake of the Gospel (cf. 2 Cor 11:23-33), and yet he
considers that he is doing no more than his duty. His policy recalls
our Lord's teaching: "When you have done all that is commanded you,
say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty"'
(Lk 17:10; cf. Mt 10:8).

To keep to this self-imposed policy, St Paul had to add to all his
work of evangelization the additional effort to earn his own living. In
the Acts of the Apostles, for example, we learn of his manual work in
Corinth (18:3) and Ephesus (20:34); and he himself tells the
Thessalonians that "we worked night and day, that we would not burden
any of you, while we preached to you the gospel of God" (1 Thess 2:9;
2 Thess 3:9). Only in the case of the Philippians for whom he had very
particular affection, did he allow any exception to this rule (cf. Phil
4:15-16). However, at no time did he feel that others were doing wrong
in acting differently, "for the Lord had disposed that those who
proclaim the Gospel be supported by it [...]. But he [Paul] went
further and chose not even to take what was his due" (St Augustine,
"Sermon" 46, 4).

16. The Church has often used these words of St Paul to remind the
faithful that our Lord has called them to the apostolate through the
sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. The Second Vatican Council
explains what this apostolate involves: "The witness of life, however,
is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true apostle is on the
lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to
unbelievers to draw them towards the faith, or to the faithful to
instruct them, strengthen them, incite them to a more fervent life;
'for Christ's love urges us on' (2 Cor 5:14), and in the hearts of all
should the Apostle's words find echo: 'Woe to me if I do not preach the
Gospel' (1 Cor 9:16)" ("Apostolicam Actuositatem", 6).

St John Chrysostom anticipates the kinds of excuse people might offer
to avoid this duty: "There is nothing colder than a Christian who is
not concerned about the salvation of others [...]. Do not say, I cannot
help others: for, if you are truly a Christian it is impossible not to.
Natural objects have properties that cannot be denied; the same is true
of what I have just said, because it is the nature of a Christian to
act in that way. Do not offend God by deception. If you said that the
sun cannot shine, you would be committing an offense against God and
making a liar of him. It is easier for the sinner to shine or give
warmth than for a Christian to cease to give light: it is easier for
that to happen than for light to become darkness. Do not say that that
is impossible: what is impossible is the contrary [...]. If we behave
in the correct way, everything else will follow as a natural
consequence. The light of Christians cannot be hidden, a lamp shining
so brightly cannot be hidden" ("Hom. on Acts", 20).

19-23. Because he is one with Christ (cf. Gal 2:20), who "came not to
be served but to serve, and to give us his life as a ransom for many"
(Mt 20:28), the Apostle makes himself "all things to all men", so
generous is he and so eager to save as many souls as possible, at the
cost of whatever sacrifice and humiliation might be involved. "A
Christian has to be ready to share his life with everyone at all times,
giving to everyone the chance to come nearer to Christ Jesus. He has to
sacrifice his own desires willingly for the sake of others, without
separating people into watertight compartments, without pigeonholing
them or putting tags on them as though they were merchandise or insect
specimens. A Christian cannot afford to separate himself from others,
because, if he did that, his life would be miserably selfish. He must
become 'all things to all men, in order to save all men' (1 Cor 9:22)"
(J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 124).

Obviously this concern for others should not lead to diluting the
truths of faith. Referring to this point, Pope Paul VI wrote: "The
apostle's art is a risky one. The desire to come together as brothers
must not lead to a watering down or subtracting from the truth. Our
dialogue must not weaken our attachment to our faith. In our apostolate
we cannot make vague compromises about the principles of faith and
action on which our profession of Christianity is based. An immoderate
desire to make peace and sink differences at all costs is,
fundamentally, a kind of skepticism about the power and content of the
Word of God which we desire to preach. Only one who is completely
faithful to the teaching of Christ can be an apostle. And only he who
lives his Christian life to the full can remain uncontaminated by the
errors with which he comes into contact" ("Ecclesiam Suam", 33).

24-27. These similes taken from athletics would have been appropriate for
the Corinthians, for their city hosted the biennial Isthmus games. Often,
when speaking about the Christian life, the Apostle uses metaphors taken
from sport-races (cf. Gal 5:7; Phil 3:12-14; 2 Tim 4:7), combats (1 Tim
6:12; 2 Tim 4:7) and laurel crowns (2 Tim 4:8).

A Christian's life on earth must needs involve interior striving; he should
approach this with in a competitive, sportive spirit, facing up to any
sacrifices that prove necessary, and not letting obstacles, failures or
personal limitation get him down: "We should not be surprised to find, in
our body and soul, the needle of pride, sensuality, envy, laziness and the
desire to dominate others. This is a fact of life, proven by our personal
experience. It is the point of departure and the normal context for winning
in this intimate sport, this race toward our Father's house. St Paul says:
"I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air; but I pommel
my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be
disqualified' (1 Cor 9:26) [...]. In this adventure of love we should not be
depressed by our falls, not even by serious falls, if we go to God in the
sacrament of Penance contrite and resolved to improve. A Christian is not a
neurotic collector of good behavior reports. Jesus Christ our Lord was moved
as much by Peter's repentance after his fall as by John's innocence and
faithfulness. Jesus understands our weakness and draws us to himself on an
inclined plane. He wants us to make an effort to climb a little each day"
("Christ Is Passing By", 75).

27. While we are in this present life, our perseverance can never be taken
for granted: "Let no one feel assured of this gift with an absolute
certainty, although all ought to have most secure hope in the help of God.
For unless we are unfaithful to his grace, God will bring the good work to
perfection, just as he began it, working both the will, and the performance
(cf. Phil 2:13)" (Council of Trent, "De Iustificatione", chap. 13).
Therefore, the Apostle points out, the ascetical effort which every person
must keep on making in this life includes physical mortification and
self-control. Helped by God's grace and confident of his mercy, a Christian
who makes this effort will be able to say as St Paul did at the end of his
life, "there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the
righteous judge, will award to me on that day" (2 Tim 4:8).

***********************************************************************
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.

Integrity

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Commentary:

[None for Luke 6:39-42. Below is a commentary on a similar theme from
Matthew 7:1-5:]

1. Jesus is condemning any rash judgments we make maliciously or
carelessly about our brothers' behavior or feelings or motives. "Think
badly and you will not be far wrong" is completely at odds with Jesus'
teaching.

In speaking of Christian charity St. Paul lists its main features:
"Love is patient and kind [...]. Love bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Corinthians 13:4, 5,
7). Therefore, "Never think badly of anyone, not even if the words or
conduct of the person in question give you good grounds for doing so"
([Blessed] J. Escriva, "The Way", 442).

"Let us be slow to judge.--Each one sees things from his own point of
view, as his mind, with all its limitations, tells him, and through
eyes that are often dimmed and clouded by passion" ("ibid"., 451).

1-2. As elsewhere, the verbs in the passive voice ("you will be
judged", "the measure you will be given") have God as their subject,
even though He is not explicitly mentioned: "Do not judge OTHERS, that
you be not judged BY GOD". Clearly the judgment referred to here is
always a condemnatory judgment; therefore, if we do not want to be
condemned by God, we should never condemn our neighbor. "God measures
out according as we measure out and forgives as we forgive, and comes
to our rescue with the same tenderness as He sees us having towards
others" (Fray Luis de Leon, "Exposicion Del Libro De Job", chapter
29).

3-5. A person whose sight is distorted sees things as deformed, even
though in fact they are not deformed. St. Augustine gives this advice:
"Try to acquire those virtues which you think your brothers lack, and
you will no longer see their defects, because you will not have them
yourselves" ("Enarrationes In Psalmos", 30, 2, 7). In this connection,
the saying, "A thief thinks that everyone else is a thief" is in line
with this teaching of Jesus.

Besides: "To criticize, to destroy, is not difficult; any unskilled
laborer knows how to drive his pick into the noble and finely-hewn
stone of a cathedral. To construct: that is what requires the skill of
a master" ([Blessed] J. Escriva, "The Way", 456).

***********************************************************************
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.

St. John Chrysostom

d. b: 344? d: 407 Feastday: September 13th

St. John, named Chrysostom (golden-mouthed) on account of his eloquence, came into the world of Christian parents, about the year 344, in the city of Antioch. His mother, at the age of 20, was a model of virtue. He studied rhetoric under Libanius, a pagan, the most famous orator of the age.

In 374, he began to lead the life of an anchorite in the mountains near Antioch, but in 386 the poor state of his health forced him to return to Antioch, where he was ordained a priest.

In 398, he was elevated to the See of Constantinople and became one of the greatest lights of the Church. But he had enemies in high places and some were ecclesiastics, not the least being Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, who repented of this before he died. His most powerful enemy, however, was the empress Eudoxia, who was offended by the apostolic freedom of his discourses. Several accusations were brought against him in a pseudo-council, and he was sent into exile.

In the midst of his sufferings, like the apostle, St. Paul, whom he so greatly admired, he found the greatest peace and happiness. He had the consolation of knowing that the Pope remained his friend, and did for him what lay in his power. His enemies were not satisfied with the sufferings he had already endured, and they banished him still further, to Pythius, at the very extremity of the Empire. He died on his way there on September 14, 407.

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