Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 8-27-03, Memorial, St. Monica

Reading I
1 Thes 2:9-13

You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery.
Working night and day in order not to burden any of you,
we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God.
You are witnesses, and so is God,
how devoutly and justly and blamelessly
we behaved toward you believers.
As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his children,
exhorting and encouraging you and insisting
that you walk in a manner worthy of the God
who calls you into his Kingdom and glory.

And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly,
that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us,
you received it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God,
which is now at work in you who believe.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 139:7-8, 9-10, 11-12ab

R (1) You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.
R You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall guide me,
and your right hand hold me fast.
R You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light"–
For you darkness itself is not dark,
and night shines as the day.
R You have searched me and you know me, Lord.

Gospel
Mt 23:27-32

Jesus said,
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,
but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth.
Even so, on the outside you appear righteous,
but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the memorials of the righteous,
and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood.'
Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your ancestors measured out!"

From: 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

First Gospel Preaching in Thessalonica (Continuation)

[9] For you remember our labor and toil, brethren; we worked night and
days that we might not burden any of you, while we preached to you the
gospel of God. [10] You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and
righteous and blameless was our behavior to you believer; [11] for you
know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you
and encouraged you and charged you [12] to lead a life worthy of God,
who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

Their Patience

[13] And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received
the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the
word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work
in you believers.

Commentary:

7-9. St Paul could have "made demands" in a double sense--by using the
full force of his apostolic authority, and by exercising his right to
financial support from the community (cf. 1 Cor 9:14); but he did
neither one thing (vv. 7-8) nor the other (v. 9).

On the contrary, he passed on the Gospel message and worked with the
disinterested love and dedication of a nursing mother. St John
Chrysostom, putting himself in St Paul's place, comments as follows:
"It is true that I preached the Gospel to you in obedience to a
commandment from God; but I love you with so great a love that I would
have been ready to die for you. That is the perfect model of sincere,
genuine love. A Christian who loves his neighbor should be inspired by
these sentiments. He should not wait to be asked to give up his life
for his brother; rather, he should offer it himself" ("Hom. on 1 Thess,
ad loc.").

"The work of evangelization presupposes in the evangelizer an ever
increasing love for those whom he is evangelizing [...]. What is this
love? It is much more than that of a teacher; it is the love of a
father; and again, it is the love of a mother. It is this love that the
Lord expects from every preacher of the Gospel, from every builder of
the Church. A sign of love will be the concern to give the truth and to
bring people into unity [...]. Yet another sign of love will be the
effort to transmit to Christians not doubts and uncertainties born of
an erudition poorly assimilated but certainties that are solid because
they are anchored in the Word of God. The faithful need these
certainties for their Christian life; they have a right to them, as
children of God" (Paul VI, "Evangelii Nuntiandi", 79).

The Apostle's hardworking life strengthened his moral authority when he
had to warn people against the temptation of idleness (cf. 1 Thess 4:
11) ; it also was a very good example for the early generations of
Christians.

10-12. "Each one of you": St Paul did not confine his preaching to the
synagogue or other public places, or to liturgical assemblies of
Christians. He took an interest in people as individuals, giving advice
and consolation in a friendly, confidential way and telling them how
they should conduct themselves in the presence of God. Christians
should copy him in their own apostolate: "Those well-timed words,
whispered in the ear of your wavering friend; the helpful conversation
you managed to start at the right moment; the ready professional advice
that improves his university work; the discreet indiscretion by which
you open up unexpected horizons for his zeal. This all forms part of
the 'apostolate of friendship'" (J. Escriva, "The Way", 973).

Those who have received the gift of faith naturally try to tell others
about their discovery. "When you come across something useful, you try
to bring other people," St Gregory comments. "So, you should want other
people to join you on the way of the Lord. If you are going to the
forum or the baths and you meet someone who has nothing to do, you
invite him to go along with you. Apply this earthly custom to the
spiritual sphere and as you make you way to God do not go alone" ("In
Evangelia Homilae", 6, 6). As can be seen clearly from the lives of the
first Christians, apostolate was not the preserve of pastors; all
believers had an apostolic role. And so the Second Vatican Council
pointed out that one kind of personal apostolate very suited to our
times is "the witness of a whole lay life issuing from faith, hope and
charity [...]. Then, by the apostolate of the word, which in certain
circumstances is absolutely necessary, the laity proclaim Christ,
explain and spread his teachings, each one according to his conditions
and competence, and profess those teachings with fidelity"
("Apostolicam Actuositatem", 16).

"Into his own kingdom and glory": "glory" is a divine attribute which
becomes manifest in the "Kingdom" of God; the Church is the as-yet-
incomplete form on earth of that Kingdom, which will not become
visible in its final form until the Parousia at the end of time. God
calls everyone to join the Church so as to be able to enjoy the glory
of the Kingdom of God in due course.

13. Initially divine Revelation was passed on to others orally. "It
[Gospel preaching] was done by the Apostles, who handed on (by the
spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the
institutions they established) what they themselves received--whether
from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or whether
as something learned from the Holy Spirit" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum",
7). Thus, "the apostles, in handing on what they themselves had
received warn the faithful to maintain the traditions which they had
learned either by word of mouth or by letter (cf. 2 Thess 2:15); and
they warn them to fight hard for the faith that had been handed on to
them once and for all (cf. Jude 3). What was handed on by the apostles
comprises everything that serves to make the people of God live their
lives in holiness and increase their faith. In this way the Church, in
her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every
generation all that she herself is, all that she believes" ("Dei
Verbum", 8).

Preaching is truly the "word of God" not only because it faithfully
passes Revelation on but also because God himself speaks through those
who proclaim the Gospel (cf. 2 Cor 5:20). This explains why "the word
of God is living and active" (Heb 4:12), and "such is the force and
power of the Word of God that it can serve the Church as her support
and vigor, and the children of the Church as strength for their faith,
food for the soul, and a pure and lasting fount of spiritual life"
("Dei Verbum", 21).

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 23:27-32

Jesus Indicts the Scribes and Pharisees (Continuation)

(Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees,) [27] "Woe to you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like white-washed tombs, which
outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men's
bones and all uncleanness. [28] So you also outwardly appear righteous
to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

[29] "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the
tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, [30]
saying, `If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have
taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' [31] Thus
you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered
the prophets. [32] Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers."

Commentary:

27-28. The Jews used to whitewash tombs annually, shortly before the
feast of the Passover. The whitewash made the tombs more visible and
helped to avoid people brushing against them, which would have meant
incurring legal uncleanness for seven days (Numbers 19:16; Luke
11:44).

In the sunlight, these tombs sparkled radiantly white, but inside they
held corruption.

29-32. Our Lord shows them that they are cut off from the same cloth
as their ancestors--not because they erect mausoleums in honor of
prophets and just men but because they are guilty of the same sin as
those who killed the prophets. Hence their hypocrisy, which makes them
even worse than their fathers. With pained irony Jesus tells them that
they are compounding the sins of their ancestors.

Clearly this is referring to His passion and death: if the ancients
killed the prophets, by causing Him to suffer and die our Lord's
contemporaries will still be more cruel.

FEAST OF THE DAY

Most of the biographical information available about St. Monica
comes from the work "Confessions" written by her son St. Augustine.
Monica was born into a Christian family in the North African city of
Tagaste around the year 322. Though she was a Christian, she was
given in marriage to a pagan. Her husband criticized the Christian
ideals of charity and piety that Monica followed and lived an amoral
life, but he always respected his her. Monica prayed constantly for
his conversion and was finally rewarded one year before he died.

St. Monica's marriage produced at least 3 children who survived
infancy. Her oldest child, Augustine is the best known for his
conversion from sinner to saint with the help of St. Monica's prayers
and St. Ambrose's instruction. Throughout Augustine's tempestuous
youth, Monica prayed for his conversion. When Augustine traveled,
Monica followed him praying and fasting for him. Augustine finally
settled in Milan and began to take instruction from St. Ambrose. At
the same time, Monica took Ambrose as a spiritual director. Soon
after Augustine converted, Monica died. Monica is the patroness of
mothers.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Son, nothing in this world now affords me delight. I do not know what
there is now for me to do or why I am still here, all my hopes in this
world being now fulfilled. -St. Monica about the conversion of
Augustine

TODAY IN HISTORY

543 Death of St. Caesarius of Arles
824 Death of Pope Eugenius II
1270 Death of King St. Louis IX of France
1590 Death of Pope Sixtus V

TODAY'S TIDBIT

On Sundays and certain feasts throughout the year pastors are
required to offer the Mass for the faithful entrusted to their care. This
Is often called Mass for the people or "Pro Populo."

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray, through the intercession of St. Monica, for all mothers,
especially single mothers.

The Word Among Us

Thursday, August 28, 2003

Meditation
Matthew 24:42-51

Keep awake! (Matthew 24:42)

This solemn warning in Jesus’ parable about household heads and servants paints a picture of how two types of servants respond when no visible authority figure is keeping watch over their actions. The “faithful and wise” servants carry out their responsibilities and take good care of their fellow servants (Matthew 24:45). By contrast, the “wicked” servants slack off and even mistreat the very people they’re supposed to be watching out for (24:49). The master’s return is good news for the first group, disaster for the second!

Reflecting on this parable is an incentive to get our own houses in order—to make sure we are doing the work the Lord has entrusted to us as faithfully as we can. We can start by asking, “Am I open to receiving God’s grace and praying that those around me receive the same grace?” Staying spiritually awake on the home front is a challenging assignment. It means knowing, as best we can, where the people we are responsible for are —not just physically, but spiritually—so that we can serve them well. We will often fall short, but the more we seek God’s help, the more we will hear his voice and receive his wisdom.

But there’s more to this parable than concern for the home front. Jesus also wants us to look beyond our immediate circle. He created us to see ourselves as part of a large community of brothers and sisters who take care of one another as the good servant did. How are we doing? Do we reach out to the poor, to people who are hurting? Do we pray for them? Do we allow their pain to pierce our hearts?

Staying awake also means reaching out of our comfort zones to love the people we can see and to pray for those we can’t. It means answering the call to take good care of our Master’s house—his creation—so that Jesus will find a happy and well-run family when he returns.

“Lord Jesus, please open our eyes to how we can help people in small ways. Give us opportunities in our families, in work situations—even on the street!—where we can show your love. Give us your compassion so that we can be your faithful servants.”

One Bread, One Body

<< Wednesday, August 27, 2003 >>

St. Monica

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Psalm 139

Matthew 23:27-32

View Readings

SETTING NEW RECORDS FOR EVIL

“You say, ‘Had we lived in our forefathers’ time we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ ” —Matthew 23:30

The “religious” people of Jesus’ times insisted that they would not have committed the sins of their ancestors. We likewise don’t believe we would ever again perpetrate the racism and slavery of our forefathers. We can’t imagine ourselves staffing concentration camps and bombing civilian populations. We think we would never treat women like animals.

Jesus told the people of His time that they were in what psychologists call “denial.” Jesus says the same thing to us. We would commit and are committing some of the worst sins of our ancestors. In fact, we are surpassing our ancestors in evil. Is racism really a thing of the past? Aren’t many employees today treated more like slaves than children of God? The death toll in concentration camps is minuscule compared to the deaths due to surgical and chemical abortions. Who is more innocent than a pre-born baby? Yet they are so often murdered by chemical warfare. What is pornography? It is nothing less than treating women (as well as men and children) as animals or even objects.

Stalin, Hitler, and other villains of history have nothing on us. Repent!

Prayer: Father, free me from sin. Make me holy no matter what.

Promise: “You are witnesses, as is God Himself, of how upright, just, and irreproachable our conduct was toward you who are believers.” —1 Thes 2:10

Praise: St. Monica shared her home with a violent-tempered husband and a disagreeable mother-in-law. Her prayers and patience resulted in the conversion of both of them.

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