14 minute read
Insight from Fathers Koch & Doyle; Mary Morrell
St. Rose of Lima Chapel, Freehold
NOV. 7 IT IS EASY TO GIVE
WHEN WE HAVE MUCH
1 Kgs 17: 10-16; Heb 9:24-28; Mk 12: 38-44
Many of us dream about hitting a financial windfall. We dream big about what we would do if we hit the lottery. In our times people can achieve fame and fortune by becoming a social media influencer or posting the right video on the right website. Once we have hit the motherlode, our generosity can begin! Along with that generous dream of course, often comes the desire to be recognized for one’s generosity.
In this way we are not too much different than the people at the time of Jesus. While they may not have been able to dream of winning the lottery, or becoming an internet sensation, they were able to exercise some limited ability to make more money. Economic opportunities existed, and while the social strata was often entrenched, then like now, just because one had privilege of legacy, that did not mean that one was at the same time wealthy. This was especially true of the Sadducees.
While Jesus often uses parables as teaching tools, all of which are based on real life scenarios, there are only a few occasions when he employs people in his ministry in such a way. One of those was the rich young man whom we encountered a few weeks ago. In this Gospel we hear the story of a poor elderly woman.
While the wealthy, especially the Pharisees, would be making great fanfare about their contributions to the Temple treasury, this woman comes along and drops in two small coins, amounting to very little money in the grand scheme of things. However, this money comes not from her surplus wealth, but from the meager amount of money that she had.
NOV. 14 THE TIMES ARE
CHANGING
Dn 12:1-3; Heb 10:11-14; Mk 13:24-32 In any time of great political turmoil and social upheaval there is the per-
‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’ TO VIEW FULL VERSIONS OF FATHER KOCH’S WEEKLY COLUMNS, VISIT TRENTONMONITOR.COM>COMMENTARY
sistent tendency to view events through the lens of the “end of times” or the “end of days.” Our time is no different, and certainly this apocalyptic fervor is running rampant through our times.
Although more of a focus in preaching and the spiritual imaginal world of some of the evangelical Christian communities, apocalyptic fascination exists as well within some Catholic circles. As some of the apparitions of the Blessed Mother and those received by other mystics in the life of the Church seem to focus on the great upheavals at the end of time, any period of social disarray can immediately evoke end time thoughts among people.
The challenge is always to read the sign of the times around us. While social turmoil and the on-going pandemic and the political fall-out associated with it are unsettling, they are distractions and not the cause of the challenges that face us these days.
The current anti-Christian and indeed anti-religion sentiment which has been present in much of Europe during the last couple of centuries, is now also finding root within our own country. Those who identify as “Nones” – that is, aligning with no specific religious belief – and those who claim to be either atheistic or agnostic has increased dramatically over the past decade.
While there are many reasons why this is, the search for the why does not suffice to suggest how to address the challenges that this poses for us. This calls for a new paradigm of both evangelization and catechesis, though we have struggled for decades as to how to effectively accomplish this.
NOV. 21 WE ALL SHARE
CITIZENSHIP IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe: Dn 7: 13-14; Rev. 1:5-8; Jn 18:33B-37
Not long ago we heard of Jesus’ encounter with a blind man named Bartimaeus who cried out to Jesus, “Son of David, have mercy on me.” This was not the first time in Jesus’ ministry that we got a sense of his Davidic lineage, but it has gone largely unexplained for us. Now, as Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate, a prisoner on trial, a fuller sense of the implications of this relationship becomes clearer.
While it is likely that David had tens of thousands of descendants at the time of Jesus, and as no son of David has sat on the throne in almost 600 years, this title then carries more implications than merely who stands in line to lead a potential new kingdom in Jerusalem.
Pilate does not call Jesus Son of David, even though this trial is taking place in a city often called the City of David. While none of the buildings in the city are reminiscent of that period – and actually the city itself has migrated up the hill from the fortress conquered by David – David still loomed large over the city and the consciousness of the people.
The Jewish people sought relief from their sense of being captive under the Roman hegemony. They longed for independence, to be freed from the corrupting influence of the Roman system, and to restore the imagined greatness of the past.
This longing is not unique to them or to their times. Each generation seems to long for the past, and we certainly see that as a repetitive theme in our own political framework. Yet theirs is more than nostalgia as it is deeply rooted in their sense of being the chosen people of God whose divinely ordained destiny is to be a people set apart.
Jesus eschews this language, and while he responded to the call of Bartimaeus, he never acknowledged the title that Bartimaeus used. Here, in the trial before Pilate, Jesus is directly confronted with kingdom language, a language that Jesus adroitly dodges in reference to himself.
Jesus does not seek a kingdom in this world, either in his own time, or in ours. While there have been so-called Christian Kingdoms, and while the King of Spain still holds the title of the “Catholic Monarch” the kingdom is “not of this world.”
THE WORD
Father Garry Koch
NOV. 28 WE ANTICIPATE THE
FULFILLMENT OF SALVATION HISTORY
First Sunday of Advent: Jer 33:14-16; 1 Thes 3:12-4:2; Lk 21:25-28, 34-36
Today we enter the new liturgical year with the beginning of Advent. For the next year we will be reading from Luke’s Gospel, so in the months ahead we will hear some of the more well-known parables of Jesus, along with some unique perspectives on who Jesus is and the core of his teaching.
When we open the liturgical year we do so with the ominous warning of the end of times not dissimilar to what we hear also at the end of the liturgical year. So, in a sense, we are again being challenged to alertness in the face of dangerous times.
Unlike the pure threatening nature of the apocalyptic teaching we heard from Jesus at the end of Mark’s Gospel, Luke places this in a much more positive light.
For Luke’s understanding of the end of times, it is the dawning of the next age of history, when the salvation of all who are disciples of Jesus Christ will be realized. While he cautions against complacency and listlessness, Luke at the same time anticipates the dawn of the period of salvation. Taking a more historical thematic approach to writing the Gospel, Luke in a way divides history thus: The Time of Israel/the Jews, the Time of Jesus, the Time of the Church, and then the Time of the Fulfillment.
Each of these four phases of salvation history draws us deeper into mystery of God and prepares us for what is yet to come.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.
Prayer to St. Michael; Age of Confirmation
QI had attended a nearby Catholic Church for more than 20 years. But now I have been driving 40 minutes to another parish because of changes to restore “old traditions” at my local
parish.
One of them is the common recitation of the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel immediately after Mass. I find it inappropriate to speak of St. Michael and Satan right after we have been charged to “go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”
At my former parish, I felt hostage to a small minority who tried to control my post-Mass thoughts and feelings instead of letting me leave Mass with the joy of the Eucharist. (Iowa)
AThe prayer to St. Michael was part of a group of prayers called the Leonine prayers that were said in Catholic Churches following Mass from 1884 until 1965. They were originally introduced by Pope Leo XIII and stemmed from a vision he reportedly had of Satan wanting to destroy the Church.
The intention for which the prayers were said changed over time. Originally, they were offered for the temporal sovereignty of the Holy See but later began to be said for the conversion of Russia.
During the Second Vatican Council, a Vatican instruction implementing the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy decreed that the Leonine prayers were suppressed and would no longer be used. But the recitation of the prayer to St. Michael has been making a “comeback,” and a number of parishes are now reciting that prayer following Mass.
There has been no official Church declaration that this prayer should be resurrected; if your parish is using it, that is most likely a determination by the local pastor – although it could simply be the choice of a group of parishioners who have decided to pray together after Mass.
In any case, you might want to speak with the pastor of your former parish to let him know of your discomfort with this particular prayer and the fact that it seems to dim the joy with which you should be leaving Mass.
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QUESTION CORNER
Father Kenneth Doyle Catholic News Service
QOur seventh-grade religion class would like to know why we have to wait until high school to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. We believe that we are ready to receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit by the time we are in eighth grade, which would complete the process of initiation into our Catholic community. (Albany, New York)
AThe age at which Confirmation is administered varies across the United States, and the choice is made by the local bishop. The Church’s Code of Canon Law says, “The Sacrament of Confirmation is to be conferred on the faithful at about the age of discretion unless the conference of bishops has determined another age” (No. 891).
In 2000, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops decreed that Confirmation should be administered “between the age of discretion and about 16 years of age, within the limits determined by the diocesan bishop.” In several U.S. dioceses, Confirmation is now conferred on children The at 7 or 8 years of age; only after they recitation of are baptized and confirmed do these children receive first Communion. the prayer Your own bishop evidently feels that to St. Michael students in high school are best able to understand what the Sacrament means has been and how it should guide an individual’s making a future in the Catholic community.
If you feel – as some do – that “comeback.” eighth grade is the more strategic and less confusing time for that thought process to take place, you should make your feelings known to your bishop.
Questions may be sent to Father Kenneth Doyle at askfatherdoyle@ gmail.com and 30 Columbia Circle Dr., Albany, New York 12203.
Unsplash image/Jonny Gios
is a place of peace and gratitude
As a blogger for a Catholic publisher, my task is to write on topics of concern for today’s parents. This sometimes proves to be a challenge because I am no longer raising children in today’s culture and am sometimes at odds with my own children about how to raise grandchildren.
But I have found there are THINGS MY FATHER some issues that TAUGHT ME are “evergreen” Mary Clifford Morrell and continue to be issues of concern even for grown-ups. One of these, which stands in stark relationship to our ability for gratitude, is the concept of “enough” – an experience that lives somewhere between deprivation and abundance.
“Enough” is a place of satisfaction, happiness and peace of mind. It doesn’t mean we are at a place of no struggle; it just means we have what we need, if not everything we want. The challenge for parents is to help children move into adulthood knowing the difference.
Whether it is how much money we make, things we buy, time we waste or time we work, how much we consume or how much of our lives are spent in anger, complaints or judging others, we need to develop our internal voice to say, “That’s enough.”
Having parents who grew up during the Great Depression was a blessing for me. As adults, they were satisfied with their modest means and belongings, and loved our humble home. The values I learned from them, to be happy with a simple life, to be grateful for what I had, to learn to make do, and to hold on to my faith, were essential for me as my husband and I raised six children and often did not have everything we needed, particularly enough money to pay all the bills. When one of my young sons, at the dinner table where there was more than enough to go around, asked if we were poor, it opened a door for a conversation on what it means to know poverty.
Within the week, some generous parishioners left a box of Thanksgiving fixings, including the turkey, on our front porch. They obviously knew a family with so many children would appreciate the help, which we did, but I knew there were families who needed it more.
I called around until I found a church unable to help all the families on their Thanksgiving list. With an address in hand, and my youngest sons in the car, we pulled up in front of the house after dusk.
The porch where we were supposed to leave the box was barely visible from overgrown shrubs. There were holes in the roof and several windows were boarded up with plywood. It’s a house we saw weekly on our trip to the supermarket but never imagined anyone actually lived there. It didn’t look safe.
I walked in front of my sons, who carried the box and a few bags of extras we had filled ourselves, and tried to quietly open the porch screen door. Thankfully, we were able to make the delivery clandestinely so as not to embarrass the receivers.
When we got back to the car, the boys were silent. Even the youngest of us need time to process a new understanding of something. As we drove home, I asked my son if he thought we were poor. He didn’t answer; he just shook his head no. The youngest was crying. I asked why. “There were no toys in the box. They need toys,” he said.
While we may sometimes envision the poor as being desperately unhappy, those who suffer material poverty are often those who are most joyful, grateful, generous and faithful, and cannot be counted among those of us who suffer from the many other forms of poverty – poverty of hope, of faith, of joy, of compassion, of generosity, of understanding, of gratitude.
In his message for the Fifth World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis stresses, “Christian discipleship entails deciding not to accumulate earthly treasures, which give the illusion of a security that is actually fragile and fleeting. It requires a willingness to be set free from all that holds us back from achieving true happiness and bliss, in order to recognize what is lasting, what cannot be destroyed by anyone or anything.”
The Holy Father reminds us that the poor, “may be people who lack some things, often many things, including the bare necessities, yet they do not lack everything, for they retain the dignity of God’s children that nothing and no one can take away from them.”
Mary Clifford Morrell is the author of “Things My Father Taught Me About Love” and “Let Go and Live: Reclaiming your life by releasing your emotional clutter.”
