INVITATION TO COMPASSION

[I HAVE] COME to understand that the heart of Jesus’ invitation to love is an invitation to compassion—to live compassionately.

In the Christian scriptures and in Christian history, love is defined largely in terms of compassion. That’s a relief to me. I confess I’ve never found it easy to define love. It’s so very big. I can call it agape or say it’s some complex mash-up of romantic, platonic, and unconditional stuff, but in the end, a precise definition of love eludes me. Love simply covers too much territory.

Compassion, though, gives me a handle on the massive umbrella that is love. According to Christian understandings, compassion refers to the concrete ways love (divine and human) is expressed. Compassion grounds love in the world we know.

17th September 2019

THE VISITATION OF JESUS

“God has visited His people.” —Luke 7:16

In yesterday’s Gospel reading, Jesus healed by responding to the centurion’s request made in faith. In today’s Gospel, Jesus takes the initiative to heal. No one requested healing from Him; no one seemed aware of His presence until He stepped forward to raise the dead man (Lk 7:12ff). It is Jesus’ nature to heal, to take initiative, to visit His people.

The people of Naim spoke rightly when they said that “God has visited His people” (Lk 7:16). The Son of God came down from heaven to earth to bless, heal, deliver, and make disciples of His people. It was also to destroy the devil’s works and deliver His helpless people that Jesus visited us (see 1 Jn 3:8).

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit love us too much to leave us on our own. So the Father sent His only Son into the world so that we might believe in Him and have salvation (Jn 3:16). He visits for mercy and salvation, not for condemnation (Jn 3:17; Lk 7:16; cf Rm 8:1).

The Lord still visits His people today — in the Eucharist, the Sacraments of the Church, the Sacred Scriptures, and in His Body, the Church. Yet it is possible to miss His visitation, and this causes Jesus to weep (Lk 19:41-44). Therefore, each day roll out the welcome mat for Jesus. Open wide your hearts to Him (2 Cor 6:13).

St Robert Bellarmine (1542 – 1621)

He was born in Montepulciano, in Tuscany, and became a Jesuit. He taught theology in Rome, and was active in disputation against the Protestants, where his effectiveness was increased by his charity and moderation. He was a moderating influence in the Galileo affair, and gave Galileo much friendly advice. In due course he was nominated a cardinal and archbishop of Capua; but it is for his writings that he is chiefly known. He did not only write controversial works: he also wrote two catechisms and some devotional commentaries on the Psalms and on the Seven Last Words.

There are many who are not content that the good will eventually have their day; their satisfaction is complete only when the bad are necessarily punished. We worry that God might be too lenient; worry that there might not be hell for the bad guys!

Like the older brother, our problem is that we have never fully heard or understood God’s words: “My child, you have always been with me and all I have is yours…” So, rather than be happy and grateful for the blessings of God, we are obsessively upset with His mercy shown to those who, we believe, don’t deserve it. This incapacity to let go of the misdeeds of others perhaps betrays our selfish intentions – that our obedience and goodness should be rewarded. Real love, forgiveness and celebration have long gone out of our hearts.

We need to let go of the idea of a book-keeping God and understand that God loves because He wishes to save!

Can I rejoice because my ‘brother who was dead has come back to life’?

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.

“We should glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection, through whom we are saved and delivered.” (Cf Galatians 6: 14).

Saturday of the 23rd week in Ordinary Time is the great feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, also called the Triumph of the Cross. This ancient feast dates back to the 4th century.

How do you see the Cross? An instrument of torture and Roman execution of criminals? Or an altar of sacrifice of the Son of God for the Salvation of the world?

Jesus Christ embraced the Cross the Father decreed for Him and thus triumphed over sin, evil and death. Jesus reigned as King of the Universe from the holy Cross. A concept difficult to understand. Take it as truth from the Church.

How does a symbol of failure turn into a sign of victory? Paul, in the letter to the Philippians, explains that Jesus, though divine, humbled himself to become man and embraced this symbol. Jesus, being raised and receiving the ‘Highest Name’, changes the cross from a symbol of death into a doorway to eternal life.

God often uses the very means of our downfall to become the means of our redemption – He uses the image of a serpent on a standard as a remedy for those who were bitten by the serpents. All that is needed is the gaze of faith. The Gospel shows Jesus introducing Nicodemus to the image of the Cross as God’s act of love – an act that focuses on salvation and not condemnation.

The Cross is the enduring symbol that reminds us that ‘God so loved the world…’. May we, too, as we gaze on the Cross with eyes of faith, rejoice in that love as we make heaven our goal.

“We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you; because by your cross you have redeemed the world.” (Gospel Acclamation).

St Peter Claver (1581 – 1654)

He was born in Catalonia and studied at the University of Barcelona. He became a Jesuit; and while he was studying philosophy in Mallorca, the door-keeper of the college, Alfonso Rodríguez, saw that his true vocation was to evangelize the New World, and encouraged him to fulfil that vocation. (Rodríguez was later canonized on the same day as Peter Claver himself).

He arrived in Cartagena, in what is now Colombia, in 1610, and after his ordination six years later he became ‘the slave of the Negroes forever’, labouring on their behalf for 33 years, attending to both their spiritual and material needs. The slave trade was repeatedly condemned by the Popes; but it was too profitable to be stopped and on the whole the local church hierarchy kept quiet about it, much as they did in North America in the 19th century.

He brought fresh food to the slave-ships as they arrived, instructed the slaves and baptized them in the faith, followed their progress and kept track of them even when they were sent to the mines and plantations, defending them as well as he could from oppressive slave-owners. He organized teams of catechists who spoke the many languages spoken by the slaves. He worked in hospitals also, looking after lepers among others, and in prisons.

Naturally he made himself unpopular by his work: as his superior said, ‘unfortunately for himself he is a Catalan, pig-headed and difficult’. Opposition came from both within the Church and outside it, but there were always exceptions. For instance, while many fashionable ladies refused to enter his city churches because they had been profaned by the presence of the blacks, a few, such as Doña Isabel de Urbina, became his strong and lifelong supporters.

At the end of his life he fell ill with a degenerative disease and for four years he was treated neglectfully and brutally by the servant whose task it was to look after him. He did not complain but accepted his sufferings as a penance for his sins.

Pope St Gregory the Great (540 – 604)

He was born in Rome and followed the career of public service that was usual for the son of an aristocratic family, finally becoming Prefect of the City of Rome, a post he held for some years.

He founded a monastery in Rome and some others in Sicily, then became a monk himself. He was ordained deacon and sent as an envoy to Constantinople, on a mission that lasted five years.

He was elected Pope on 3 September 590, the first monk to be elected to this office. He reformed the administration of the Church’s estates and devoted the resulting surplus to the assistance of the poor and the ransoming of prisoners. He negotiated treaties with the Lombard tribes who were ravaging northern Italy, and by cultivating good relations with these and other barbarians he was able to keep the Church’s position secure in areas where Roman rule had broken down. His works for the propagation of the faith include the sending of Augustine and his monks as missionaries to England in 596, providing them with continuing advice and support and (in 601) sending reinforcements. He wrote extensively on pastoral care, spirituality, and morals, and designated himself “servant of the servants of God.”

He died on 12 March 604, but as this date always falls within Lent, his feast is celebrated on the date of his election as Pope.

28th August 2019

St Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430)

Augustine was born in Thagaste in Africa of a Berber family. He was brought up a Christian but left the Church early and spent a great deal of time seriously seeking the truth, first in the Manichaean heresy, which he abandoned on seeing how nonsensical it was, and then in Neoplatonism, until at length, through the prayers of his mother and the teaching of St Ambrose of Milan, he was converted back to Christianity and baptized in 387, shortly before his mother’s death.

Augustine had a brilliant legal and academic career, but after his conversion he returned he returned home to Africa and led an ascetic life. He was elected Bishop of Hippo and spent 34 years looking after his flock, teaching them, strengthening them in the faith and protecting them strenuously against the errors of the time. He wrote an enormous amount and left a permanent mark on both philosophy and theology. His Confessions, as dazzling in style as they are deep in content, are a landmark of world literature. The Second Readings in the Office of Readings contain extracts from many of his works.

He was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Boniface VIII in 1308.

St. Paul was highly appreciative of the Thessalonians, because they welcomed the Word of God for what it really was: not the word of any human being, but God’s word. Today, the Church remembers St. Augustine, who in his younger life was a proud and elitist intellectual, lured by the obscure philosophies of his day. The young Augustine looked condescendingly upon his mother and her community of naïve believers, who had too simplistic a faith.

After his conversion, Augustine gradually came to see that the simple flock of the Christian community experienced an affective and hope-filled consciousness, which was of far greater beauty and value than the best mystical insights of the most sophisticated philosophers of his day.

Like St. Paul, who says to the Thessalonians, “we treated every one of you as a father treats his children”, Bishop Augustine, too, came to value the importance of human concern and connection which a Christian leader should have for his flock.

27th August 2019

St Monica

St Monica, the holy mother of St Augustine.

“We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us.” (1 Thessalonians 2: 7 – 8).

Tuesday of the 21st week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Monica, the mother of the great St Augustine. Here is what the Church says of St Monica (331 – 387). “Born in Tagaste in Africa, she was the mother of St Augustine. For many years she prayed and suffered for his conversion, never ceasing to believe in the power of grace to move. She is the patroness of married women and a model for Christian mothers.” (Roman Missal).

The tears of Monica moved God to convert her son Augustine, Monica’s pagan husband, Patricius and her grandson.

Monica lived out completely our Scripture verse for today: “We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us.”

We too can become great light in the Household of God if we can live and apply the above Scripture.

26th August 2019

ENDANGERED SPECIES

“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you frauds!” —Matthew 23:13, 15

Jesus called the religious leaders of His day “frauds,” “blind guides” (Mt 23:16), and “blind fools” (Mt 23:17), among other things. Jesus did not say these things in sinful anger. He was simply being forthright in correcting the scribes and Pharisees.

Jesus continues to deal forthrightly with religious leaders. He knows they must render an account to Him for the people they are responsible to lead (Heb 13:17). They need our help desperately. We give thanks for our religious leaders. It takes courage to turn their life over to this calling. They are as brave as someone going off to war. God’s Word tells us what we should do for our leaders:

1. Respect — “Respect those among you whose task it is to exercise authority in the Lord” (1 Thes 5:12).

2. Obey — “Obey your leaders and submit to them” (Heb 13:17), as long as they do not command anything contrary to God’s law (Acts 4:19), and even when they don’t practice what they preach (Mt 23:3).

3. Intercede — “I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for all men, especially for kings and those in authority” (1 Tm 2:1-2).

4. Love — “Love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pt 4:8). Loving our leaders includes forgiving them.

Some religious leaders are in imminent danger of eternal damnation. You can help them at this most critical time of their lives.

St Rose of Lima (1586 – 1617)

She was born in Lima, in Peru. She lived a life of selflessness and devotion from an early age. She refused to marry, and became a Dominican tertiary at the age of 20. Her asceticism and her intense spiritual experiences excited the criticism of her friends and family and the suspicion of the Church authorities.

She cared for the sick, the poor, Indians, and slaves.

She was the first person in the Americas to be canonized, and is a patron saint of South America.