Doers of Good or Promoters of Evil? Which Am I?

 In today's first reading, Romans 5: 12, 15b, 17-19, 20b-21, St. Paul reminds us our connectedness and the ripple effect of both good and evil, saying: "Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all..., inasmuch as all sinned.  If, [however,]  that one person's transgression the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious  gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many..."   In other words, "how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ."

Jesus Christ shows us how to live life to the full as a human being.  All that we do--good or evil, that which is holy or that which is sinful--touches everyone, has an impact on other people's  lives!  The good we do multiplies grace upon grace! Unfortunately, there are those who teach others to do evil.  And sin, as St. Paul says in today's first reading, brings death to all!

An I one who fills the earth with goodness and teach others to do the same or am I one who propagates evil and teaches others to do the same?

Following the Spirit's Call or the Call of the Gospel

 In today's first reading, Wisdom 7: 7-11, the author prays for prudence and pleaded for the spirit of wisdom.  He says to us:  I preferred her more than power,  and I "deemed riches nothing in comparison to her, nor did I liken any priceless gem to her; because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire. Beyond health and comeliness, I loved her, and chose to have her rather than the light, because the splendor of her never yields to sleep. ...[A]ll good things together came to me in her company, and countless riches at her hands."

Would you and I pray for wisdom and prudence beyond all else:  beyond secular wealth, power and prestige? beyond unneeded material things: a yacht, a second house in a popular tourist location, a luxurious vacation or for whatever we lust and do not really need to live a life of loving service, compassionate care, and justice?

In today's Gospel,  Mark 10: 17-30, a man ran up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" After a significant dialogue with the man, Jesus' final answer to was: "'Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will  have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.' At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions."  Further on in the passage, Jesus says to us:  "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in the present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come."

Men and women have left "brothers or sisters or mother or father" in response to the Spirit's call, the call of the Gospel,  to embrace the single lifestyle or to  marry or to enter the priesthood or consecrated religious life or to become deacons. Or, they may have done so against the will of loved ones. Jesus response:  "Amen, I say to you...[you] will...receive a hundred times more now in the present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come."
  

Authentic Listening to the Word of God

 In today's Gospel, Luke 11: 27-28, a woman, impressed by Jesus' preaching, calls out  to him: "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which  you nursed."  In response, Jesus says to her: "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."  Three things we might reflect upon: 1) Mary is truly blessed, as Jesus points out, because she was attentive to God's word, listened to the angel Gabriel, and acted upon God's word. Her fiat was not just words; it was action in accord with the message conveyed to her through the angel and/or through the circumstances of her life.  2) If someone saw you or I in action, as Jesus was observed, would the person give praise to God, saying: "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed"?  3) Would Jesus, seeing what you are doing today, or any day, say: "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it"?  If not, why not and what changes do you, or I, need to make in our lives so that we are, in truth, listening to God and doing what He is asking of us?

Challenges to Follow the Precepts of the Lord

 In today's first reading, James 5: 1-6, St. James challenges the wealthy who are involved in lifestyles that are dominated by corruption. He says: "Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your  impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one...."

The words of St. James applies to the world of today as well to the world in which he lived. Every day, as we listen to the news, we hear of God's precepts being discarded by those who bring harm to others or, in fact, commit murder, withhold wages or cheat their employees in any way, who turn against their loved ones by being unfaithful and/or by being irresponsible in some way, by persons involved in human trafficking, slave labor, and/or drug trafficking and other sin infected behaviors!  Blinded by Satan's lies, a person is likely to make choices that lead, eventually, to misery for themselves and their families. Some of these persons involve their children in sinful situations, as well. Jesus, in today's Gospel, Mark 9: 38-43, 45, 47-48, says to them: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea."  In that same passage, Jesus speaks to his passion that persons make right choices, saying to us:  "If your hand [or your foot] causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands [or two feet] to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire."

How greatly Jesus must suffer when he sees any one of his children being deceived by Satan, who convinces them that doing what is wrong will bring them pleasure!

Lord, open our eyes to recognize Satan as the Father of Lies. Let us not get caught in his trap of lies and let us recognize when he is using another human being as his agent.

 

Mary's Assumption into Heaven and Her Message to Us Women

 Today we celebrate the Assumption of our Blessed Mother Mary.  I share with you one of my meditations on this feast in which I imagine Mary speaking to me, as follows:

I, Mary, truly am blessed among women but not above women.

I am God's handmaid, as are all women.

We've come to do God's will in the plan of salvation, as have all men as well.

And God accepted our surrender, and that of all persons,  to His will and to cooperate in the act of redemption.

And holy is His name!  

The lowly, God has raised up, making  us partners with Him in righting the wrongs done by Adam and Eve, our first parents' desire to do their own will and not submit to God's plan.

God raised us women from our lowly state to a state of dignity and honor:

    I, Mary, a lowly woman, bore Jesus, the Son of God, in my womb.

    I, Mary, a lowly woman, gave birth to God made man.

    I, Mary, a lowly woman, taught Jesus to walk and talk and pray.

    I, Mary, a lowly woman, followed God's Son, and mine, to Calvary.

    I, Mary, a lowly woman, stood beneath the cross, offering support in spite of the risk to my own life.

    And Mary Magdalen, a lowly woman, was the person God chose to proclaim Jesus' resurrection!

We, lowly women, discounted and miscounted in many cultures and by many people, especially in patriarchal religions, are lifted up by Jesus and for Jesus by God the Father and the Holy Spirit!

And holy is His name!

Sowing Bountifully

 In today's first reading, 2 Cor 9: 6-10, St. Paul reminds us that those who sow sparingly will reap sparingly and that those who sow bountifully will reap bountifully. Moreover,  St. Paul emphasizes, it is God who makes "every grace abundant" for us  to sow bountifully, doing the good work that Jesus would do if He were physically here Himself. And He is in us. And so we pray in today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 112: "Blessed the [person] who is gracious and lends to those in need."

Today, whose need for love, compassion, understanding, forgiveness did I meet?  Who needed my smile, my attention, today? Who looked to me, today, for guidance, encouragement?  Was I mindful of the Spirit speaking to me today to sow bountifully and not count the cost?  Or was I so preoccupied with what I wanted to do with my time that I did not notice my neighbor in need?

Recalling God's Goodness to Us

 In today's first reading, Dt 6: 4-13, Moses reminds the people of all the good God has done for them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt, "that place of slavery," and giving them "a land with fine, large cities that you did not build, with houses full of goods of all sorts that you did not garner, with cisterns that you did not dig, with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant...[T]herefore," Moses says to them, "take care not to forget the Lord," your God!

What is the good that the Lord has done for us? How many of us are surrounded by cities we did not  create, flower and vegetable gardens and fruit trees we did not plant, houses we did not build, lakes and streams and creeks we did not produce and so much more! How many times has God not brought us out of a "place of slavery"--an addiction to jealousy, anger, and/or selfishness; an addiction to food or alcohol or other drugs, an addiction to hoarding material things, an addiction to relationships, to sex, to technological gadgets and on and on and on? 

At the end of his admonition, Moses then asks the people to reverence the Lord, their God; "him shall you serve, and by his name shall you swear."  Who am I, who are you, serving? By whom do you, do I, swear an oath of service?