Archive for September, 2011

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Friday, September 23rd, 2011

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Ezekiel 18:25-28    Philippians 2:1-11    Matthew 21:28-32

The reading from St. Paul to the Philippians is a powerful one.  It invites us to be of one mind and one heart.  This means to get along with one another and to try to put others first. It invites us to true humility.  All this sounds like compassion, mercy and love which are actually what Jesus taught us by the way he lived. St. Paul encourages us to be selfless as Jesus was selfless. You may say to yourself that these are all very nice words and beautiful virtues, but it is not easy to live this way. That is very true! That’s why we need to turn to Jesus for help to be like him in our dealings with others.  We need to be mindful, that is, attentive to how we treat others and how we work at living in peace and love with our family, friends and colleagues.  Not easy, but certainly something to consider and to live out.

The Gospel presents a parable about two sons.  The father tells the first son to go out and work in the vineyard.  The son says “I will not” but reconsiders and does go.  The father tells the other son to go work in the vineyard.  This second son says “Yes, sir” but he never does go. The meaning of the parable was crystal clear at the time. The religious leaders of the Jews were the people who say they will obey God but then do not.  The tax collectors and the prostitutes are those who were going their own way, but then began to follow God’s way by getting to know Jesus.

Which group is better?  Neither set of people is great.  But surely one is better than the other.  The point to be made is there are two kinds of people.  There are people whose profession is much better than their practice.  They say they believe, love and follow God and maybe even go to church services, but their practice of God’s ways is very mediocre and even very poor.  The second
group of people would be those who claim to be tough, hard-hearted materialists, but somehow they do kind and generous things, almost in secret sometimes. They might or might not show interest in church or religion, yet in some ways they seem to be living more Christian lives than many professing Christianity.  Neither group really has it together…  The really good person is the one whose profession and Christian practice meet and match.

I might ask myself in which group I belong?  We need to note that promises can never take the place of performance, and fine words are never a substitute for fine deeds.  Here in St. Mary’s Health System, hopefully our promises and our deeds match up.  We say we give quality service and that patients and families come first.  Let us do our utmost to make it so in practice, in deeds of compassion and excellence.

Sr. Suzanne Beaudoin, SSCh
Director of Pastoral Care

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24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Sirach 27:30-28:7      Romans 14:7-9      Matthew 18:21-35 

I’m sure most of us can recall exactly where we were and what we were doing 10 years ago in the morning of September 11, 2001.  The shock and horror eventually gave way to the dawning realization that our country would be changed forever.  

My supervisor used to say that there is no such thing as a “coincidence,” only a “holy incident” that could lead to grace and deeper understanding.  She would probably apply the term “holy incident” to the fact that the readings for this Sunday, September 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks, focus on forgiveness.

In the first reading from Sirach, we are faced with these questions:

“Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the Lord?”

“Can anyone refuse mercy to another, yet expect pardon for one’s own sins?” (Sirach 28:3-4)

And if these questions weren’t provocative enough, in the Gospel we hear Peter’s question about how often we need to forgive (seven times?–thinking he was being more than generous) and Jesus’ response (no, seventy-seven times!!) followed by a powerful parable about debts being forgiven and yet refusing to extend debt forgiveness to others.  Interestingly, the other time this mathematical image is used in Scripture is in the book of Genesis where Lamech (a descendant of Cain) claims he can avenge himself seventy-seven times.  Matthew’s Gospel often has Jesus refer to images from Hebrew Scripture to connect with his Jewish followers but in this case, instead of exacting vengeance, Jesus calls for uncountable forgiveness.

Jesus is not calling us to be passive in the face of wrong-doing.  In fact the call to forgiveness is not so much about the one who does the wrong-doing but about the one who was wronged.  Holding on to anger, bitterness, and grief can have profound negative effects on our physical, mental, and spiritual health.  Are there some things that are too terrible to forgive? Abuse, acts of terrorism?

On this tenth anniversary of 9-11, Pax Christi offers us this image from Scripture:

“As Jesus came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew the things that make for peace!” (Luke 19:41-42) 

Perhaps this is one response in the face of evil and destruction–one approach to acting in a loving and forgiving way:  to focus on the things that make for peace–“drawing closer to those who suffer, cultivating understanding in the midst of suspicion, finding truth in the arguments of those with whom we disagree, embracing some measure of personal sacrifice today to make a better world for our children and grandchildren tomorrow.” (Pax Christi statement on the 10th anniversary of 9-11)

Elizabeth Keene
Mission Integration

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Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Saturday, September 3rd, 2011

Sunday, September 4, 2011

First Reading:  Ezekiel 33:7-9     Second Reading: Romans 13:8-10     Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20 

None of us likes to be called on the carpet.  It may mean that we must submit out will to another or to the group.  It also may mean that we have to face up to the fact that we are not perfect in spite of the fact that we tend to see the wrong in another before we recognize wrong in ourselves. 

The gospel this Sunday is about being called on the carpet.  It goes through great lengths to help the erring person see their waywardness—first someone close tries, then a couple or three friends try, then the whole community.  If the individual still doesn’t correct their ways, they are to be treated like “a Gentile or tax collector” (which is to say, like an outcast). 

But the real crunch of this gospel’s challenge is not so much personal conversion as safeguarding the welfare of the entire community.  So, either the individual changes or he or she is expelled from the community.  To warrant so drastic a punishment suggests that the “sin against you” (not to be misunderstood as a personal wrong committed directly toward another individual but as something that clearly harms the community) must be something pretty serious. 

Giving and receiving corrections is one of the hardest things we can do.  Some strong motivation usually has to be present in order for corrections to be given or received and true reconciliation take place.  There may be many motivations: to save face personally, to please another, to get another to change behavior that simply annoys us, etc. 

The last line of this gospel gives us a clue as to what underlying motivation is really the strongest: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” In other words, our strongest motivation urging us to charitable correction is the fact that we share a common identity of being the body of Christ.  We want to preserve the integrity of that body as well as help others live the gospel values that are the guiding light of our community behavior.  We ourselves are not the reconcilers; it is the power of Christ acting through his body. 

Possible Reflective Questions:

  • How are you with receiving correction? With taking the risks to reach out and correct another?
  • Recall situations when correction led to a deeper harmony—within you, between you and another and/or within the larger community or even within your work situation.

 Father Joseph Manship

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