Thoughts on prudence

 

Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Luke 12:39–48

Friends, in today’s Gospel, the Lord urges his disciples and us to be prudent servants, following his ways in anticipation of his coming again. Theologians often call prudence the queen of the virtues because it is the capacity to reign sovereignly over one’s life, both ordering one’s inner powers and directing one’s affairs wisely in the outside world. Prudence is that sure touch, that moral instinct that renders one capable of making the right decision under pressure and in the face of complex circumstances. Prudence is a sort of accumulated theoretical and practical wisdom, a know-how that is for the most part instinctual, in the bones. When placed in the Christian context, therefore, prudence is a feel for how Jesus would react, how he would think, how he would move in a particular situation. It is tantamount to having one’s soul gathered around Christ as its center, so that all one’s actions are informed by Jesus and his way of being in the world. Christian prudence comes from apprenticing to Christ—that is to say, moving with him, watching at close quarters how he lives and moves and gestures. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on shame

 

Converting Shame to Compassion

From: Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life

Remembering Christ transforms remorse into contrition, for “a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Ps. 51:17 NSRV). Remembrance of Christ converts shame to compassion, which allows us to reach out to others who share our struggles. And the memory of Christ prevents guilt from overwhelming us and makes us receptive to forgiveness. The memory of Christ is thus a healing, spiritually therapeutic memory. By remembering my life and struggles in the light of Christ's presence, my past is redeemed and can become an occasion for thanksgiving and praise.

“My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”   - Psalm 51: 17

Thoughts on almsgiving

 

Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Luke 11:37–41

Friends, Jesus concludes today’s Gospel by prescribing giving alms as a key to holiness. I’ve quoted to you before some of the breathtaking remarks of saints and popes about almsgiving. Leo XIII says that once the demands of necessity and propriety have been met, the rest of your money belongs to the poor. John Chrysostom says, “The man who has two shirts in his closet, one belongs to him; the other belongs to the man who has no shirt.” The deepest root of all of this is in the prophets, who continually rail against those who are indifferent to the poor. The prophets teach us that compassion is key to biblical ethics, feeling the pain of others in our own hearts. We’re not dealing with an abstract Aristotelian moral philosophy but rather with something more visceral. This is precisely why the two great commandments are so tightly linked: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart . . . and love your neighbor as yourself.” In loving God you feel the feelings of God, and God is compassionate to the poor and oppressed. That’s all the argument that a biblical person needs. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on confession

 

Incarnational Living

Confession and forgiveness are precisely the disciplines by which spiritualization and carnality can be avoided and true incarnation lived. Through confession, the dark powers are taken out of their carnal isolation, brought into the light, and made visible to the community. Through forgiveness, they are disarmed and dispelled and a new integration between body and spirit is made possible.

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”   - James 5: 16

Thoughts on giving thanks

We hear and say the word “thanks” fairly often, though perhaps not often enough and usually without much thought. Thanksgiving Day is our most popular national holiday, yet many folks do not recognize or acknowledge the religious dimension of that day. Last Sunday’s master-servant parable reminded us that we are God’s servants and have no reason to expect God to thank us for doing what God asks of us. But while God may have no obligation to thank us, we have an obligation to thank God. Today’s Scripture readings can help us to understand better the rich biblical concept of thanksgiving.

 

In the Bible, to give thanks means to state publicly that God is at work. It involves public witness. It could be in response to the creation of the world or, more personally, it could be in response to having been rescued from danger or illness. In this Sunday’s first reading, the healing of Naaman the Syrian from contagious skin disease is a good example of the biblical approach to thanksgiving. So is the Gospel story of the cleansing of the 10 individuals with leprosy. Those with leprosy believed in Jesus’ power to heal, and on their way the 10 found themselves to have been miraculously healed. All’s well that ends well, but not quite! Only one of those healed returns to Jesus to give public witness to God about his healing. 

 

In our lives, public witness doesn’t necessitate posting expressions of gratitude on websites, parish bulletins, or social media. It does mean living our gratitude in such a way that no one can doubt that God is the Giver of all Gifts. It means helping others to see that we and they should never forget the Giver who is behind the gifts.

Fr Frank Reale, SJ

Thoughts on social conventions

 

Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

Luke 10:38–42

Friends, today’s Gospel is the story of Martha and Mary. I’d like to offer a fresh take on this famous little story. One of the principal marks of Jesus’s teaching and ministry is the overturning of social conventions. And one of the most striking and surprising of Jesus’s moves was a radical inclusion of women.    While this typically women’s work was going on, men would sit out in the main room of the residence and talk. If a prominent rabbi or Pharisee were present, the men would sit at his feet and listen to his words.   Now we can see why Mary’s attitude was so offensive to Martha and probably to everyone else in the room. Martha wasn’t simply mad that Mary was giving her more work to do; she was mad that Mary had the gall to assume the stance of a man, to take up her position in the men’s space.   In his response to Martha’s complaint, Jesus signals more than a preference for listening over acting; he invites a woman into full participation in the life of discipleship. “Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on the Good Samaritan

 

Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

Luke 10:25–37

Friends, our Gospel today is one of the best known of Jesus’s parables, the story of the Good Samaritan. Every story, parable, illustration, and exhortation is, at the end of the day, a picture of the Lord.   In one of the great windows of Chartres Cathedral, there is an intertwining of two stories: the account of the fall of mankind and the parable of the Good Samaritan. This reflects a connection that was made by the Church Fathers. The Good Samaritan is a symbol of Jesus himself, in his role as Savior of the world.   Now our task is to be other Christs. “Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus says to him, “Go and do likewise.”   We spend our lives now looking for those people stranded by the road, victimized by sin. We don’t walk by, indifferent to them, but rather we do what Jesus did—even for those who are our natural enemies, even for those who frighten us. And we bring the Church’s power to bear, pouring in the oil and wine of compassion, communicating the power of Christ’s cross. Bishop Robert Barron