The Nexus

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Readings http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/lectionary/10th-sunday-a.html

“I have come to call not the self-righteous, but sinners.”

The gospel for the 10th Sunday of the Year tells the story of the call of
Matthew.  Matthew was a tax collector, and tax collectors at the time of
Jesus were considered outcasts of the Jewish society - together with other
sinners.  Tax collectors were outcasted because they work for the Roman
Empire, and obtain income by taxing their fellow Jews.  But in this gospel
passage, it tells us that Jesus was moving about until he saw Matthew
at his post collecting taxes.  Jesus said to Matthew, “Follow Me”. At
this call, Matthew got up and followed Jesus.  Since Jesus accepted
Matthew as one of His own, Matthew invited Jesus to his home and there
was a celebration together his fellow tax collectors.  The Pharisees
saw this and took it against Jesus for dining and associating with such
people.  But Jesus replied: “People who are in good health do not need
a doctor; sick people do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘It
is mercy I desire and not sacrifice.’ I have come to call not the self-
righteous, but sinners”.

The majority of Jesus’ followers were fishermen: ordinary people who
found in Jesus the hope of Israel and the salvation of their life. And
many who believed in Jesus were simple folks who found in the words and
teachings of Jesus the very Truth from whom they found light, love and
life.  Sometimes, although not in all cases, a lot of knowledge and
status and power may blind people from knowing the ultimate truth about
God and life.  But when people, and this means also the learned, the
rich, the powerful, the influential, together with the simple and those
who are unlettered, suddenly discover their sinful nature and the wisdom
of seeing themselves as creatures before an all-powerful, all-merciful
and all-saving God, they realize that all hope and salvation lies in
the God of life in Jesus of Nazareth.  That is why Jesus told the
Pharisees in this gospel passage that it is not the self-righteous that
He calls, but sinners.  Jesus knew human nature in its very essence and
is certain that when He calls sinners to Himself and lead them to His
saving and merciful help, they will at once follow Him.  Matthew is a
very good example of this because he was well aware that the society
he lives in looks down on his sinful social status.  Jesus thus became
his hope, his salvation, and his future.

In our life journey, there were many times we probably heard the call
of Christ but did not heed it because we were so immersed in a life in
which our hearts were filled with riches and material things.  The
inordinate desire for these has crowded out the spirit from our hearts
and souls in a way that we become blinded by the reality that we will
never bring all our material possessions and treasures with us to our
death.  It is not bad to have wealth or to possess many material sources
of comfort and ease.  But when it becomes the sole love and treasure of
our heart, we become deaf to the call of Christ to share our wealth with
others.  We can have material possessions and wealth without loving them.
Instead, if we become charitable with what we have, we bring the Spirit
of Christ within our hearts and we safeguard our soul from the works of
the flesh: envy, jealousy, competition, dissension, disunity, anger,
pride, greed, lust, and so on.  When we heed the call of Jesus and strive
to live more in charity, like Matthew, we will find our treasure not so
much in our possessions or our status, but in Christ Himself - the One
who is the source of all that we need in life: for ourselves, our family
and our loved ones.

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Readings http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/lectionary/pentecost.html

“Then He breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy
Spirit…’”

The solemnity of Pentecost reminds us of the birth of the Church.
In today’s lectionary readings, the vivid account of what transpired
on that day is given in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. The
passage tells us that in the place where Mary, the apostles, and
other disciples were gathered, “suddenly from up the sky there
came a noise like a strong, driving wind which was heard all
through the house where they were seated…tongues as of fire
appeared which parted and came to rest on each of them…all were
filled with the Holy Spirit.”  After this manifestation of the
presence of the Holy Spirit, the apostles then preached to the
people in different tongues and native languages about the
marvels God has accomplished.

In the gospel account, we are then given a passage of one of
the resurrection appearances of Jesus to His apostles.  In this
account for the feast of Pentecost, we read that “though the
disciples had locked the doors of the place where they were
for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood before them…[and
said] Peace be with you”. At the sight of Jesus, the disciples
rejoiced.  And then Jesus “breathed on them and said: ‘Receive
the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven
them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound.’”

Devotion to the Holy Spirit was not popular during much of
the history of the Catholic Church.  However, the devotion to
Him became more prominent as a charismatic renewal movement
swept the Catholic Church in the middle of the twentieth
century.  The second ecumenical Vatican Council, under the
leadership of Pope John XXIII had the Holy Spirit much in
mind in the renewal of the Church according to the “signs of
the times” - the present situation of the world.  But even
before this Council was convened, many Catholics around the
world were already participating in the charismatic renewal
movement - a movement inspired very much by the Holy Spirit.
Through this movement, those who formerly were lukewarm in
their practice of the faith, suddenly became ardent in their
Christian life and much inspired to prayer and community
worship because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in their
life and among their friends, family and loved ones. Many
were converted also because of this charismatic movements.

The feast of Pentecost can help us to reflect on the many
gifts the Holy Spirit gives us.  We receive these gifts
through the sacrament of baptism and confirmation and also
through our regular attendance of the Mass and practice of
the sacrament of reconciliation.  The gifts of wisdom,
knowledge, counsel, understanding, piety, courage or
fortitude, and fear of the Lord are given to us as
individuals so that we may do the Lord’s will and serve
our brothers and sisters in Christ. Through the Holy
Spirit, we are able to pray well and practice the virtues
of strength, justice, prudence and temperance.  Not only
this, by our docility to the Holy Spirit’s promptings and
our attentiveness to the Word of God and reception of
His Sacrament, we shall bear spiritual fruits: joy, peace,
faith, charity, goodness, kindness, patience, generosity,
chastity, modesty, gentleness, and self-control.  And as
a community, some of us may be gifted with the Holy Spirit
to teach, to preach, to heal, to give words of wisdom,
to counsel and to be instruments of God’s miracles to
others.

We receive so much from God through the Holy Spirit that
we are called to be really thankful and grateful for all
God’s goodness, mercy and kindness.  Pentecost is a time
for us to thank God for the gift of prayer, for the gift
of community through our loved ones and through our
co-workers, and most especially for the gift of the Church
- from whom we are nourished daily or every Sunday with
the Body and Blood of Christ - a sacrament that strengthens
us to do God’s will, obey the Church, and serve our brothers
and sisters in Christ.  Let us praise and thank God always
for the gift of Himself through His Most Holy Spirit.

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Lectionary Readings for the 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year A

http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/lectionary/3rd-sunday-lent-a.html

“…The water I give shall become a fountain
within him, leaping up to provide eternal life”

The gospel for the third Sunday of Lent is from
the gospel of John.  It tells us the story of the
conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman.
In the story, they met at the Jacob’s well.  Jesus
was sitting down at the well when the Samaritan
woman came to draw water.  What ensued between
Jesus and the Samaritan woman was an exchange of
the difference between Jews and Samaritans that
resulted in the faith and conversion of the woman.
What led to the faith of the Samaritan woman was
the prophetic knowledge Jesus had of her - telling
her about herself and how she had many husbands.
Acknowledging Jesus thus as a prophet, she ran
back to the village to tell her companions. The
villagers begged Jesus to stay with them and now
they know for themselves that Jesus is the Savior
of the world and not only from the testimony of
the Samaritan woman.

The occasion of being in the well gave Jesus
the opportunity to talk of His being able to
give living water - the water that will satisfy
and that anyone who drinks of it will never
thirst again.  Since the Samaritan woman needed
something important for her life (water from the
well), this caught her attention.  Water is a
basic need for all - especially in a village
like hers which depends on the well for their
drink and for their flocks.  Jesus thus spoke
at her level of basic need and invited the
woman to raise her need to something higher -
at a spiritual level.  What to the Samaritan
woman was physical water, Jesus spoke of a
living water that “shall become a fountain
within, leaping up to provide eternal life.
One of the symbols of the Holy Spirit is water.
And this is what Jesus was alluding to.

In our everyday living, we often are concerned
with the mundane things like the Samaritan
woman.  We work for physical food, clothing,
shelter, and an education for our children or
ourselves so that we can earn more to keep up
with the rising cost of living.  This Sunday of
Lent, we are called to raise our concerns to a
higher level - to that which shall give us
eternal life.  Lent is a time for us to refocus
our attention on the Lord and like the Samaritan
woman be converted and have faith in Him as the
source of eternal life.  One way we can do so
is to examine our lives and see where we have
failed to do this and to repent and return to
the Lord with a contrite heart.  Only by having
a sorrow for our sins will we begin that step
towards reconciliation with the Lord and once
again strengthen our faith in Him as our
Savior who will lead us to eternal life.

Enkindle in Them the Fire of Your Love archives

Lectionary Readings for Ash Wednesday

“…pray to your Father in secret.”

In 1973, Dr. Karl Menninger wrote a book called,
“Whatever Became of Sin?”  In the book, he mentions
how our contemporary society often blames our
misdeeds and unethical behavior for complexes,
deficiencies, syndromes, and disorders. Although
in some cases these certainly are true, according
to Dr. Menninger some immoral actions flow from a
lack of sense of responsibility.  His book, timely
as it is in its time, call us back to a return to
a renewed sense of responsibility for our own
actions and for a renewed recognition of sin. He
calls back our attention to the reality of sin
and helps us to face up to it.

Ash Wednesday is a time for us to face up to our
sinfulness.  The gospel for this day makes us see
that even though we may not realize it, there is
a sinful potential in each and every one of us, to:
“trumpet our almsgiving”, “pray in a way that many
could see”, & “fast in a way that makes us look sad
and gloomy”.  Even though we may not own up to our
sinfulness, it is there in us; for we can feel and
sense how evil arises in our minds or in our hearts.
If we are not careful and do not take care of our
spiritual life, we may end up always “doing what
we are not supposed to do”.  Ash Wednesday is a
time for us to own up to our failings and our sins.
It is a time for repentance and to return and be
faithful to Christ and His gospel.  When we receive
the ashes on our foreheads, let us remember that
it is by our sins that we are destined to death
and corruption.  Only through Christ do we merit
eternal life.

It is not all the time that we may feel sorrow
for our sins.  We have to pray for it.  Many
conversions were initiated by a great sorrow for
one’s sins.  St. Augustine’s conversion is a
proof of that grace from God.  In the confessional,
the priest-confessor sometimes will help us and
pray that we have a sorrow for our sins.  This
helps us a lot in examining what areas of our
life we have done wrong to God, to others, to
the environment and to ourself.  It also helps
us to see which areas of our life we have failed
to do something for God, for others, for our
environment, and for ourself.  Even if we have
failed or have not done anything about something,
let us not forget that the grace of God always
helps us through the sacraments.  St. Paul, in
one of his letters tells us that “where sin
abounds, grace abounds all the more”.  Whatever
our sin, God’s mercy is greater. We only need to
repent, humble ourself, and seek God’s forgiveness
and be reconciled with God, the Church and
others through the sacrament of penance and
reconciliation.

Enkindle in Them the Fire of Your Love archives

Lectionary Readings for the 31st Sunday of the Year,
Year C

“The Son of Man has come to search out and
save what was lost.”

In the gospel for the 31st Sunday of the Year,
we find the story of Zacchaeus, the chief tax
collector and a man of wealth.  When Zacchaeus
learned that Jesus was passing through his city,
Jericho, being of small stature, he climbed a
sycamore tree because he wanted to see what
Jesus looked like.  When Jesus saw him, He
said, “Zacchaeus hurry down, I mean to stay
at your house today.”  Zacchaeus was delighted
and hurried down to welcome Jesus to his house.

Tax collectors and prostitutes in the time of
Jesus were casted in the same class as sinners.
This is why the Pharisees criticized Jesus:
because Jesus dined with them and kept company
with them.  But the Pharisees did not see that
part of the mission of Jesus was to “search out
and save what was lost”.  There was no point
in keeping company with the righeous - for they
already know what is true and just and right.
Jesus had the heart of a Shepherd, and a Good
Shepherd at that.  If ever one or more of God’s
own strayed from the sheepfold, He would gladly
go out of His way and bring that sheep back to
where it belongs.

For many of us Catholics, we are often busy
earning a living and raising a family.  That in
itself already takes up a lot of our time that
we sometimes forget how we are to share in the
responsibility of the Church to bring people
back to it.  We know that many have fallen away
from the Catholic Church for many reasons - the
most common is a negative experience that has
turned the person off.  But even though we are
not missionaries officially, we do participate
in this mission and we can do something if we
make it part of our work or family obligations.
It doesn’t take much, just an act of kindness
to another and making ourselves known as Catholic
is enough for the other to see that there is
something to being Catholic.