Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 10-27-05

October 27, 2005
Thursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Psalm: Thursday 46

Reading I
Rom 8:31b-39

Brothers and sisters:
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He did not spare his own Son
but handed him over for us all,
how will he not also give us everything else along with him?
Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?
It is God who acquits us.
Who will condemn?
It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was raised,
who also is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us.
What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?
As it is written:

For your sake we are being slain all the day;
we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.

No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly
through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities,
nor present things, nor future things,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 109:21-22, 26-27, 30-31

R. (26b) Save me, O Lord, in your mercy.
Do you, O GOD, my Lord, deal kindly with me for your name’s sake;
in your generous mercy rescue me;
For I am wretched and poor,
and my heart is pierced within me.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your mercy.
Help me, O LORD, my God;
save me, in your mercy,
And let them know that this is your hand;
that you, O LORD, have done this.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your mercy.
I will speak my thanks earnestly to the LORD,
and in the midst of the throng I will praise him,
For he stood at the right hand of the poor man,
to save him from those who would condemn his soul.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.

Gospel
Lk 13:31-35

Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,
“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem.’

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
Behold, your house will be abandoned.
But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

From: Romans 8:31b-39

Trust in God

[31b] If God is for us, who is against us? [32] He who did not spare
his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all
things with him? [33] Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?
It is God who justifies; [34] who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus,
who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand
of God, who indeed intercedes for us? [35] Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? [36] As it is written, "For
they sake we are being killed all day long; we are regarded as sheep
to be slaughtered."

[37] No, in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved
us. [38] For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
[39] nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able
to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Commentary:

31-39. The elect will emerge unscathed and victorious from all attacks,
dangers and sufferings and will do so not through their own efforts but
by virtue of the all-powerful aid of him who has loved them from all
eternity and who did not hesitate to have his own Son die for their
salvation. It is true that as long as we are on this earth we cannot
attain salvation, but we are assured that we will attain it precisely
because God will not withhold all the graces we need to obtain this
happy outcome: all that is needed is that we desire to receive this
divine help. Nothing that happens to us can separate us from the Lord
--not fear of death or love of life, not the bad angels or devils, not
the princes or the powers of this world, nor the sufferings we undergo
or which threaten us nor the worst that might befall us. "Paul
himself", St John Chrysostom reminds us, "had to contend with numerous
enemies. The barbarians attacked him; his custodians laid traps for
him; even the faithful, sometimes in great numbers, rose against him;
yet Paul always came out victorious. We should not forget that the
Christian who is faithful to the laws of his God will defeat both men
and Satan himself" ("Hom. on Rom.", 15).

This is the attitude which enables us to live as children of God, who
fear neither life nor death: "Our Lord wants us to be in the world and
to love the world but without being worldly. Our Lord wants us to
remain in this world--which is now so mixed up and where the clamor of
lust and disobedience and purposeless rebellion can be heard--to teach
people to live with joy [...]. Don't be afraid of the paganized world:
our Lord has in fact chosen us to be leaven, salt and light in this
world. Don't be worried. The world won't harm you unless you want it
to. No enemy of our soul can do anything if we don't consent. And we
won't consent, with the grace of God and the protection of our Mother
in heaven" (S. Bernal, "Monsignor Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer", p.
213).

31. This exclamation of the Apostle vividly reveals the full extent of
the love of God the Father, who not only listens to our prayers but
anticipates our needs. God is with us, he is always by our side. This
is a cry expressing confidence and optimism, despite our personal
wretchedness; it is firmly based on our sense of divine sonship.
"Clothed in grace, we can cross mountains (cf. Ps 103:10), and climb
the hill of our Christian duty, without halting on the way. If we use
these resources with a firm purpose and beg our Lord to grant us an
ever increasing hope, we shall possess the infectious joy of those who
know they are children of God: 'If God is for us, who is against us?'
(Rom 8:31) Let us be optimists. Moved by the power of hope, we shall
fight to wipe away the trail of filth and slime left by the sowers of
hatred. We shall find a new joyful perspective to the world, seeing
that it has sprung forth beautiful and fair from the hands of God. We
shall give it back to him with that same beauty" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends
of God", 219).

38-39. "Angels", "principalities": names of different angelic
hierarchies (cf. Eph 1:21; 3:10); also a possible reference to fallen
angels, demons (cf. 1 Cor 15:24; Eph 6:12). "Powers" can mean the same
as "angels" and "principalities".

"Height" and "depth" may refer to cosmic forces which, in the culture of
that time, were thought to have some influence over the lives of men.

By listing these powerful superior forces (real or imaginary) St Paul is
making the point that nothing and nobody, no created thing, is stronger
than God's love for us.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Luke 13:31-35

Jesus' Reply to Herod

[31] At that very hour some Pharisees came, and said to him (Jesus),
"Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." [32] And he said to
them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform
cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.
[33] Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day
following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from
Jerusalem.'

Jerusalem Admonished

[34] "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those
who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children
together as a hen gathers her brook under her wings, and you would
not! [35] Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not
see me until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
Lord.'"

Commentary:

31-33. This episode apparently took place in the Perea region which,
like Galilee, was under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas (cf. Lk
3:1), a son of Herod the Great (cf. note on Mt 2:1). On other occasions
St. Luke mentions that Herod was keen to meet Jesus and see him perform
a miracle (cf. Lk 9:9; 23:8). These Pharisees may be giving Jesus the
warning just to get him to go away. Jesus calls Herod--and indirectly
his accomplices--a "fox", once again showing his rejection of duplicity
and hypocrisy.

Jesus' answer shows them he is completely in command of his life and
death: he is the Son of God and his Father's will is his only governor
(cf. Jn 10:18).

34. Jesus here shows the infinite extent of his love. St Augustine
explores the meaning of this touching simile: "You see, brethren, how a
hen becomes weak with her chickens. No other bird, when it is a mother,
shows its maternity so clearly. We see all kinds of sparrows building
their nests before our eyes; we see swallows, storks, doves, every day
building their nests; but we do not know them to be parents, except
when we see them on their nests. But the hen is so enfeebled over her
brood that even if the chickens are not following her, even if you do
not see the young ones, you still know her at once to be a mother. With
her wings drooping, her feathers ruffled, her note hoarse, in all her
limbs she becomes so sunken and abject, that, as I have said, even
though you cannot see her young, you can see she is a mother. That is
the way Jesus feels" ("In Ioann. Evang.", 15, 7).

35. Jesus shows the deep sorrow he feels over Jerusalem's resistance to
the love God had so often shown it. Later St Luke will record Jesus'
weeping over Jerusalem (cf. Lk 19:41). See also the note on Mt 23:37-
39.

[The note on Mt 23:37-39 states:

Jesus' moving remarks seem almost to sum up the entire history of
salvation and are a testimony to his divinity. Who if not God was the
source of all these acts of mercy which marks the stages of the history
of Israel? The image of being protected by wings, which occurs often in
the Old Testament, refers to God's love and protection of his people. It
is to be found in the prophets, in the canticles of Moses (cf. Deut 32:11),
and in many psalms (cf. 17:8; 36:8; 57:2; 61:5; 63:8). "And you
would not": the Kingdom of God has been preached to them unremittingly
for centuries by the prophets; in these last few years by Jesus himself,
the Word of God made man. But the "Holy City" has resisted all the
unique graces offered it. Jerusalem should serve as a warning to every
Christian: the freedom God has given us by creating us in his image and
likeness means that we have this terrible capacity to reject him. A
Christian's life is a continuous series of conversions--repeated
instances of repentance, of turning to God, who, loving Father that he
is, is every ready to forgive.

Catholic Culture

Collect:
Almighty and ever-living God, strengthen our faith, hope, and love. May we do with loving hearts what you ask of us and come to share the life you promise. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Activities:

October 27, 2005

Thursday of the Thirtieth Week of Ordinary Time

Rosary, in the literal sense of the word, designates a garden of roses. Most fittingly is this term applied to the well-known prayer which we call the rosary. This prayer is truly a garden, in which bloom the roses of Mary's heavenly virtues; a garden, in which we can drink from the rivers of grace and breathe in the pure and invigorating atmosphere of the supernatural. Through the rosary we not only acquire a deeper knowledge of the life of Jesus and Mary, but we are also aroused to holy love and imitation. Even a summary reflection on the mysteries of the rosary will show us how true this is.

Meditation - The Glorious Mysteries
Without the glorious mysteries the work of Christ would be incomplete and His followers would be the most miserable among men, as St. Paul says. But Christ rose from the dead — O death where is thy victory, O death where is thy sting? Christ ascended into heaven to prepare a place for us — joys, which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no human heart experienced. And here on earth we are not left alone in the struggles and labors of life; Jesus has sent us the Holy Spirit, that by the power of His love we might persevere in loyalty to Christ unto death. A pledge and illustration of the glory to come was given us in Mary, the Mother of Jesus. She was raised from the dead and taken into heaven with soul and body, and there crowned as Queen of all angels and saints, because more than all of these she has served, suffered, and loved unto death.

Life's struggles and sorrows will not last forever; soon they will be over and heaven will be ours for all eternity. Thus these glorious mysteries are a powerful call from on high to mind the things of heaven, to view the things of this life in heavenly light. And the power of the Holy Spirit's grace, the intercession and help and inspiration of our heavenly Mother, will give us peace which surpasses all understanding, joy in the midst of all tribulations. "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior"

Excerpted from Our Lady's Litany, Rev. A. Biskupek S.V.D.

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	How Strong Is Your Bond with Christ?
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Thursday, October 27, 2005

Rom 8:31-39 / Lk 13:31-35

St. Paul poses an interesting and crucial question in today's Epistle to the Romans. "Who can separate us from the love of Christ?" Nothing should, but lots of things do. There are many people in every parish who at one time in their lives were active in their faith, but walked away when some tragedy, like the loss of a loved one, struck and they never forgave God for failing to protect them. There are plenty of people who didn't deliberately walk away from the Lord, but just wandered away distractedly and barely even noticed it themselves. And, of course, there are always those who can't face the Lord because they know that some part of their lifestyle is at grave odds with the love of the Lord.

The list could go on and on, but the message for us should be to look again at our own relationship with Christ and ask honestly how deep are the roots of the friendship. Is it just a casual acquaintance or a bond with real muscle? What kind of candidate are we for early departure from this most important of all our bonds? It may be that we have some work to do and that a bond that's just a matter of habit needs to become a matter of profound conviction and attachment. Now's the time to find out, while there's still time.

A Voice in the Desert

Thursday October 27, 2005 Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading (Romans 8:31b-39) Gospel (St. Luke 13:31-35)

Our Lord, in the Gospel reading today, tells the people of Jerusalem that He has longed to gather them under His wings as a hen gathers her chicks but they were unwilling to do so. We see again the heart of the Lord. What He wants is for us to draw near. He wants to protect us. He wants to gather us into Himself, but we have to be willing, we have to make that choice. Now the wonderful thing is when we make that choice, Saint Paul then asks the question: What can separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Jesus Christ? The answer is “nothing.” He asks the question: Who is going to accuse us? Well, it is certainly not going to be God; He sent His Son to die for us. It is not going to be Jesus; He is interceding for us. He goes on to ask the question then: What can separate us from the love of Christ? Can anguish or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or the sword? The answer is “no.” Nothing external to ourselves can separate us from the love of Christ. That is why he goes on later to talk about neither life nor death, nothing future or present, not even the angels, not even the demons, not even Satan himself can separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Jesus Christ.

There is only one being in the entire universe who can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ–and that is ourselves. We are the only ones who have the power to separate ourselves from Christ. The devil will tempt us, all of these external things will befall us, but the reality is that we either adhere ourselves to Christ by our will or we separate ourselves from Christ by our will. It is a choice that we have to make. As He points out again, He longs to gather us to Himself. That is what He desires more than anything. He wants us to be right there, to draw near to Him, to be under His protection, but He will not force us to do so. He gave us free will and we have to exercise that free will. So there is absolutely nothing that is going to be able to separate us from Christ outside of ourselves. It is only we ourselves who can do that. Just always keep that point in mind.

If God is for us, who can be against us? No one. There are lots of people who are against us on one level; starting from Satan and working from there, you could probably count up all kinds of people. It does not matter. If God is on our side (or perhaps we should turn it the other way: if we are on God’s side) then we have nothing at all to worry about. If we have drawn near to Him then we are protected under His wing. We have the grace of God, we have the power of Christ, we have everything right there at our disposal. The main thing is that we stay with Jesus. Again, we all know how easy it is to get pulled away. All the things of the world, all the temptations of the flesh, all the things that Satan will throw up there to try to entice us away from Christ, he tries to convince us that all these things that are not good for us are really harmless and because they are harmless it is okay if we pull away from being under God’s wing, it is okay for us if we just step out a little bit. We know what happens when we step away from Christ, and we also know the harm that these supposedly harmless things will cause our souls.

As long as we are with God we have nothing to fear because it is the choice that we have made. But what we do need to fear is our own self because by one choice of our own we can separate ourselves from the love of God in Jesus Christ. But knowing that that is the only thing that can separate us, that God is not waiting up there to condemn us, that Jesus is not going to be waiting there to accuse us, that the heart of God is directed toward us to draw us near to Himself, then we have absolutely nothing to fear from God, nothing, absolutely nothing to fear from God. And if we are under God’s wing we have nothing to fear from the devil or anyone else. The only one to fear is the one who can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ–and that is our own self.

* This text was transcribed from the audio recording with minimal editing.

The Word Among Us

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Meditation
Luke 13:31-35

Neither Herod, in his desire to kill Jesus, nor the Pharisees, in their attempt to protect him, could dissuade Jesus from fulfilling the Father’s plan of salvation. That plan was formed long ago, and Jesus dedicated his life to carrying it out. He knew that he must meet Jerusalem and the cross, and he said as much to the Pharisees: “I must go on my way . . . for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem” (Luke 13:33).

As he journeyed to his final hour, Jesus mourned, for he was well aware that his sacrifice of love would not be able to save those who rejected him. Jerusalem had been the scene of the brutal murders of many of God’s prophets; Jesus would be no exception. Yet he wanted the children of Jerusalem to come to him. Just as a mother and father cannot force a wayward child back to them, Jesus could not demand that his people respond to his offer of mercy and redemption.

Jesus’ words revealed the heart of one who grieves for us, not for himself. He would go willingly to the cross to win our forgiveness. Without a trace of bitterness or resentment, he freely showed his compassion for all people. As Jesus foretold, he would arrive in Jerusalem amidst cries of praise: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 19:38). Days later, however, he would be crucified. The people who rejoiced at his entrance into the holy city would later release a notorious prisoner rather than save Jesus from the cross. They would forsake Jesus and, by their own choosing, their house would be forsaken. How this knowledge must have saddened Jesus as he mourned over Jerusalem’s rejection of him!

Our own “house” need not be forsaken. Though we are sinners, Jesus awaits us, longing to gather us to his side. Nothing that we have ever done, however sinful, can keep him from loving us. God never forces us to return to him, and he is always ready to take us back when we do repent. As he did with the people of Jerusalem, he respects our freedom as well. It’s up to us!

“Thank you, Jesus, for loving me even when I turn away from you. Help me to come under your loving care. Bring everyone—even those who seem far away from you—into your embrace.”

Romans 8:31-39; Psalm 109:21-22,26-27,30-31

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