His Word Today: Saint Jerome

Good morning everyone,

Today, the Church celebrates the liturgical Memorial of Saint Jerome (circa 347-420 AD).  Born at Stridon, on the border between the Roman provinces of Dalmatia and Pannonia, on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, an area that corresponds to current-day Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Montenegro, Kosovo, part of Serbia and most of northern Albania.

As a teenager, he made his way to Rome, where he learned Latin and some Greek.  He continued his studies, travelling from place to place in order to do so until his mid-30s when he plunged himself into the study of the Bible.  In fact, the legacy he left to the Church was his work in translation of most of the scriptures from Greek and Hebrew to Latin.  He also provided extensive commentaries about the various passages contained in the Bible.

If Jerome were to comment on the scripture passage proposed for today's liturgy (Mt 13:47-52), he would find a way for us to understand Jesus' words: The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind.  When it is full, they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets (Mt 13:47-48).

Our lives are filled with a variety of experiences.  Each of them filters our perception and enriches us, including our experience of prayer and our encounters with the living God.  When the nets of our lives are full - ie when the time comes for us to leave this world - it will be time to sit down and sort through the experiences - the time of judgement.  In the meanwhile, it is good that we should remember this analogy so that we can begin even now to practice the art of sifting through our lived experiences in the light of faith, all the while looking forward to the day when we will see God face to face.

Have a great day.

Respond with compassion

In today's gospel passage, Jesus speaks to the Pharisees, and especially to those among them who loved money and physical possessions.  He was particularly concerned with this group of people because he loved them as much as he loved all others and wanted them to understand the true meaning of wealth.  You see, the danger exists in those who set their sights only on physical possessions, because earthly riches can weaken our ability to understand the sufferings of others.

The story includes a rich man who is very proud of his achievements, but his pride blinds him to the needs of the poor man Lazarus.  This rich man has become comfortable, surrounded with a life of ease.  He may still have been a really good man, but his love of money disoriented his good intentions and made him unresponsive to the needs of those around him.

Jesus makes it clear that we already have the help we need in order to resist the temptation of pride.  The prophet Amos warns that wealth tempts people to think only of themselves (cf Amos 6:1) and the Ten Commandments instruct us to respond to the needs of others, especially those who are poor (cf Ex 20:12-17).  It is not surprising then that Abraham rebukes the rich man with powerful words: remember that during your lifetime, you received good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here and you are in agony (Lk 16:25).

Jesus wanted everyone to fight the good fight of the faith; to take hold of the eternal life to which we are called (1 Tim 6:12).  This is the reason why he chose to offer a parable that shows all of us that being merciful and loving can help us overcome temptation.  Mercy and love are at the heart of God's divine love for each one of us.  If we have recognized these gifts in our own lives, we ourselves can respond by striving to reduce the suffering of others through our acts of compassion and love.

His Word Today: Saint Vincent de Paul

Good morning everyone,

Today, the Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul (24 April 1581 - 27 September 1660), a French priest who dedicated his life to serving the poor.  He was renowned for his compassion, humility and generosity.  He is also the founder of the Congregation of the Mission: a society of apostolic life that includes both priests and brothers; and the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, a Society of Apostolic Life for women.

The gospels tell us that at the sight of the crowds, Jesus' heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned (Mt 9:36).  Here, Jesus shows us by his own reaction that his heart is not unlike our hearts.  Jesus is moved by the presence of those who are in need, and so should we.  This is the simple lesson that we learn from the example of Saint Vincent de Paul.

Let our prayer today be a request that the Lord might work within our hearts to make us aware of the needs of our brothers and sisters, and that we may be inspired by a deep and abiding concern for those in our world who are unable to find peace because they are troubled and feeling abandoned.  Merely by asking for such a grace, we are already beginning to make a difference.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Curiosity

Good morning everyone,

If we are truly honest with ourselves, we will soon discover that many if not all of the characters mentioned in the scriptures hold some part of the traits that we too identify as our own.  Evidence of this truth can be found in today's gospel passage.  Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening and he was greatly perplexed (Lk 9:7).  In fact, he was so perplexed that he kept trying to see him (Lk 9:9).

The reasons for Herod's perplexity were admittedly somewhat self-centred.  His initial intrigue at least had little to do with really wanting to get to know who Jesus was.  Rather, it was about seeking answers to his own inquiring, yet this is not so unlike many of us who begin our quest for faith in the midst of questions that have little to do with seeking the person of Jesus and much to do with responding to questions that seem to arise from our own hearts.

Have you ever considered the fact that Herod's curiosity is not so unlike our own curiosity when it comes to finding ways to see Jesus?  Only when we come face to face with the carpenter/preacher from Nazareth can we begin to seek the answers that we truly want to ask.  Only these answers will ever truly respond to the longings of our hearts.  Don't ignore the curiosity; instead, follow it and allow it to peak your interest.  The journey awaits.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Mission

Good morning everyone,

Have you ever heard the phrase: You are exactly where you need to be, when you need to be there?  It can often happen that we look prayerfully at the events of our day and discover incidents that we may not immediately have seen; in hindsight and in prayer though, we discover that such moments are opportunities for us to recognize God at work in and through us.

At a certain point in time, Jesus sent his disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick (Lk 9:2).  In addition, he instructed them to take nothing for the journey (Lk 9:3).  This is a word of encouragement for us as well, not to take anything for our journey, nothing that will distract us from focusing on Jesus.

From day to day, we must constantly focus our attention on Jesus; we need to look to him for guidance and we need to develop our awareness of his presence, guiding us as we set out each day on our journey.  If we begin each day from this point of view, and if we are persistent in maintaining our resolve to follow him, we will become more and more convinced that we are indeed exactly where we need to be, when our presence is needed.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Action

Good morning everyone,

Yesterday, the Holy Father, Pope Francis sent a video message to those who are participating in the United Nations Summit on Climate Change.  The meeting is taking place in New York, and among the most talked-about participants, there is a teenager from Sweden who is speaking out strongly and challenging all those who are in attendance to take action and not to settle for mere platitudes.

Greta Thunberg is still young, but she is causing quite a stir, perhaps not unlike the attention that was focused on Jesus when he re-defined the established norms of his time.  In the gospel proposed for today's Eucharistic celebration, he says: My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it (Lk 8:21).

We too have a choice to make.  We can choose to hear the words of Jesus and not to allow them to affect us, or we can choose to listen attentively for these words and to allow them to influence our actions.  Jesus is calling us to act, the response is up to us.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Saint Pio

Good morning everyone,

Today, the Church celebrates the liturgical memorial of Saint Pius (Pio) of Pietrelcina, a Capuchin Franciscan Friar who lived between the years 1887 and 1968.  Born Francesco Forgione, he was given the name of Pio when he entered the Order.  Even as a young Friar, Pio was afflicted with a number of illnesses including gastroenteritis at age 6 years and typhoid fever at age 10.  As it turned out, he suffered physically for most of his life, but he accepted it as a gift from God.

As a youth, Francisco reported that he had experienced heavenly visions and ecstasies (a type of altered state of consciousness characterized by greatly reduced external awareness and expanded internal and spiritual awareness).  He was about 10 years old when he first felt drawn to the life of the Franciscans.  This desire continued until he entered the noviciate of the Capuchin Friars at Morcone on 6 January 1903.  Two weeks later, he took the Franciscan habit and the religious name Fra Pio.

For the next seven years, he studied and prepared for priesthood.  Throughout this period, he continued to experience poor health, but he never allowed this to stop him.  Eventually, he was ordained a priest and sent to live - along with a small community of seven friars - in the Capuchin Friary of Our Lady of Grace, located in San Giovanni Rotondo, in the Province of Foggia.  He lived there for the remainder of his life.

Saint Pio is known and loved by the Italian people because of his piety and because of the rare gift of the stignata: the spontaneous appearance of bodily wounds, scars and pain in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ, on the hands, wrists and feet.  In a very tangible way, this holy man practiced the advice that Jesus gives to his disciples: Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me (Mt 16:24).

Padre Pio compared weekly confession to dusting a room weekly, and recommended the performance of meditation and self-examination twice daily: once in the morning, as preparation to face the day, and once again in the evening, as retrospection. His advice on the practical application of theology he often summed up in his now famous quote, Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry. He directed Christians to recognize God in all things and to desire above all things to do the will of God.  Many people who heard of him traveled to San Giovanni Rotondo to meet him and confess to him, to ask for help, or to have their curiosity satisfied.

Padre Pio died at the Friary of Our Lady of Grace on 23 September 1968.  His funeral Mass was celebrated three days later and was attended by more than 100,000 people.  He was Canonized on 16 June 2002 by Saint John Paul II.  The Shrine of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina was dedicated by Saint John Paul II on 1 July 2004 and continues even today to be a place of pilgrimage and prayer for pilgrims from all corners of the world.

May this beloved Saint intercede for us today and help us to always look to Jesus for guidance as we seek to follow him.

Have a great day.