10/16/2014 – Thursday of 28th week in Ordinary Time – Ephesians 1:1-10, Luke 11:47-54

     Today, we hear the beginning of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.  Ephesus was one of the most important Roman cities in Asia Minor during the time of Jesus.  Many scholars believe that Paul wrote this letter between the year 61 – 63 while he was imprisoned in Rome.   Paul explains that God had a secret plan that was devised from the beginning of creation. Now, that plan is being revealed to us through the revelation we have had through Jesus Christ.  God unites us together under Christ through the sacrifice he made for us.

      The unity we have in Christ is a good thing to think about as we hear the message in the Gospel, about Jesus rebuking.  Again in the Gospel from St Luke, Jesus is rebuking the Scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy because it prevents the people from reaching closer union with God.  They build memorials for the prophets that God sends, yet they reject the prophets’ message and cause their downfall.  I always amazes me how in our society we love putting our heroes on pedestals, but we always love seeing them fall and ripping them down from their pedestals as well.  Pope Francis, in a homily last year during the Lenten season, had this to say about hypocrisy: “The sign that (one) is far from the Lord is hypocrisy. The hypocrite does not need the Lord, he is saved by himself – so he thinks – and he disguises himself as a saint.”  It is hard to look at the ways we are hypocritical, isn’t it, to delude ourselves and to put ourselves up on pedestals.  May we look inside our hearts today to see the ways that God wants us to change and to be open to conversion. 

10/17/2013 – St Ignatius of Antioch – Thursday of 28th week in Ordinary Time – Luke 11:47-54

        When we think of the saints in the early Church, most of them were martyrs, since this was the time of great persecution in the Church.  St Ignatius of Antioch became a bishop in that important Syrian city in the middle of the first century.  Tradition has it that Ignatius was a good friend of John the Evangelist.  Ignatius was very loved by his flock, but he spent a great deal of time defending the faith from a lot attacks and heresies.  Under the Roman emperor Trajan, he was condemned to death for failing to denounce his faith.  On his journey to Rome, while traveling through Greece and Turkey, he wrote pastoral letters to his faithful to encourage them.  Those letters survive today, treasures that speak out to us from the early Church. He is quoted as saying: “It is not that I want merely to be called a Christian, but to actually be one. Yes, if I prove to be one, then I can have the name.”

         In the Gospel, Jesus talks about how God sends prophets and martyrs that the people kill because they do not like the message they hear, that the generation that kills them will be charged with their blood. I always say that God gives us blessings in our lives, that Jesus celebrates with us in our joys and in our happy moments, but he is also there consoling us and giving us the grace to make it through our struggles and our heartaches.  We are not torn up literally like wild animals like St Ignatius of Antioch, but we might feel as if wild animals are nipping at our heels some days.  Lord, give us the courage to endure whatever we are going through at this moment on our journey. 

10/18/2012 – Thursday – Luke 10:1-9 - Luke the Evangelist –

       In order to become a priest, I was sent up to seminary in Wisconsin to study for four years, where I earned two degrees, a Masters of Divinity degree and a Masters of Arts in Theology.  I spent my summers working in parishes or serving as a chaplain at Baptist Hospital in Jackson.  I still spend a lot of time studying and reading books.  Bishop Latino is wanting me to be well-prepared for my work as a priest in my diocese.  Jesus sends out his disciples in today’s Gospel reading in pairs, but he does not send them out very well equipped, does he?  He sends them out without a sack or sandals or money.  He even tells them he is sending them out as lambs amongst wolves. 

         This story is part of our Christian tradition.  It passes down Jesus’ teachings and ministry to us.  We hear this reading today as we celebrate Luke the Evangelist.  The early Church Fathers saw Luke as the author of both the Gospel that bears his name and the Acts of the Apostles.  In his document PORTA FIDEI (THE DOOR OF FAITH) that announced the Year of Faith for our Church, which began on October 11, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the faith that is passed on to us through Mary hearing the words of the angel, through the apostles leaving everything in order to follow Christ, through the disciples who formed the first Christian community, through the martyrs who gave their lives up for the faith, through the men and women who have consecrated their lives to the Church throughout the ages, and through all of the men and women throughout history whose names are written down in the Book of Life.  Luke and the other Evangelists played a key role in passing down the faith to future generations.  We celebrate Luke today and his faith to which he is a witness in his Gospel.  May our faith truly become vibrant and life-giving in every step that we take on our pilgrimage journey.  May Luke accompany us as we try to rediscover the richness of our faith as we celebrate the Year of Faith.