The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we pray for hope and action to be witnesses to the path of fullness of life.
The reading from the Letter to the Ephesians is Paul’s Prayer.
* [1:15–23] See note on Rom 1:8 for the thanksgiving form in a letter. Much of the content parallels thoughts in Col 1:3–20. The prayer moves from God and Christ (Eph 1:17, 20–21) to the Ephesians (Eph 1:17–19) and the church (Eph 1:22–23). Paul asks that the blessing imparted by God the Father (Eph 1:3) to the Ephesians will be strengthened in them through the message of the gospel (Eph 1:13, 17–19). Those blessings are seen in the context of God’s might in establishing the sovereignty of Christ over all other creatures (Eph 1:19–21) and in appointing him head of the church (Eph 1:22–23). For the allusion to angelic spirits in Eph 1:21, see Rom 8:38 and Col 1:16. Here, as in 1 Cor 15:24–25 and Col 2:15, every such principality and power is made subject to Christ.
* [1:15] Your faith…your love: some manuscripts omit the latter phrase, but cf. Col 1:4.
* [1:23] His body: the church (Eph 1:22); cf. note on Col 1:18. Only in Ephesians and Colossians is Christ the head of the body, in contrast to the view in 1 Cor 12 and Rom 12:4–8 where Christ is equated with the entire body or community. Fullness: see note on Col 1:19. Some take the one who fills as God, others as Christ (cf. Eph 4:10). If in Christ “dwells the fullness of the deity bodily” (Col 2:9), then, as God “fills” Christ, Christ in turn fills the church and the believer (Eph 3:19; 5:18). But the difficult phrases here may also allow the church to be viewed as the “complement” of Christ who is “being filled” as God’s plan for the universe is carried out through the church (cf. Eph 3:9–10). (Ephesians, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 8 praises Divine Majesty and Human Dignity.
* [Psalm 8] While marvelling at the limitless grandeur of God (Ps 8:2–3), the psalmist is struck first by the smallness of human beings in creation (Ps 8:4–5), and then by the royal dignity and power that God has graciously bestowed upon them (Ps 8:6–9). (Psalms, PSALM 8 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of Luke shares Jesus' sayings About the Holy Spirit.
* [12:10–12] The sayings about the holy Spirit are set in the context of fearlessness in the face of persecution (Lk 12:2–9; cf. Mt 12:31–32). The holy Spirit will be presented in Luke’s second volume, the Acts of the Apostles, as the power responsible for the guidance of the Christian mission and the source of courage in the face of persecution. (Luke, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB, n.d.)
Luis Rodriguez, S.J. (2021) comments that when we “put our money where our mouth is”, our credibility increases.
The Greek word martyr translates into English as witness and indeed, in the case of martyrdom, a most credible witness. The value of martyrdom lies in the fact of accepting for a cause what we would not spontaneously accept. Jesus accepted in the garden something he did not spontaneously want to undergo and his martyrdom is supreme witness. (Rodriquez, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “The Holy Spirit will inspire martyrs and teach believers,” by Cyril of Jerusalem, 430-543 A.D.
"You must also know that the Holy Spirit empowers the martyrs to bear witness... A person cannot testify as a martyr for Christ's sake except through the Holy Spirit. If 'no man can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit' (1 Corinthians 12:3), will any man give his life for Jesus' sake except through the Holy Spirit?" (excerpt from CATECHETICAL LECTURES 16.21) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 12:8-12 recalls that in 1941, Fr. Ciszek was arrested by the Soviet secret police and subjected to relentless interrogation and torture. All his preparation no doubt sustained him for a time, but eventually, he came to the end of his strength. He confessed to crimes he had not committed just so the torture would stop. He had failed.
Even his failure was covered by God’s grace! Fr. Ciszek had finally accepted Jesus’ words: “Do not worry” (Luke 12:11). Freed from anxiety, he could accept whatever happened and try to live out his vocation in every way he could. He learned to trust that the Spirit would give him the words he needed (12:12). He knew that even if he should fail, the Spirit would still support him. He didn’t have to depend only on his preparations; he could always trust in the Spirit.
May we also learn the “perfect peace of soul” that Fr. Walter Ciszek knew!
“Holy Spirit, I trust you to take care of me in every situation.” (Meditation on Luke 12:8-12, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes the pattern used by Paul invoking blessings upon the community at Ephesus as he proclaims Jesus as above the angels to counter Greek philosophy that places the spiritual above the material. Friar Jude reminds us that our rejection of the Holy Spirit is a possible statement that hate is more powerful than love and a turning of our back on God.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Author Barbara Mahany who writes of the religious call to notice and to praise God at dawn.
Every Abrahamic religion has written the day’s rising of light into its prayer code, beginning with the ancient Judaic command to consecrate the new day with the Birkot Hashachar, fifteen blessings for the dawn spelled out in the Talmud, starting with thanks to God for the rooster’s “ability to distinguish between day and night.”
In Islam, the muezzin keeps watch for the first crack of light on the eastern horizon, and beckons all believers to the dawn prayer, the Fajr, technically the day’s third call to prayer since the Islamic day begins at sundown….
In Christian monastic fixed-hour prayer … the sacred pause is called lauds, the coming of the light. Brother David Steindl-Rast … distills the holy message of lauds to the notion that each sunrise, each new beginning, is a never-ending gift. In turn, in response to this unasked-for benevolence, our reciprocity is to ask ourselves, “What gift might I bring to this day?” [1] …
Thomas Merton, who called the first light “a moment of awe and inexpressible innocence,” as the birds in the bough begin their tentative chirping and an ashen moon departs, railed against inattention to dawn’s beckoning:
Here is an unspeakable secret: paradise is all around us and we do not understand. It is wide open. The sword is taken away, but we do not know it: we are off “one to his farm and another to his merchandise.” Light on. Clocks ticking. Thermostats working. Stoves cooking. Electric shavers filling radios with static. “Wisdom,” cries the dawn deacon, but do we do not attend. [2]
O Lord, let us attend. Let us not lose the taste of its spell, not one droplet of this holiest hour. (Rohr, n.d.)
We recall faith, hope, and charity as the way to successful life and ponder the signs of hope we find in the “z” and “alpha” generations to inspire acceptance of the Holy Spirit to guide our path to full life.
References
Ephesians, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 19, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ephesians/1?
Luke, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 19, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/12?8
Meditation on Luke 12:8-12. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved October 19, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/10/19/1108559/
Psalms, PSALM 8 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 19, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/8?2
Rodriquez, L. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved October 19, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/101924.html
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Creator and Creation: Weekly Summary. Retrieved October 19, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/creator-and-creation-weekly-summary/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Holy Spirit Will Teach You What to Say. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 19, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=oct19
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