Equality and Blessing

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today celebrate our unity as brothers and sisters of Christ that transcends distinctions of race, culture, and gender.

Faith and Unity

The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Galatians declares what Faith has brought in there is no longer Jew or Greek.

* [3:23–29] Paul adds a further argument in support of righteousness or justification by faith and through God’s promise rather than by works of the law (Gal 2:16; 3:22): as children of God, baptized into Christ, the Galatians are all Abraham’s descendant and heirs of the promise to Abraham (Gal 3:8, 14, 16–18, 29). The teaching in Gal 3:23–25, that since faith (Christianity) has come, we are no longer under the law, could be taken with the previous paragraph on the role of the Mosaic law, but it also fits here as a contrast between the situation before faith (Gal 3:23) and the results after faith has come (Gal 3:25–29). (Galatians, CHAPTER 3, n.d.)

Psalm 105 praises God’s Faithfulness to Israel.

* [Psalm 105] A hymn to God who promised the land of Canaan to the holy people, cf. Ps 78; 106; 136. Israel is invited to praise and seek the presence of God (Ps 105:1–6), who is faithful to the promise of land to the ancestors (Ps 105:7–11). In every phase of the national story—the ancestors in the land of Canaan (Ps 105:12–15), Joseph in Egypt (Ps 105:16–22), Israel in Egypt (Ps 105:23–38), Israel in the desert on the way to Canaan (Ps 105:39–45)—God remained faithful, reiterating the promise of the land to successive servants. (Psalms, PSALM 105, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus teaches about true Blessedness.

* [11:27–28] The beatitude in Lk 11:28 should not be interpreted as a rebuke of the mother of Jesus; see note on Lk 8:21. Rather, it emphasizes (like Lk 2:35) that attentiveness to God’s word is more important than biological relationship to Jesus. (Luke, CHAPTER 11, n.d.)

Nicky Santos, S.J. comments that for the disciple, biological relationship to Jesus is not as important as believing in Jesus and his message and living it out (hear the word of God and observe it).

Ironically however, Jesus’ central message is that we are already his family, we are all God’s children, loved and cherished by God. And we are invited to love one another with that same unconditional love. But, as we know from experience and from the realities that surround us, this is not easy. We struggle with relating to all others as also God’s children, as our own brothers and sisters. Even within our own biological families we might have difficulty relating to others who don’t share our ideological or political viewpoint.

Let us pray for God’s grace this day that our hearts might be transformed, that we might indeed hear the word of God and observe it in our thoughts and actions. (Santos, 2022)

Don Schwager quotes “Blessings for hearing and keeping the Word,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Mary was more blessed in accepting the faith of Christ than in conceiving the flesh of Christ. To someone who said, 'Blessed is the womb that bore you,' he replied, 'Rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.' Finally, for his brothers, his relatives according to the flesh who did not believe in him, of what advantage was that relationship? Even her maternal relationship would have done Mary no good unless she had borne Christ more happily in her heart than in her flesh." (excerpt from HOLY VIRGINITY 3.1) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Galatians 3:22-29 comments that Paul is not suggesting that Christians become robots who always smile and never have a disagreement. That would leave out Paul himself, a man who had more than his share of disputes! And he had years of experience in building up churches, so he learned firsthand that the body of Christ is made up of very different people, each with unique temperaments and gifts. What Paul is emphasizing here is not a unity based on everyone being the same but a unity founded on the love of God and the presence of the Spirit.

So reflect for a moment on how you can bring the peace of the Lord into your family or among the people closest to you. You could make a point of gathering and praying a decade of the Rosary together. Parents and grandparents could call one of their adult children or grandchildren to pray with them. You could read Scripture together and pick one verse to think about throughout the day. And of course, whether you live with your family or not, you can pray for them—and yourself—to grow in love and respect for one another. The Holy Spirit himself wants to guide us, so let’s invite him in!

“Holy Spirit, come alive in my family! Make us one.” (Meditation on Galatians 3:22-29, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that Paul is explaining how the Law served as a guide to keep us out of trouble and Faith unites us in Christ. The beatitude expressed in Luke is not against Mary who trusted that The Incarnate Word was born from her womb. Friar Jude reminds us that our unity is in faith and not biology.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that the word “respect” means “to look at a second time”: Re-speculate. Re-spect. Our first gaze at anything is always utilitarian, and it almost totally takes over after a while. We tend to think, “What’s in it for me? What can I get out of it? How can I make money from it? Does this make me look good? Will this give me pleasure?” If we don’t recognize the narrowness and the emptiness of that gaze, it will keep us forever at the center of a very small world.

Mystics like Francis see an equivalence between the seer and the seen. They grant respect to all that is outside of themselves. They allow it to speak. At one of our conferences, we sent some of the attendees down to the Rio Grande. We said, “We want you to find one particular object, not the whole landscape, but one leaf, one twig, one lizard, and grant it respect. Talk to it.” And then, even more daringly, in that state of respect, we asked them to let it talk back. I’m sure that was difficult for educated people. They were probably afraid someone would see them or hear them. (Rohr, n.d.)

We can strive for the unity made possible in Christ as we attend to the Spirit speaking in the Word.

References

Galatians, CHAPTER 3. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/galatians/3?22 

Luke, CHAPTER 11. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/11?27 

Meditation on Galatians 3:22-29. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/10/08/507541/ 

Psalms, PSALM 105. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/105?2 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/franciscan-mysticism-2022-10-08/ 

Santos, N. (2022, October 7). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/100822.html 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Hear the Word of God and Keep It. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=oct8 

Mother of the Church

 

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to meditate on the role of Mary as Mother to the Body of Christ.

 

Path to the Basilica 

The reading from the Book of Genesis establishes the source of enmity between evil and the woman.

 

* [3:15] They will strike…at their heel: the antecedent for “they” and “their” is the collective noun “offspring,” i.e., all the descendants of the woman. Christian tradition has seen in this passage, however, more than unending hostility between snakes and human beings. The snake was identified with the devil (Wis 2:24; Jn 8:44; Rev 12:9; 20:2), whose eventual defeat seemed implied in the verse. Because “the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8), the passage was understood as the first promise of a redeemer for fallen humankind, the protoevangelium. Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. A.D. 130–200), in his Against Heresies 5.21.1, followed by several other Fathers of the Church, interpreted the verse as referring to Christ, and cited Gal 3:19 and 4:4 to support the reference. Another interpretive translation is ipsa, “she,” and is reflected in Jerome’s Vulgate. “She” was thought to refer to Mary, the mother of the messiah. In Christian art Mary is sometimes depicted with her foot on the head of the serpent.1

Psalm 87 praises the joy of living in Zion.

 

* [Psalm 87] A song of Zion, like Ps 46; 48; 76; 132. * [87:2] The gates: the city itself, a common Hebrew idiom. * [87:5–6] The bond between the exile and the holy city was so strong as to override the exile’s citizenship of lesser cities.2

The Gospel of John describes Jesus dialogue with the Beloved Disciple  ‘Woman, here is your son.’

 

* [19:26–27] This scene has been interpreted literally, of Jesus’ concern for his mother; and symbolically, e.g., in the light of the Cana story in Jn 2 (the presence of the mother of Jesus, the address woman, and the mention of the hour) and of the upper room in Jn 13 (the presence of the beloved disciple; the hour). Now that the hour has come (Jn 19:28), Mary (a symbol of the church?) is given a role as the mother of Christians (personified by the beloved disciple); or, as a representative of those seeking salvation, she is supported by the disciple who interprets Jesus’ revelation; or Jewish and Gentile Christianity (or Israel and the Christian community) are reconciled.3

Cindy Costanzo comments that Mary is an inspiration for so many women (past and present) who have demonstrated a level of faith that is extraordinary.

 

Women accept impossible jobs, take significant risks, are marginalized, and overcome insurmountable barriers, yet they achieve the impossible. Women have the most amazing gifts, one of which is supporting each other. This is described so well in The Visitation. After accepting the invitation to bear the Son of God, Mary visits Elizabeth, her older cousin who is also with child. Women supporting women.  So today, let’s give honor to our Holy Mother Mary.  Let’s celebrate the women in our life. Let’s work in partnership with the women in our lives. I know this will make a better world.  God will guide us.4

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 19:25-34 comments that although her arrangement with John helped Mary, we can assume that Mary’s presence was, in turn, an even deeper blessing for John and all the disciples.

 What parent doesn’t love to talk about his or her children? Maybe this was the first time the apostles had heard about Jesus’ birth and his early years, stories that eventually made their way into the Bible. But most important was the motherly love that Mary showed the apostles—the way she encouraged them in their mission and comforted them in the face of difficulties. Mary was the perfect mother, first to Jesus, then to John, and now to us. She is not some distant saint to be admired from afar. She is family. Her love for the Church—and for you—is intimate, pure, and stronger than any earthly love. What a comfort it is to know that she is guiding the Church, always leading us closer to Jesus! “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, your children!”5

Friar Jude Winkler looks at the evolution of the image of Mary crushing the serpent with her heel. The matrimonial symbolism in the Gospel has Mary become Mother of the Church with a mission to raise up children for Jesus. Friar Jude notes the Church is Jesus next of kin with Mary in the role of Mother of the Church.

 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that Peter, Paul and John are looking for a corporate, communal, participatory image of what’s really happening, because the individual cannot carry such glory and greatness—and neither can the individual bear such universal suffering and sadness.

 On my own, I don’t know how to believe that I am a child or heir of God. It is being together in our wholeness, with the entire body of Christ, that makes it somehow easier to believe that we are beautiful. We each have our own little part of the beauty, our own gifts of the Spirit, as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 12. Paul says that the particular way “the Spirit is given to each person is for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7). Paul’s word for this is a “charism”—a gift that is given to each person not just for themselves, but to build up the community and even society. Since we don’t have the full responsibility of putting it all together as individuals, we can shed the false theology of perfectionism. All we have to do is discover our own gift, even if it is just one thing, and use it for the good of all.6

In the Body of Christ, we have a corporate communal relationship linked to Mary as Mother.

 

References

1	(n.d.). Genesis, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. Retrieved May 24, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/3
2	(n.d.). Psalms, PSALM 87 | USCCB. Retrieved May 24, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/87
3	(n.d.). John, CHAPTER 19 | USCCB. Retrieved May 24, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/19
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Online Ministries - Creighton University. Retrieved May 24, 2021, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/052421.html
5	(n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved May 24, 2021, from https://wau.org/meditations/2021/05/24/189213/
6	(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archive: 2021 - Daily Meditations Archives .... Retrieved May 24, 2021, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/2021/

 

Ministry of the Spirit

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate our understanding of the fulfillment of salvation and how our experience resonates with Church traditions.

Spiritual resonance

The text from 2 Corinthians offers Paul’s contrast of Life in the Spirit with the Hebrew Covenant.

* [3:6] This verse serves as a topic sentence for 2 Cor 3:7–6:10. For the contrast between letter and spirit, cf. Rom 2:29; 7:5–6.1

Psalm 99 declares Israel is special because of God’s word of justice, which was mediated by the revered speakers, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel.

* [Psalm 99] A hymn to God as the king whose grandeur is most clearly seen on Mount Zion (Ps 99:2) and in the laws given to Israel (Ps 99:4). Israel is special because of God’s word of justice, which was mediated by the revered speakers, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel (Ps 99:6–8). The poem is structured by the threefold statement that God is holy (Ps 99:3, 5, 9) and by the twice-repeated command to praise (Ps 99:5, 9).2 

The portion of the Sermon on the Mount from the Gospel of Matthew begins Jesus teaching about fulfillment of the Law.

* [5:17–20] This statement of Jesus’ position concerning the Mosaic law is composed of traditional material from Matthew’s sermon documentation (see note on Mt 5:1–7:29), other Q material (cf. Mt 18; Lk 16:17), and the evangelist’s own editorial touches. To fulfill the law appears at first to mean a literal enforcement of the law in the least detail: until heaven and earth pass away nothing of the law will pass (Mt 5:18). Yet the “passing away” of heaven and earth is not necessarily the end of the world understood, as in much apocalyptic literature, as the dissolution of the existing universe. The “turning of the ages” comes with the apocalyptic event of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and those to whom this gospel is addressed are living in the new and final age, prophesied by Isaiah as the time of “new heavens and a new earth” (Is 65:17; 66:22). Meanwhile, during Jesus’ ministry when the kingdom is already breaking in, his mission remains within the framework of the law, though with significant anticipation of the age to come, as the following antitheses (Mt 5:21–48) show.3 

Cindy Murphy McMahon comments that a dilemma has been introduced, and hopefully will be explained for all those who may be perplexed having this first reading and this Gospel read together at Masses all over the world today. She shares some insights.

One is that the emphasis here is on fulfillment so as not to negate the sacrifices Hebrew men, women and children had made on behalf of the law throughout the centuries. Jesus wanted to emphasize that by fulfilling and completing the law, he was not nullifying or destroying the law and the good that had come from it.
Another way to look at it is that the ceremonies, sacrifices, restrictions and other features of the Old Covenant were “only a shadow of the good things that are coming – not the realities themselves,” as Paul says in Hebrews.
Or, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, people are invited to rediscover the law in the person of Jesus, who is it's perfect fulfillment. In other words, Jesus personifies the meaning behind the law.4 

Don Schwager quotes “What you teach, you should do,” by Chromatius (died 406 AD).

"While it is sinful to abolish the least of the commandments, all the more so the great and most important ones. Hence the Holy Spirit affirms through Solomon: 'Whoever despises the little things shall gradually die' (Sirach 19:1b). Consequently nothing in the divine commandments must be abolished, nothing altered. Everything must be preserved and taught faithfully and devotedly that the glory of the heavenly kingdom may not be lost. Indeed, those things considered least important and small by the unfaithful or by worldly people are not small before God but necessary. For the Lord taught the commandments and did them. Even small things point to the great future of the kingdom of heaven. For this reason, not only words but also deeds are important; and you should not only teach, but what you teach, you should do." (excerpt from TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 20.2.1–3)
[Note: Chromatius was an early Christian scholar and bishop of Aquileia, Italy. He was a close friend of John Chrysostom and Jerome. He died in 406 AD. Jerome described him as a "most learned and most holy man."]5 

The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Corinthians 3:4-11 shares it’s exciting to think that God’s plan for us just gets better and better as we grow closer to him and come closer to our eternal destiny.

Thinking about our future glory is not meant to make us discontent with the present. Like the little girl with the animal cracker, we can be grateful for the blessings of “now.” The Holy Spirit is giving us help to know how to pray, how to turn back to God when we feel weak, and how to be thankful. The Eucharist is helping us to overcome temptation and is making us into one body in Christ.6 

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the comparison of Paul on the Law on stone and the Law written on our hearts. The proto-sacraments in salvation history of Israel are cited. Friar Jude comments on the converted Pharisee writing the Gospel of Matthew and the demographics of the Church evangelized by Paul.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces the work of Clarissa Pinkola Estés who has spent many years gathering and sharing stories of the Divine Feminine across cultures and religions. In her book Untie the Strong Woman she helps us connect with the Holy Mother’s comfort, guidance, and vision.

In blessed Mother’s view, all are lovable; all souls are accepted, all carry a sweetness of heart, are beautiful to the eyes; worthy of consciousness, of being inspired, being helped, being comforted and protected—even if other mere humans believe foolishly or blindly to the contrary.
If, following the pathways laid down in the stories of the “old believers,” if after the old God . . . who seemed to spend inordinate time creating and destroying, thence came to us in huge contrast, the God of Love—then Our Blessed Mother is the ultimate Mother Who Gave Birth to Love.7 

The span of the spiritual guidance of the Spirit in salvation history includes the face of Moses and the experience of the invitation of the Blessed Mother to live in the Spirit of Her Son.

References

1	(n.d.). 2 Corinthians, chapter 3 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 12, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/2corinthians/3
2	(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 99 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 12, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/99
3	(n.d.). Matthew, chapter 5 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 12, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved June 12, 2019, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 12, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
6	(2019, June 12). Mass Readings and Catholic .... Retrieved June 12, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/2019/06/12/
7	(2019, June 12). Our Blessed Mother — Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 12, 2019, from https://cac.org/our-blessed-mother-2019-06-12/