Blessed Multitude

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, the Solemnity of All Saints, challenge us to a vision of our connection to the Divine that is eternal, encompassing all people, and demonstrated to us in the lives of saints.

Consider the Saints

The reading from the Book of Revelation is a vision of the Multitudes from Every Nation.

* [7:1–17] An interlude of two visions precedes the breaking of the seventh seal, just as two more will separate the sixth and seventh trumpets (Rev 10). In the first vision (Rev 7:1–8), the elect receive the seal of the living God as protection against the coming cataclysm; cf. Rev 14:1; Ez 9:4–6; 2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:13; 4:30. The second vision (Rev 7:9–17) portrays the faithful Christians before God’s throne to encourage those on earth to persevere to the end, even to death. (Revelation, CHAPTER 7, n.d.)

Psalm 24 is a prayer for entrance into the Temple.

* [Psalm 24] The Psalm apparently accompanied a ceremony of the entry of God (invisibly enthroned upon the ark), followed by the people, into the Temple. The Temple commemorated the creation of the world (Ps 24:1–2). The people had to affirm their fidelity before being admitted into the sanctuary (Ps 24:3–6; cf. Ps 15). A choir identifies the approaching God and invites the very Temple gates to bow down in obeisance (Ps 24:7–10). (Psalms, PSALM 24, n.d.)

The reading from the First Letter of John declares our status as God’s Children.

* [3:1–3] The greatest sign of God’s love is the gift of his Son (Jn 3:16) that has made Christians true children of God. This relationship is a present reality and also part of the life to come; true knowledge of God will ultimately be gained, and Christians prepare themselves now by virtuous lives in imitation of the Son. (1 John, CHAPTER 3, n.d.)

In the Sermon on the Mount from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches the Beatitudes.

* [5:3–12] The form Blessed are (is) occurs frequently in the Old Testament in the Wisdom literature and in the psalms. Although modified by Matthew, the first, second, fourth, and ninth beatitudes have Lucan parallels (Mt 5:3 // Lk 6:20; Mt 5:4 // Lk 6:21b; Mt 5:6 // Lk 6:21a; Mt 5:11–12 // Lk 5:22–23). The others were added by the evangelist and are probably his own composition. A few manuscripts, Western and Alexandrian, and many versions and patristic quotations give the second and third beatitudes in inverted order. (Matthew, CHAPTER 5, n.d.)

Mike Cherney finds himself thinking about what makes a Saint a Saint.

I find that this persistence and grit in identifying and following God’s will seems to be a trait common to the Saints across the ages. Although it takes very different forms, I can see this in the early martyrs, Saints like Theresa of Avila, and Saints like Mother Theresa.

I am reminded of the distinction between Saints and saints, which we were taught by the nuns in elementary school. I think of the small but nevertheless heroic acts of my parents and my deceased oldest sister. They clearly deserve to be known as saints. Although their lives did not consist of what would be called acts on the grand scale (martyrdom or acts of service that become widely recognized), their more subtle embracing of God’s will in everyday life gives me confidence that they too have been granted sainthood.

My prayer today is for perseverance in hearing and following God’s call.

Dear Lord,

I am consoled by the thought that many of the Saints had a less than perfect past.

Forgive me and heal me for my shortcomings and bad choices.

Open my heart and mind to Your direction.

Allow me to follow the models of Your Saints and Your saints. (Cherney, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Perfect blessedness is humility of spirit,” by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD) by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD).

"'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' The Lord taught by way of example that the glory of human ambition must be left behind when he said, 'The Lord your God shall you adore and him only shall you serve' (Matthew 4:10). And when he announced through the prophets that he would choose a people humble and in awe of his words [Isaiah 66:2], he introduced the perfect Beatitude as humility of spirit. Therefore he defines those who are inspired as people aware that they are in possession of the heavenly kingdom... Nothing belongs to anyone as being properly one's own, but all have the same things by the gift of a single parent. They have been given the first things needed to come into life and have been supplied with the means to use them." (excerpt from commentary ON MATTHEW 4.2) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14 invites us to make a friend by reading about the life of a saint. We may ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand and apply their wisdom to your own situation. Notice the way the saint conformed their life to Jesus and followed him.

As you learn more about your saint, you may be inspired by their holiness. You may begin to see how God wants you to grow. That’s what the saints do: they inspire a desire for greater holiness and spur us on to know the Lord.

God is calling you to occupy a unique place of your own in this company of the holy ones. What’s more, he’s empowering you to manifest his love in a way no one else can. And the saints are cheering you on; they’re all ready to be your companions on your journey.

What wonderful company you’ve been invited to keep!

“All you holy men and women, pray for us!” (Meditation on Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler fleshes out the meaning of the 144,000 in the vision from Revelation. The great multitude of those washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb cannot be numbered. The relationship of children of God connects to the Prologue of The Gospel of John. Friar Jude connects elements of the Beatitudes to our humility, need for consolation, rejection of greed, and encounter with the Presence of God.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, connects the church’s teaching on “the communion of saints” and our ancestors.

Humans throughout history have often had a strong appreciation for and connection with their ancestors. I think the collective notion of oneness is what Christians were trying to verbalize when they made a late addition to the ancient Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in the communion of saints.” They were offering us the idea that the dead are at one with the living, whether they’re our direct ancestors, the saints in glory, or even the so-called souls in purgatory.

The whole thing, all of life, is one, just at different stages, all of it loved corporately by God (and, one hopes, by us). Within this worldview, we are saved not by being privately perfect, but by being “part of the body,” humble links in the great chain of history. This view echoes the biblical concept of a covenant love that was granted to the Jewish people as a whole and never just to one individual like Abraham, Noah, or David. (Rohr, n.d.)

We are led by the Spirit to live as Beatitude people with humility, seeking the well being of others, and encountering God in our daily journey.

References

Cherney, M. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/110122.html 

Matthew, CHAPTER 5. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5?1 

Meditation on Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/11/01/524386/ 

1 John, CHAPTER 3. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1john/3?1 

Psalms, PSALM 24. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/24?1 

Revelation, CHAPTER 7. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/revelation/7?2 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/part-of-one-body-2022-11-01/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture ... Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=nov1a 

Humble Steadfast Love

 

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to examine the attitude we bring to prayer and our relationships that may need more humility and less judgement of others to make our love visible.

Reserving judgement

 

The reading from the Prophet Hosea is a call to repentance in the face of the impenitence of Israel and Judah.

 * [6:2] After two days; on the third day: presumptuous Israel expects that soon God will renew them (cf. Ez 37). * [6:5] The word of God proclaimed by the prophets is effective, it accomplished what it promised: punishment.1

Psalm 51 is a prayer for Cleansing and Pardon.

 

* [51:18] For you do not desire sacrifice: the mere offering of the ritual sacrifice apart from good dispositions is not acceptable to God, cf. Ps 50.2

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus teaches the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-Collector.

 

* [18:1–14] The particularly Lucan material in the travel narrative concludes with two parables on prayer. The first (Lk 18:1–8) teaches the disciples the need of persistent prayer so that they not fall victims to apostasy (Lk 18:8). The second (Lk 18:9–14) condemns the self-righteous, critical attitude of the Pharisee and teaches that the fundamental attitude of the Christian disciple must be the recognition of sinfulness and complete dependence on God’s graciousness. The second parable recalls the story of the pardoning of the sinful woman (Lk 7:36–50) where a similar contrast is presented between the critical attitude of the Pharisee Simon and the love shown by the pardoned sinner.3

Angela Maynard comments that during a recent morning of reflection, she had the opportunity to participate in, somebody pointed out, we as Christians are quick to judge. This is contrary to the teachings of the gospels. Jesus associated with anybody and everybody—particularly those to whom the Pharisee refers.

 Jesus uses one of the seven deadly sins, pride in contrast with the heavenly virtue of humility, to teach us the importance of attitude when we pray.  It’s easy to get caught up in the how to pray and where to pray. Let us take the opportunities of the Lenten season to perform some self-examination around the manner in which we pray. “Our strength is prayer and the prayer of a humble person is the weakness of God.  The Lord is weak only in this one sense:  He is weak before the prayers of his people.” -- Pope Francis4 

Don Schwager quotes “God's mercy is our only hope,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

 

"Driven out of paradise by You and exiled in a distant land, I cannot return by myself unless You, O Lord, come to meet me in my wandering. My return is based on hope in your mercy during all of my earthly life. My only hope, the only source of confidence, and the only solid promise is your mercy." (excerpt from Commentary on Psalm 24,5)5

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 18:9-14 comments that examining our conscience can keep us from drifting away from the Lord, not only in serious ways, but also in more subtle ways. Just as a boat may gradually drift off course if the captain doesn’t pay attention, we can slowly drift away from the Lord without a regular review of our lives. That’s what happened to the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable—he didn’t see how the sins of pride and self-righteousness were affecting his relationship with God.

 It can be painful as we carefully review our actions to discover where we have gone off course. But the Holy Spirit is gentle and kind. Even as he convicts us of our sin, he reassures us that God loves us and wants nothing more than to forgive us. He also helps us see just how much we need his help to grow in loving God and his people.6

Friar Jude Winkler examines the connection of the passage from Hosea to Jesus Resurrection. The tax collector was judged by the people to be a collaborator and cheat yet he was found to be more righteous than the Pharisee by Jesus. Friar Jude reminds us that the arrogant have themselves as a god.

 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces The Seven Homecomings, a practice taught by Tibetan Buddhist Lama Rod Owens, to invite us to recognize and honor our own personal “circle of care.”

 

Experience a version of this practice through video and sound.7

We seem, these days, to be more prone to judge others. One gift that Christians can bring to public discourse is the practice of deferring judgement of those with whom we disagree. This attitude has been suggested as a means of reducing culture wars in the Church and society. Humility and Love are less visible when judgement is present.

 

References

1	(n.d.). Hosea, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. Retrieved March 13, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hosea/6
2	(n.d.). Psalms, PSALM 51 | USCCB. Retrieved March 13, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/51
3	(n.d.). Luke, CHAPTER 18 | USCCB. Retrieved March 13, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/18
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Online .... Retrieved March 13, 2021, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/031321.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 13, 2021, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
6	(n.d.). 3rd Week of Lent - The Word Among Us. Retrieved March 13, 2021, from https://wau.org/meditations/2021/03/13/181201/
7	(n.d.). Communion of Saints: Weekly Summary — Center for Action and .... Retrieved March 13, 2021, from https://cac.org/communion-of-saints-weekly-summary-2021-03-13/