From Season to Season

“The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." —Matthew 22:40   One of the assignments that students find most challenging is condensing a chapter or book into a brief, concise summary. It’s quite difficult to take the words and ideas of another person, reflect on them, discern what is most important in the text, and then present the most important points or themes in your own words. And yet, as teachers and professors can attest, this is an invaluable way of helping students hold on to what is most important for their studies. In a sense, this is the task that is being presented to Jesus in today’s Gospel. On this Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time, our Gospel is a continuation of the passages we have heard over the past two Sundays. Jesus is in conversation with the religious leaders of the Jewish people and they continue to question him, hoping to trip him up by asking for impossible answers. In this Sunday’s passage, Jesus is asked which of the com...

“The king said to him, 'My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?' But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.' Many are invited, but few are chosen." —Matthew 22:12-14   This is a season of invitations. As the end of October approaches, many of us will be invited to Halloween parties and numerous parishes will send out information about special All Saints’ Day and All Souls Day services remembering those who have died in the past year. Then, only a short time later family and friends will begin making plans for Thanksgiving. Few of us will have a chance to take a breath before the invitations begin to roll in for the pre-Christmas parties. It almost seems natural, then, that our Gospel this Sunday is a parable that begins with an invitation to a party. In this passage, Jesus tells t...

 " He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?'" —Matthew 20:13-14 Even before the outbreak of the pandemic-when employment and economic uncertainty weren't as widespread as they are now-it wasn't uncommon to see groups of men and women standing in groups in the parking lots of hardware and home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowes. I never gave them much thought until a friend explained who they were: these were day laborers who were hoping that a contractor or someone needing help with a home repair project would hire them for the day or, at the least, for a few hours.   These people are continuing a tradition that is found in nearly every culture and, as we see in this Sunday's Gospel , was certainly common in Jesus’ day. One of my Salvatorian confreres who had worked in Arizona an...

Peter approached Jesus and asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” —Matthew 18:21-22 A Benedictine monk whom I greatly admire and who has also become a good friend through the years once said to me, “The kindest thing you can do for some people is to give them something to be angry about.” Although we laughed at his insight at the time, over the years I’ve realized there is truth in his words. Sometimes, some people just want something to be angry about. Sometimes we are just looking for a fight. Other times—and I’m guilty of this—we look for an excuse to justify the chip we already have on our shoulder. And, the fact of the matter is, we generally don’t have far to look to find something to be angry about. Anger is a reality in life. However, as we know, anger is like any other emotion and can ultimately be used for good or fo...

Jesus said to his disciples:  "If your brother sins against you,  go and tell him fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother."--Matthew 18:15 It can be easy for us to look back on the stories found in the gospels and imagine that those women and men listening to Jesus we ideal disciples, living in perfect harmony with one another. If we read the Acts of the Apostles and the letters of Saint Paul, however, we quickly realize that this idyllic community was never a reality. From the earliest days, the Church experienced divisions, disagreements, and dis-ease as believers tried to figure out how to live out the teachings of Jesus individually and as a community of believers. In fact, many of the difficulties we experience in our parishes or religious communities today are the same sorts of challenges faced by those first generations of Christians. The Gospel of Matthew was composed sometime around the year 85. By this time, the ...

“Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” —Matthew 10:29-31 In 1618, a young Jesuit from Diest, Belgium, traveled on foot to Rome to study at the famous Roman College. John Berchmans was, in many ways, an unremarkable young religious. The son of a shoemaker, his life was like that of other children of the working classes, but John’s natural intelligence helped him stand out from his peers and he was given an opportunity to study, which ultimately led him to religious life and to preparations for the priesthood. After distinguishing himself in philosophical studies, John was chosen by his superiors to take part in a public debate, but became ill before it had ended. As the young seminarian lay on his deathbed, he clasped his crucifix, his rosary, and the Jesuit Rule and said: “These are my three t...