Monthly Archives: July 2010

Saint Ignatius of Loyola

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Click here for today’s Scripture readings.

Jeremiah 26:11-16, 24
Matthew 14:1-12

Few religious orders in the Catholic Church, east and west, have contributed to the mission of Christ, the advancement of scholarship and science, and the promotion of justice and compassion as have the Jesuits. Whenever I find myself in circles dedicated to social justice and social charity, I find young people who have been trained in Jesuit universities. Some have served as Jesuit Volunteers. Many have devoted hours of their time to doing service. They accompany the poor and share a simple lifestyle. I admire the sacrifice and the love of Jesuit and Passionist Lay Volunteers. It is an honor for me to write a bit about this great saint, Ignatius of Loyola.

Saint Ignatius lived at a time of upheaval and incredible change. Although much is written about his life as a soldier and his conversion, and even more is penned about his spirituality and apostolic creativity, I find myself moved by two things. First, Ignatius identified with the naked beggars of his day. Formerly a man of military power, Ignatius was able to see Christ in the powerless. He moved away from the center, engaged the margins of Reformation Europe, and helped forge the renewed Catholicism of early modern Europe.

Ignatius and his companions did not limit themselves to Europe. He sent Saint Francis Xavier to Asia. Jesuits came to New France and committed themselves to an heroic lifestyle. This willingness for adventuresome ministry and innovative new beginnings was rooted in the second thing I like about Saint Ignatius. He was a sensitive man, a man of tears. These expressed his deep longing for intimacy with Christ crucified and his profound mystical awe before the mystery of God.

We live in a new era, a time of tears. It is time to take the crucified peoples of the world down from the cross of poverty and powerlessness. The world needs mercy and compassion. It cries out for deliverance through partnerships of fair exchange for rural farmers and new jobs for urban teenagers. The world needs tenderness as people gather to share faith, to break bread, and to soothe the bruised feet of working people. The world needs peace rooted in Isaiah and Daniel and fortified by those doing public advocacy and creating communities of reconciliation. The saintly legacy of Saint Ignatius still lives and inspires. Thanks be to God.

Father John J. O’Brien is a Passionist priest involved in preaching, teaching, writing, and service. He may be addressed at jobrien@cpprov.org

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Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

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Jeremiah 26:1-9
Matthew 13:54-58

Remember your Mother, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” and other wise sayings?  Was she right about all of them?  All the time?

Jesus appeared very openly and plainly in the presence of the people of his native place, and this time they would have been wise to “judge the book by its cover.  These people kind of ignored the cover of this book, ignored the authenticity of Jesus’ demeanor, his facial expressions, his eyes.  This Gospel doesn’t tell us the motive of the townspeople, but it does tell us that chose to judge Jesus by what and who they expected him to be,  “Is not he the carpenter’s son … Where did he get all this?”   Over-trusting in what they knew about his earthly origins, they passed up the truth of who he was, “A prophet is not without honor except …”

Might we ever behave this way?  Undoubtedly. We probably make mistakes on both sides – the prejudices of “reading books by their covers” and the prejudices of not letting people be who they really are because we knew them when – or do we just think we did?  Another possibility is that we ourselves are the ones who have suffered being put in a box and unwelcomed because people think they know who we are.  In this way we know the suffering.  Our own compassion is aroused.

Among the many messages and blessings, the Gospel writer offers us in today’s story is the ever-present challenge to abandon prejudice. And that’s a challenge!  Let us rather find joy in the newness and uniqueness of each person in each situation. Let us make all things new.  Let us pray and work to welcome the ordinary with openness and freedom and to be faithful to the freshness of each new day.  A smile always helps in these situations.

Sister Mary Clark, SC is a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill, who lives at Elizabeth Seton Convent in Pittsburgh, PA

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Martha, Martha

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Jeremiah 18:1-6
Jn 11:19-27 or Lk 10:38-42

We celebrate the feast of Martha today. She was certainly a woman of many gifts. Practical, a woman who got things done? Yes, certainly. She must have been the one who ran the house that Jesus visited often in Bethany. And fed him well.

But she was also a woman of faith. We can see it when her brother Lazarus dies. She is the one who goes out to meet Jesus and strongly professes her belief in his power over life and death. “ I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus says, “Do you believe this?” Her answer is simple: “Yes, Lord, I believe.” She is the voice of faith.

There’s a wonderful humanness in Martha. She scolds her sister for not helping and her Guest not backing her up. She hurries to bring Jesus to the place of tragedy and when he raises her brother from the dead she’s probably the one who arranges a big thanksgiving meal

The Gospel of John has higher purposes in mentioning Bethany, Lazarus, Martha and Mary. They are part of the series of signs that point to the Word made Flesh who brings life to the world. But it’s a real world that the Word entered, a human world, and Martha helps us see it so.

Fr. Victor Hoagland, CP is the Director of Passionist Press and a member of the Passionist Community in Union City, NJ.