Year A

Jan 16 2025

The Faces of Holiness

In an interview, the Dalai Lama talked about the importance of recognizing one quality that all the world religions share as a common value—the virtue of compassion. This virtue is held up for imitation by all the major religious tradi tions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. It helps us to view each other with respect and appreciation.

Today’s feast invites us to think about all the holy men and women who have opened their lives to God’s grace and have embodied compassion in the world over the centuries. From the early days of the church the names of the martyrs were mentioned during Eucharist. Today we can remember all the holy ones who have touched our lives—men and women, family and friends, canonized and uncanonized saints over the centuries.

The last book of the Bible, Revelation, written at a time of persecution, offers us a symbolic vision of the end time when a multitude from every nation, race, people, and tongue will be gathered together. These are the ones who have been sealed as true servants of God and will sing an eternal song of salvation. We hope to be part of that jubilant chorus.

In the meantime, we are surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses who urge us on to complete our task of living as beloved children of God, to live out the plan of the kingdom Jesus preached in the Beatitudes, and to be a presence in the world of God’s Spirit.

Consider/Discuss

Who are some of the saints who have touched your life over the years? • Are there any “living saints” in your life now?
Which of the Beatitudes best speaks to you as a way to holiness at this time?

Responding to the Word

We may give thanks to God for the call to holiness we have heard in our own hearts and include the names of those who have shown us what it means to be holy. Ask the saints to continue to intercede for us so that we will be faithful in our efforts to bring about the kingdom of heaven.

Jan 16 2025

Scripture Study for

In John’s vision, the sign-bearing angel comes from the east, the place of the rising of the sun and the direction from which salvation is expected. The destroying angels are told to cease their destructive actions so that the vast assembly can be sealed with the seal of God and, presumably, preserved from the suffering that these angels bring to the earth. The second scene takes place in the divine throne room in heaven, where a multitude from every nation, race, people, and tongue is gathered. This multitude consists of those who survived the distress of the end of time because they were purified through the blood of the sacrificial Lamb.

It is a generative love that the Letter of John describes; it is transforming; it makes all believers children of God. Everything that happens in the lives of believers is a consequence of their having been recreated as God’s children. As children of God, they are new realities and, therefore, they are not accepted by the world, the old reality. Having been made children of God, they are promised an even fuller identification with God. They are also promised the ultimate vision of God, a vision that is denied believers “now” but is promised for “later.”

The instruction known as the Sermon on the Mount was meant for Jesus’ close followers, not for the broader crowds. All the teachings of Jesus are in some way directed toward the establishment of the reign of God. However, the values that he advocates in the Beatitudes are frequently the opposite of those promoted by society at large. Perhaps the way to interpret them is to look first at the blessings promised. We may then see that the values are indeed at odds with what society says will guarantee the blessings that we seek. It is clear that every Beatitude invites us to turn the standards of our world and our way of life upside down and inside out.

Jan 16 2025

Be Good News

A friend told me she had been the last in her family to stop going to Mass on Sundays. Her siblings had long since given it up. The reasons had a great deal to do with the quality of church leadership they experienced. Too much outward show of authority, too little indication of inner sanctity. Dispensing official teaching is not enough; living humbly and as a servant is the heart of ministry. The harsh words of the prophet Malachi seem more relevant than ever in our day. When we priests fail to walk in the way of Christ, fail to give glory to God’s name by what we do, we become unworthy of our calling to serve God’s people. Of course, this kind of behavior is not limited to clergy. Jesus is speaking to the crowds and disciples about the Pharisees, the lay leaders who saw themselves as “separate” from the rest because of their outward signs of piety. He also calls them to authentic lives.

“The greatest among you must be your servant,” Jesus says, a message he repeats again and again in the Gospels. His followers are as resistant to it now as they were then. But the faithful follower is not about titles, or ecclesiastical dress up, or posturing in self-importance. Discipleship in the kingdom that Jesus came preaching is about being brothers and sisters who gather around Jesus Christ, the one Master, who humbled himself and waited for God to exalt him. May the same goal be ours.

Consider/Discuss

What is your experience of those called to shepherd God’s people?
Do you pray for your priests, your bishops, the Holy Father?
Is humility a practical virtue in our world today?

Responding to the Word

We pray for all who hold positions of leadership and authority in the Church, that they not only speak but embody the gospel in their lives. We can ask God to raise up more men and women who will instruct by example and words and who will walk humbly in the way of the Lord.

Jan 16 2025

Scripture Study for

Malachi denounces the priests of Israel who have not only defiled their office but have also led the people astray with their faulty teaching. The honor given God’s name by the nations is in sharp contrast with the dishonor accorded it by the priests. The command given the priests includes a threat of the punishment that will be exacted if is not followed. The reading does not tell us whether or not the priests took this condemnation to heart. For us it serves as a reminder that privileged positions within the community bring with them serious responsibilities. Failure to fulfill these responsibilities will meet with drastic consequences.

The metaphor of the nursing mother characterizes the deep affection Paul has for his converts. This image also effectively exemplifies apostolic self-giving. Both the mother and the missionary spend themselves with no thought of receiving anything in return other than the satisfaction of having given themselves out of love. Paul and his companions were within their rights to expect hospitality from their converts. However, they chose to forgo this prerogative. Instead, they proclaimed the gospel as they saw fit, asking for nothing in return. The recompense they receive for their ministry is the religious maturity of their converts, and for this they are grateful to God.

Jesus issues a scathing denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. While he recognizes the authenticity of their office, he criticizes them for the obvious disparity between what they teach and how they live. He criticizes their method of interpreting the law and their love of praise. In their zeal to honor the law, they placed heavy burdens on the people, and they did nothing to alleviate their weight. Furthermore, they used outward displays of devotion to garner deferential treatment. Jesus insists that such pomposity has no place among his followers. He warns that those who exalt themselves now will experience ultimate humiliation; those who humble themselves now will enjoy ultimate exaltation.

Jan 16 2025

Living in God

In an article on “successful aging” (New Theology Review, November, 2010), Dr. Lawrence M. Lenoir proposes that the art of giving and receiving love is at the heart of growing old gracefully. Research shows that being in a loving relationship quiets the demons of depression and despair. So, if you want to be healthy, be loving. Jesus would agree.

The rabbis of Jesus’ day argued about which was the greatest commandment of the six hundred thirteen in the Torah. When the Pharisees asked Jesus, he answered that what God wanted most from the chosen people who had been liberated from slavery and called to live in a covenantal relationship was a return of the love God showed to them. This love has two faces: loving God totally and loving one another as one loves oneself.

Loving is a contagious activity. If you are loved, you tend to be loving. Paul is sounding this note when he writes to the Thessalonians about how they became imitators of him and his fellow evangelizers Timothy and Silvanus, and of the Lord himself, receiving the word and living in faith, joy, and love for each other, because they believed in God’s love for them, revealed in Christ.

Our love must flow outward in compassionate generosity. The Lord called on Israel to show its love by not oppressing aliens, not wronging weak orphans and defenseless widows, and not extorting the poor by demanding interest on loans. No less is asked of those who have received the Holy Spirit and live in community with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That’s us. Love one another.

Consider/Discuss

What do you think God wants most from you?
Does anything prevent you from responding to God’s love with all your heart, soul, and mind?
Who is the neighbor who most needs your love at this time?

Responding to the Word

It is difficult to love, especially when we have been hurt by others. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring you the “fire of God’s love.” Call on the Spirit to deepen your awareness of God’s love for you, shown by giving us life and the gifts of faith, hope, and love.