Thanksgiving is a good time to remember our blessings, starting with Creation itself . I’m sure that was Noah’s prayer when God delivered him.
All-powerful God,
you are present in the whole universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that is.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor,
rescue the abandoned
and forgotten of this earth,
so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty,
not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts
of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, as we struggle
for justice, love and peace.
Pope Leo is going to Turkey this Thursday, November 27, to celebrate the 1700 years since the creation of the Nicene Creed. He will be joining Christian leaders from the eastern churches in the ancient city of Nicea,modern-day İznik. Then he will be traveling to Lebanon to visit the church in that country until December 2.
In a letter a few days ago, the pope urged the whole Church to renew her enthusiasm for this fundamental profession of faith that church leaders agreed on in Nicea in 325. The creed is not simply an old document that settled a problem of the past, the pope writes. It’s a “compass” into the future that can be “ understood in ever new and relevant ways.”
Pope Leo recommends a significant study by the International Theological Commission published December 15, 2024: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour. 1700th Anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea.
The document offers an enlightening history of the Creed as well as important suggestions for using it to confront the challenges we face in our world today. More than a summary of doctrinal propositions, the Creed is “an icon of words,” introducing us into the mystery of God.
Glory to that One Who came to us by His First-born. Glory to that Silent One Who spoke by means of His Voice. Glory to that Sublime One Who was seen by means of His Dawn. Glory to the Spiritual One Who was well-pleased that His Child should become a body so that through Him His power might be felt and the bodies of His kindred might live again. St. Ephrem the Syrian.
We celebrated the feast of Christ the King last Sunday. It’s hard to think of Christ as king in a world where kings are few, at least in our western world. Royal families, where they exist, have mainly ceremonial roles.
Yet, Jesus Christ is king, and what’s more we share in his kingly role. (Catholic Catechism 1546) We’re all priests, prophets and kings by our baptism. “We’re a “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a people set apart,” (1 Peter 2,5)
How are we kings? The illustration of Adam, from the Book of Genesis, may tell us. Adam is given kingly powers by God in the garden, the symbol of the created world. He names the animals and is caretaker of God’s creation.
Psalms, like Psalm 8 (Saturday Morning, week 2), remind us that’s our role: When I see the heavens, the work of your hands, The moon and the stars that you arranged, What are we that you keep us in mind,, Mortal as we are that you care for us.
Yet you have made us little less than gods, With glory and honor you crown us, You have give us power over the works of your hand, Put all things under our feet.”
This week’s readings from Daniel and Luke’s Gospel (Friday) seem to predict a world torn apart and discarded when God’s kingdom comes. But that’s not so. Creation itself awaits the promise of resurrection. Jesus Christ is our Savior and we are part of his saving work.
We have been given kingly care over creation. Let’s not forget it. We’re not here just to save ourselves nor is our purpose in life to escape from this world. We’re to care for creation and make it ready for God’s kingdom.
We read Luke’s Gospel this week, the 34th week of the year. Luke follows Mark’s Gospel closely in describing Jesus as he arrives in Jerusalem from Galilee, but he makes some simple, yet significant changes to Mark’s account.
Mark’s account says that Jesus went back and forth to Bethany each day while teaching in the temple in Jerusalem. Luke’s account doesn’t mention Jesus’ stay in Bethany at all. Jesus comes to Jerusalem to enter the temple of God.
The temple has great significance in Luke’s gospel. Earlier in his gospel, Mary and Joseph bring Jesus there after his birth. His identity is validated there. For Jesus the temple is his Father’s house, where he belongs. It’s his home, where he teaches with authority, confronts his enemies and gives hope to those like the poor widow.
In Luke’s extension of his gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, the temple is also significant because the church is born there. For Luke, a disciple of Paul, we are also the temples of God and the Spirit of God dwells in us.
In Luke’s gospel, Jesus teaches about the end times in the temple area about the end ; in Mark’s gospel he teaches about it from the Mount of Olives. Though the temple stones be cast down, Jesus is the cornerstone, and so when “ powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky,” he remains our Rock.
In this week’s readings, Luke adds some important words to Mark’s fearful account of the end time. The end is coming soon. Mark seems to say. The end waits “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled,” Luke’s account says.(Luke 21:24) The last times are delayed, not imminent. They will come at an indeterminate time, after the gentile world receives the gospel.
Yet, because Mark’s account was held by other followers of Jesus, Luke does not dismiss it.
Perhaps because the trees are shedding their leaves now in this part of the world, I notice another small change Luke makes to Mark’s gospel. “Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates” Jesus says in Mark. (Mark 13: 28-29)
Luke adds to the fig tree “and all the other trees.” (Luke 21:29-31) Why all the other trees? Was Luke adapting the message of Jesus to those forested regions in Asia Minor unlike Palestine, where creation in its many trees spoke of Word made flesh as well?
The gospel writers struggled with the great mysteries of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and tried to adapt it to their times and place. We struggle with these mysteries too.
Pope Francis, in a letter on the study of history, said we need to read the fundamental texts of Christianity and understand them without “ideological filters or theoretical preconceptions” . “A study of history protects us from ‘ecclesiological monophysitism’, that is, from an overly angelic conception of the Church, a Church without spots and wrinkles… A proper sense of history can help us develop a better sense of proportion and perspective in coming to understand reality as it is and not as we imagine it or would prefer reality to be.”
On November 24 Catholics celebrate the feast of Saint Andrew Dung– Lac and 117 other Vietnamese martyrs killed in the 18th century in a cruel persecution of Christians. Their martyrdom caused many non-Christians in their native land to inquire what made them so brave to endure such suffering and death. “The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity,” the early Christian writer Tertullian said.
Since their time, many others in Vietnam have bravely given witness to their faith in wars and long years of persecution. Christianity is now strongly rooted in that part of the world.
The joy of the martyr has always puzzled those who do not share their faith. How can someone be joyful in the midst of great torture and pain. Here’s a letter of Saint Paul Le-Bao-Tinh, one of the Vietnamese martyrs:
“I, Paul, in chains for the name of Christ, wish to relate to you the trials besetting me daily, in order that you may be inflamed with love for God and join with me in his praises. The prison here is a true image of everlasting hell: to cruel tortures of every kind – shackles, iron chains, manacles – are added hatred, vengeance, calumnies, obscene speech, quarrels, evil acts, swearing, curses, as well as anguish and grief. But the God who once freed the three children from the fiery furnace is with me always; he has delivered me from these tribulations and made them sweet, for his mercy is for ever. In the midst of torments, that usually terrify others, I am, by the grace of God, full of joy and gladness, because I am not alone – Christ is with me. I am not alone–Christ is with me.”
“Christ is with me. I am not alone–Christ is with me.” That’s the faith that enables Christians to enter the mystery of the passion of Jesus and know the joy of his resurrection. It’s a faith that explains the strength of the Church in Vietnam.
St. Clement of Rome is honored in an ancient church near the Colosseum that bears his name. It was probably built over his home. A wonderful place to visit when in Rome.
Clement is an important leader of the Roman church evolving after the death of the apostles in the 2nd century. He experienced a changing church, from apostles like Peter and Paul to charismatic preachers like Apollos to bishops. It was not an easy change for the various Christian communities.
As a leader of the Roman church, Clement appealed to the Corinthians in an important letter written around the year 95. Do what Jesus told his followers to do, he wrote, follow him as one flock follows its shepherd. Walk together. The church at Corinth was having troubles with its leadership.
Taking the Roman legions and the human body as examples, Clement urges the Corinthians to become one in Jesus Christ:
“Think of the soldiers who serve under our generals, and with what order, obedience, and submissiveness they perform the things which are commanded them. Not all are prefects, nor commanders of a thousand, nor of a hundred, nor of fifty, nor the like, but each one in his own rank performs the things commanded by the king and the generals. The great cannot subsist without the small, nor the small without the great. There is a kind of mixture in all things, and thence arises mutual advantage.
“Let us take our body for an example. The head is nothing without the feet, and the feet are nothing without the head. The very smallest members of our body are necessary and useful to the whole body. All work harmoniously together and they are under one common rule for the preservation of the whole body.
“In Christ Jesus let our whole body be preserved intact. Let every one of us be subject to his neighbor, according to the special gift bestowed upon him.
“Let the strong not despise the weak, and let the weak show respect to the strong. Let the rich provide for the wants of the poor; and let the poor bless God, who has given them what they need. Let the wise display their wisdom, not by mere words, but through good deeds. Let the humble not bear testimony to themselves, but leave witness to be borne to them by others. Let those who are pure in the flesh not grow proud of it and boast, knowing another has bestowed the gift of continence on them.
“Let us consider, then, brothers and sisters, of what matter we were made. Let us consider how we came into this world, as it were out of a grave, and from utter darkness: who and what manner of beings we were. God who made us and fashioned us, having prepared bountiful gifts for us before we were born, introduced us into this world.
“Since we receive all these things from God, we ought for everything to give God thanks; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Evidently, the problem of church leadership Clement addressed was not limited to Corinth. His letter was read in a number of other Christian communities at the time. The transition from apostles to bishops was not an easy one; the Roman church faced it as well.
Historians like Eamon Duffy see the Roman church originating in the large, thriving Jewish community in Rome that was concentrated in Trastevere and spread out to found numerous synagogues in the city– some of which evolved into early Christian house churches. Peter and Paul, who came to the city and were put to death there in the Neronian persecution ( 62-63 AD), were acknowledged and celebrated by these house churches as their leaders in faith.
“The Roman synagogues,” Duffy writes, “unlike their counterparts in Antioch, had no central organization. Each one conducted its own worship, appointed its own leaders and cared for its own members. The same way, the ordering of the early Christian community in Rome seems to have reflected the organization of the synagogues which had originally sheltered it, and to have consisted of a constellation of independent churches, meeting in the houses of the wealthy members of the community. Each of these house churches had its own leaders, the elders or ‘presbyters’. They were mostly made up of immigrants, with a high proportion of slaves or freedman among them–the name of Pope Eleutherius means ‘freedman’.”(Saints and Sinners. A History of the Popes. Eamon Duffy, Yale University Press, 1997 p 6)
Rome was slow to recognize a chief bishop, Duffy and other historians claim. Clement was later recognized in the list of popes, but more likely he was spokesman for the Roman house churches, representing an eminent church whose leaders were apostles, Peter and Paul. He was designated to write to the Corinthians urging them to unity under their bishop.
Pope Francis wrote a letter encouraging historians to tell the story of the church in the context of its time and place. The story of the papacy needs to be told that way. The papacy as we know it emerged slowly. San Clemente and Saints John and Paul nearby are two Roman house churches from the early Christian period. Visit them if you’re in Rome. They have stories to tell.
The Presentation of Mary in the Temple, November 21, is an ecumenical feast originatingin Jerusalem in the 6th century. A new church, honoring Mary, was built for pilgrimsby the Emperor Justinian near the ruins of the Jewish temple. Tradition said Mary was born nearby. Other early traditions place her birthplace inNazareth or the neighboring city of Sepphoris.
Artists like Giotto supported the Jerusalem tradition by their popular portrayals of Mary introduced into the temple by Ann and Joachim, her mother and father. (above)
Luke’s gospel may support the Jerusalem tradition by noting that Mary’scousin Elizabeth was married to Zechariah, a temple priest. Luke also says Mary and Joseph were familiar visitors to the temple. Forty days after the birth of Jesus , they went there “when the days were completed for their purification,” (Luke 2,22) Theybrought Jesus to the temple as a child to celebrate the feasts. For Jesus the temple is“my Father’s house.”There is no direct scriptural support that says Mary was born and raised in Jerusalem, however.
This feast celebrates Mary’s gift for “listening to the word of God and keeping it.” (Luke 11:28) For Mary the temple was always a place of God’s presence. In the temple she learned to see that God was everywhere, in Nazareth, Bethlehem, even on Calvary.(cf. John 4, 22-26) “You are the temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells in you,” St. Paul reminds the Corinthians. (1 Corinthians 3, 16)
St. Paul of the Cross, founder of the Passionists, was greatly devoted to this feast because he began his 40 day retreat to discern God’s will on this day. He experienced God’s call to found a community during those holy days. Afterwards, he dedicated the first retreat of his congregation on Monte Argentario to the Presentation of Mary and returned there year after year to renew the grace he received then. St. Vincent Strambi, his biographer, writes:
“Whenever possible, Paul kept the feast in the Retreat of the Presentation. How often, even when old and crippled, he would set out from the Retreat of St.Angelo, traveling over impassible roads in the harsh days of November, to Monte Argentario, where he would celebrate the feast with great recollection. It would be difficult to describe the days he spent there. His heart seemed to melt like wax in a fire because of his love for the Mother of God and his gratitude towards her.As the feast drew near he was so full of joy that the air around Monte Argentario seemed to breathe a sweetness similar to what the prophet Joel describes: “On that day, the mountains will drop down sweetness and the hills flow with milk.” On the day of the feast, he seems totally penetrated with tender devotion.Even on his deathbed, he recalled, “The day of the Presentation was always a holy and solemn day for me.”
Please pray for the Passionists, the community he founded that, like Mary, the Mother of God, we may hear God’s word and kept it.
Today many young people are not baptizing their children or offering them much religious formation. “Let them decide for themselves.” Introduce your children to your religious tradition from their earliest years, this feast says. Get them familiar with their church. That’s what the parents of Mary did. They prepared her for the coming of the Angel and the presence of her Son.
“Where is the temple where you learn to hear God’s word?’ we have to ask ourselves.
As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace– but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. The first thing he does as he arrives at the city, Luke’s Gospel today says. Looking over our world today, we weep too.
Luke’s Gospel begins today with these words “While people were listening to Jesus speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the Kingdom of God would appear there immediately.” (Luke 19:11)
His journey to Jerusalem, nearly complete, Jesus tells a parable to those who thought the Kingdom of God was to appear immediately when he reached the city. It’s a parable about a nobleman who went off to a distant country to obtain a kingdom and then return.
The nobleman, of course, is Jesus himself who speaks of his own resurrection “to a distant country”. His followers will remain with gold coins in their hands and the command to “trade till I come.”
It seems strange that the servant Jesus so strongly condemns is the one who seems so cautious. “ Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief.” But this servant is afraid of the time he’s living in and does nothing.
In Luke’s time, this servant was like those whom Paul warns in his Letter to the Thessalonians. Disappointed because they see Jesus’ promises unfulfilled, they do nothing. Or like the disciples on the way to Emmaus, shocked by a crucified Lord and his death, they head to hide in the safety of their own homes.
In our time, who might this servant be? We are living in a world where promises, human and divine, seem unfulfilled. Shall be do nothing? What’s the gold coin in our hand?
The Victor's Place 