Tag Archives: Jesus

Pope Leo XIV: Catechesis 7

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Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

Continuing in our reflection on the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium (LG), today we will look at the second chapter, dedicated to the People of God.

God, who created the world and humanity, and who wishes to save every man, carries out his work of salvation in history, choosing a real people and dwelling among them. For this reason, He calls Abraham and promises him descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore (cf. Gen 22:17-18). With Abraham’s children, after freeing them from slavery, God makes a covenant with them, accompanies them, cares for them, and gathers them together whenever they stray. Therefore, the identity of this people is given by God’s action and by faith in Him. They are called to become a light for other nations, like a beacon that will draw all peoples, the whole of humanity, to itself (cf. Is 2:1-5).

The Council affirms that “All these things, however, were done by way of preparation and as a figure of that new and perfect covenant, which was to be ratified in Christ, and of that fuller revelation which was to be given through the Word of God Himself made flesh” ( LG, 9). Indeed, it is Christ who, in giving His Body and His Blood, unites this people in Himself and in a definitive way. It is a people now made up of members of every nation; it is united by faith in Him, by adherence to Him, by living the same life as Him, animated by the Spirit of the Risen One. This is the Church: the people of God who draw their existence from the body of Christ [1] and who are themselves the body of Christ; [2] not a people like any other, but the People of God, called together by Him and made up of women and men from all the peoples of the earth. Its unifying principle is not a language, a culture, an ethnicity, but faith in Christ: the Church is therefore – according to a splendid expression of the Council – the assembly of “all those who in faith look upon Jesus” ( LG, 9).

It is a messianic people, precisely because it has Christ, the Messiah, as its head. Those who belong to it do not pride themselves on merits or titles, but only on the gift of being, in Christ and through Him, daughters and sons of God. Above any task or function, therefore, what really matters in the Church is to be grafted onto Christ, to be children of God by grace. This is also the only honorary title we should seek as Christians. We are in the Church in order to receive life from the Father unceasingly and to live as His children and brothers and sisters among ourselves. Consequently, the law that animates relationships in the Church is love, as we receive and experience it in Jesus; and her goal is the Kingdom of God, towards which she walks together with all humanity.

Unified in Christ, Lord and Saviour of every man and woman, the Church can never turn inwards on herself, but is open to everyone and is for everyone. If believers in Christ belong to it, the Council reminds us that “All men are called to belong to the new people of God. Wherefore this people, remaining one and unique, must extend to the whole world and to all ages, so that the intention of God’s will may be fulfilled, who in the beginning created human nature as one and wants to gather together his children who were scattered” (LG, 13). Even those who have not yet received the Gospel are therefore, in some way, oriented towards the people of God, and the Church, cooperating in Christ’s mission, is called upon to spread the Gospel everywhere and to everyone (cf. LG 17), so that every person may enter into contact with Christ. This means that in the Church there is, and there must be, a place for everyone, and that every Christian is called to proclaim the Gospel and bear witness in every environment in which he or she lives and works. Thus, this people shows its catholicity, welcoming the wealth and resources of different cultures and, at the same time, offering them the newness of the Gospel to purify them and to raise them up (cf. LG, 13).

In this regard, the Church is one but includes everyone. A great theologian described it thus: “The unique Ark of Salvation must welcome all human diversity into its vast nave. The only banquet hall, the food it distributes is drawn from all of creation. The seamless garment of Christ, it is also – and it is the same thing – the garment of Joseph, with its many colours”. [3]

It is a great sign of hope – especially in our times, traversed by so many conflicts and wars – to know that the Church is a people in which women and men of different nationalities, languages and cultures live together in faith: it is a sign placed in the very heart of humanity, a reminder and prophecy of that unity and peace to which God the Father calls all his children.

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[1] Cf. J. Ratzinger, The New People of God, Brescia 1992, 97.

[2] Cf. Y. M.-J. Congar, A Messianic People, Brescia 1976, 75.

[3] Cf. H. de Lubac, Catholicism: A study of dogma in relation to the corporate destiny of mankind (Catholicisme: Les aspects sociaux du dogme).Ca

3rd Week of Lent: a School for Catechumens

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This 3rd week of Lent is an important week for people entering our church and participating in its sacraments. It’s a school for catechumens seeking Baptism;  others are receiving sacraments. Three readings this week are especially important:  the story of the Samaritan woman, the story of Naaman the Syrian, and then, Luke’s account of Jesus visit to Nazareth. 

The Samaritan woman, who meets Jesus at Jacob’s well, is an important teacher for those approaching the church and its sacraments. It’s a story so important that the liturgy recommends this gospel be read in place of another gospel this week, if it’s not read on Sunday.

Like the Samaritan woman, we are people of our own time and place, with our prejudices and deep desires. Like her, Jesus leads us gradually to a new understanding of who we are and what we are called to be. Like her, he promises us living water. 

What does “living water” mean? Baptize in living waters, the early baptismal rituals say. They forbid baptism in stagnant water. Why? Stagnant water goes nowhere. Living water brings us to all life, to all creation, to a greater life. It’s not a water that restricts; this water makes us grow.  

For the Jews the Jordan River was living water. Entering the Jordan at his baptism Jesus empowered it with new life. His Spirit entered the waters. Just as water once flowed out in four rivers over the whole world – according to the Book of Genesis – the waters of the Jordan flowed out over the world after Jesus was baptized.  

Monday’s reading recalls Naaman the Syrian. Like the Samaritan woman, he was not a Jew. He came somewhat skeptically to the waters of the Jordan to be cleansed of his leprosy. Not only was he cleansed of leprosy, but he came to new knowledge: “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.” Like the Samaritan woman, Naaman received the gift of faith. 

The stories of Naaman and the Samaritan woman are great stories for reflecting on the mystery of the church, baptism and the sacraments. 

Why do we catechize and baptize people entering the church and her sacramental life during Lent? Because Lent leads to the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Living water came from his side at his death. Blood and water from his side gave life to the Church and her sacraments. 

During this third week of Lent, the gospel of the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth is also read. (Monday) The story is important because it presents “the scandal of the Incarnation.” Jesus was rejected at Nazareth as the carpenter, Mary’s son. Those who enter the church and participate in her sacraments will face a similar “ scandal of the Incarnation.”

The church is a complex reality, Pope Leo said in a recent address, it is a reality of saints and sinners. We have to live in that reality.

Leaven of the Pharisees, Leaven of Herod;Mark 8:14-21

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Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod. …
Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened?…
Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? Do you still not understand?”      

(Mark 8:14-21)

Harsh words of Jesus to his disciples. They occur, not early in Mark’s Gospel, but as they prepare to go up to Jerusalem, after many miracles Jesus has done and many times he has taught. Yet they do not understand.

Is this still true for his disciples today? Mark’s Gospel reminds us how much, like them, we don’t know.

How should we guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod? I suppose that means the corruption that can take place in religion and in politics. We live in an imperfect world. 

If Mark is writing in Rome –and I think he is– he would have to be careful about criticizing the government, especially in the wake of Nero’s persecution. Mark writes more of the scribes and pharisees who oppose Jesus. He speaks less about Herod; he has to be discreet. 

So every time I hear about Herod and the Herodians in Mark’s Gospel I hear him talking about Nero and Rome’s rulers. His description of John the Baptist’s death and the absurd circumstances that brought it on– Herodias’ vindictiveness, Herod’s care for his reputation, the cowardly compliance of his court– are not limited to that event from the time of Jesus. Mark is alluding to Nero’s cruel attack on the Christians of Rome who, like John, were innocent. 

When he tells the story of the passion of Jesus Mark is also telling the Christians of Rome their story. Jesus was there with them. Jesus is there with them.

Let’s not stop at the early Christians of Rome, however. He’s also talking to us in our world.

Scripture and Tradition

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Here’s Pope Leo latest reflection of the documents of the Second Vatican Council at his Wednesday audience yesterday, on the important subject of scripture and tradition:

“Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

Continuing our reading of the Conciliar Constitution Dei Verbum on Divine Revelation, today we will reflect on the relationship between Sacred Scripture and Tradition. We can take two Gospel scenes as a backdrop. In the first, which takes place in the Upper Room, Jesus, in his great discourse-testament addressed to the disciples, affirms: “These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. … When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth” (Jn 14:25-26; 16:13).

The second scene takes us instead to the hills of Galilee. The risen Jesus shows himself to the disciples, who are surprised and doubtful, and he advises them: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations … teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20). In both of these scenes, the intimate connection between the words uttered by Christ and their dissemination throughout the centuries is evident.

It is what the Second Vatican Council affirms, using an evocative image: “There exists a close connection and communication between sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture. For both of them, flowing from the same divine wellspring, in a certain way merge into a unity and tend toward the same end” (Dei Verbum, 9). Ecclesial Tradition branches out throughout history through the Church, which preserves, interprets and embodies the Word of God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (cf. no. 113) refers, in this regard, to a motto of the Church Fathers: “Sacred Scripture is written principally in the Church’s heart rather than in documents and records”, that is, in the sacred text.

In the light of Christ’s words, quoted above, the Council affirms that “this tradition which comes from the Apostles develops in the Church with the help of the Holy Spirit” (Dei Verbum, 8). This occurs with full comprehension through “contemplation and study made by believers”, through “a penetrating understanding of the spiritual realities which they experience” and, above all, with the preaching of the successors of the apostles who have received “the sure gift of truth”. In short, “the Church, in her teaching, life and worship, perpetuates and hands on to all generations all that she herself is, all that she believes” (ibid.).

In this regard, the expression of Saint Gregory the Great is famous: “The Sacred Scriptures grow with the one who reads them”. [1] And Saint Augustine had already remarked that “there is only one word of God that unfolds through Scripture, and there is only one Word that sounds on the lips of many saints”. [2] The Word of God, then, is not fossilized, but rather it is a living and organic reality that develops and grows in Tradition. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, Tradition understands it in the richness of its truth and embodies it in the shifting coordinates of history.

In this regard, the proposal of the holy Doctor of the Church John Henry Newman in his work entitled The Development of Christian Doctrine is striking. He affirmed that Christianity, both as a communal experience and as a doctrine, is a dynamic reality, in the manner indicated by Jesus himself in the parables of the seed (cf. Mk 4:26-29): a living reality that develops thanks to an inner vital force. [3]

The apostle Paul repeatedly exhorts his disciple and collaborator Timothy: “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you” (1 Tim 6:20; cf. 2 Tim 1:12-14). The Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum echoes this Pauline text when it says: “Sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the word of God, committed to the Church”, interpreted by the “living teaching office of the Church, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ” (no. 10). “Deposit” is a term that, in its original meaning, is juridical in nature and imposes on the depositary the duty to preserve the content, which in this case is the faith, and to transmit it intact.

The “deposit” of the Word of God is still in the hands of the Church today, and all of us, in our various ecclesial ministries, must continue to preserve it in its integrity, as a lodestar for our journey through the complexity of history and existence.

In conclusion, dear friends, let us listen once more to Dei Verbum, which exalts the interweaving of Sacred Scripture and Tradition: it affirms that they “are so linked and joined together that they cannot stand independently, and together, each in their own way, under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they contribute effectively to the salvation of souls” (cf. no. 10).”

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[1] Homiliae in Ezechielem I, VII, 8:  PL 76, 843D.

[2]  Enarrationes in Psalmos 103, IV, 1

[3] Cf. J.H. Newman,  An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, Milan 2003, p. 104.

David, the Penitent

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David, the Penitent, Getty, public domain

We’re reading at Mass from the Second Book of Samuel. The first 8 chapters describe David’s accomplishments as an ideal king. .

Chapters 9-20 of Second Samuel describe the darker side of David, culminating in his murder of Uriah and taking his wife Bathsheba. The Prophet Nathan accused him of sin, promised him God’s mercy, but also told him he must face the consequences of sin.  

The consequences? David’s own son Absalom betrays him and turns the people against him. Pursued by his son he escapes from Jerusalem over the Mount of Olives and meets a relative of Saul who curses him and throws rocks at him. The king humbly accepts it all. 

A penitent David recognizes his own sin and its consequences in this incident. In refusing to stop the man David recognizes he must bear the burden of sin, not only his sin, but the sin of the world: 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    ‘Suppose the LORD has told him to curse David; who then will dare to say, ‘Why are you doing this?…Perhaps the LORD will look upon my affliction and make it up to me with benefits for the curses he is uttering this day…’ David and his men continued on the road, while Shimei kept abreast of them on the hillside, all the while cursing and throwing stones and dirt as he went.”

We read the Old Testament to hear the promises God makes to Israel in spite of her sinfulness and infidelity. Yet, let’s not forget sin has consequences, as this story makes clear. Do the consequences there match the bad news we face in our time. Like David our penance is to believe in God’s mercy, but also to bear hopefully sin’s consequences .

The church makes David’s prayer for mercy its own: 

Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.

  In your compassion blot out my offence.

O wash me more and more from my guilt

  and cleanse me from my sin.

My offences truly I know them;

  my sin is always before me.

Against you, you alone, have I sinned;

  what is evil in your sight I have done.

That you may be justified when you give sentence

  and be without reproach when you judge,

O see, in guilt I was born,

  a sinner was I conceived.

Indeed you love truth in the heart;

  then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.

O purify me, then I shall be clean;

  O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me hear rejoicing and gladness,

  that the bones you have crushed may revive.

From my sins turn away your face

  and blot out all my guilt.

A pure heart create for me, O God,

  put a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from your presence,

  nor deprive me of your holy spirit.

Give me again the joy of your help;

  with a spirit of fervour sustain me,

that I may teach transgressors your ways

  and sinners may return to you.

O rescue me, God, my helper,

  and my tongue shall ring out your goodness.

O Lord, open my lips

  and my mouth shall declare your praise.

For in sacrifice you take no delight,

  burnt offering from me you would refuse,

my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.

  A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.

In your goodness, show favour to Sion:

  rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Then you will be pleased with lawful sacrifice,

  holocausts offered on your altar.

Glory to the Father and to the Son,

  and to the Holy Spirit:

as it was in the beginning, is now,

  and will be for ever. Amen.

 Look to Christ!  Come closer to him!  

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Pope Leo spoke about Christian Unity at the close of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity today, January 25th:  

My dear friends, every year the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity invites us to renew our commitment to this great mission, bearing in mind that the divisions among us – while they do not prevent the light of Christ from shining – nonetheless make the face which must reflect it to the world less radiant.

Last year, we celebrated the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.  His Holiness Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch, invited us to celebrate the anniversary in İznik, and I give thanks to God that so many Christian traditions were represented at that commemoration two months ago. 

 Reciting the Nicene Creed together in the very place where it was formulated was a profound and unforgettable testimony to our unity in Christ.  That moment of fraternity also allowed us to praise the Lord for what he accomplished through the Nicene Fathers, helping them to express clearly the truth of a God who drew near to us in Jesus Christ.  May the Holy Spirit find in us docile minds even today, so that we may proclaim the faith with one voice to the men and women of our time!

In the passage from the Letter to the Ephesians chosen as the theme for this year’s Week of Prayer, we repeatedly hear the adjective“one”: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God (cf. Eph 4:4-6). How can these inspired words not touch us deeply?  How can our hearts not burn within us when we hear them? 

 Yes, “we share the same faith in the one and only God, the Father of all people; we confess together the one Lord and true Son of God, Jesus Christ, and the one Holy Spirit, who inspires us and impels us towards full unity and the common witness to the Gospel” (Apostolic Letter In Unitate Fidei, 23 November 2025, 12).  We are one!  We already are!  Let us recognize it, experience it and make it visible!

As we look toward the 2,000th anniversary of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus in 2033, let us commit ourselves to further developing ecumenical synodal practices and to sharing with one another who we are, what we do and what we teach.

Lectionary and Saints

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Our daily liturgy gives us scriptures to read and saints to celebrate. This week in our lectionary we continue to read from the Gospel of Mark and the 1st Book of Samuel. Today we remember Fabian, an early pope and  martyr, and Sebastian, a soldier saint and martyr.  Tomorrow we have Agnes, a young girl and early martyr. 

Our lectionary readings are not chosen haphazardly. After the feast of the Baptism we began reading each day from the Gospel of Mark, the first of the gospels to be written, an appropriate reading for following Jesus as he begins his ministry in Galilee. 

The saints point out how others have followed him. . The three martyrs we remember this week are examples of some who were put to death in persecutions that took place in the early church. Fabian was put to death at the beginning of the Decian persecution (250) because he was a church leader. The Roman strategy was to kill church leaders and their followers would scatter. 

Sebastian was a soldier saint martyred in the Diocletian persecution. From what we know, Christians were highly regard by the emperor when he first came to power, but then he turned against them,  especially the officer class. Like Sebastian, many of them holding influential positions in the empire were put to death for their supposed disloyalty. 

Agnes was not killed in a general persecution like Fabian and Sebastian.  She died because Christians were legally vulnerable in the centuries before Constantine. The Romans were suspicious of them. Agnes a victim of a powerful Roman man who used the Roman judicial system to punish a young Christian girl who  would not let him have his way with her. 

   

A Remarkable Day: Mark 1:21-34

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Peter's mother in law
Rembrandt; Jesus Heals Peter’s Mother-in-law

Jesus’ ministry in Galilee begins with a remarkable day, a “paradigmatic day,” a day you can see everything you need to know about Jesus. That’s the day described in Mark’s gospel. A Sabbath day. (Mark 1:21-34)

Just before it, Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee and called Simon and his brother Andrew, then James and his brother John. “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They accompany him into that day. .

They enter the synagogue in Capernaum on a Sabbath Day and Jesus begins to teach. The people are amazed; no one has taught like him before. Then, as it happens through his life, evil appears. A man with an unclean spirit cries out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

The man with the unclean spirit is humanity helpless, fragile, beset by fear that it is forever in the hands of Evil.

Jesus rebuked him and said,“’Quiet! Come out of him!’ The man becomes a promise of humanity redeemed. The people who leave the synagogue tell everybody they meet. News spreads quickly in Capernaum, a trading center, and the day is still not over.

From the synagogue Jesus enters Peter and Andrew’s house in Capernaum where Peter’s mother in law is ill. “He grasped her by the hand, and helped her up and the fever left her. Immediately she began to wait on them.”

We shouldn’t dismiss this miracle or Mark’s simple observations: “He grasped her by the hand and helped her up.” In our drawing above, Rembrandt noticed that too. “She began to wait on them.” Now she was back, doing what she wished to do, feeding the others. A woman feeding others. A symbol of humanity restored. The mystery of the incarnation revealed in Judea at Christmas, now revealed in the miracles of healing in Galilee.

Again, the news spreads. “After sunset, as evening drew on, they brought all who were ill and those possessed by demons. Before long, the whole town was gathered outside the door. He cured many who were variously afflicted.” The whole world is represented in that crowd who come to the door to receive the Sabbath grace.

Truth and Life came to that town, and from that town other towns receive the promise: “ I must proclaim the good news to them too,” Jesus says.

Jesus confronts evil of all kind, wherever he goes. It won’t be long before leaders come from Jerusalem to question his authority to cure on the Sabbath. His own disciples and his own family do not understand him either. The towns that welcomed him, reject him. Still, he announces the good news.

To appreciate Mark’s remarkable day in perspective, try reading the gospels of these three days in our lectionary all a once. You can see Mark at his best, describing God’s beloved Son announcing the good news to the towns of Galilee and to the world as well. (Mark 1:16-39)

Calling Disciples:Mark 1:14-20

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DSC00036
James Tissot, Calling Disciples

Mark’s account of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee is succinct. John has been arrested and Herod, who rules in Galilee, is ready to behead him. Not a good time, in human thinking, to begin a ministry. Better wait, we say.

But this is God’s time, different from ours. The Good News is God’s message, not ours. God will act according to his plan, not ours. (Mark 1:14-20)

The call of the four fisherman, Peter, Andrew, James and John occurs by the Sea of Galilee in Mark’s gospel. For the Jews the sea, like the wilderness, was a dangerous place; storms unsettled it; unpredictable winds made it fearful. Even an inland body of water twelve miles long and six miles wide was something to be wary of. They made a living on it, but still the sea was a dangerous place.

Mark’s gospel wants us to understand the call of disciples takes place by the sea.

Jesus says simply, “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.” Mark’s Gospel sees the four fishermen with a lot to learn to be fishers of men. They slowly understand his call. Later on, twelve would be called, (Mark 3,13-19), still later their ministry would be explained. (Mark 6,7-13)

They keep learning, not something you learn in a book, or by yourself. “I will make you fishers of men,” Jesus said. “Come away by yourselves and rest awhile,” he said to his disciples who returned to him with reports of all they had done. (Mark 6,30ff) Every disciple has to learn what the call means for him and for her, and a great deal of it we learn with others. And a great t deal of that learning comes from prayer

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The Whole World Comes to a Manger

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A large painting of the Christmas mystery in the gathering space of St.Mary’s Church in Colts Neck, New Jersey, is worth a visit before its taken down soon. The artist commissioned to make the work evidently wants to expand the way we look at this mystery in the three panels he created. 

In the right panel the shepherds coming to the Child are not the usual band of men followed by their sheep. There’s one shepherd and two women and two children and a water buffalo and two other animals who look like they may be wild mountain goats. No sheep. 

Who are the women? The shepherd’s wife and maybe his sister? The women look like they’ve been summoned quickly from their homes. Did the shepherd call them to come  see what the angels proclaimed in the fields? Don’t worry how you look, and bring the kids. Come and see.

Are the animals representatives of the animal world waiting , like the human world, for the angels’ message?

In the left panel, the Magi, elegantly dressed, hold their gifts for the Child as they come from a star-filled sky. Their camels finally rest from the long journey. The three represent the young and the old, and the different races called by the star. 

In the central panel, Mary seated holds in her arms the Child whom she wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger after she gave him birth.  Joseph stands protectingly over them. They’re dark skinned and dark haired, yet it’s hard to tell what race they belong to. 

Two angels above them announce “Glory to God” and a star shines brightly over the cave dug into the mountain. 

A donkey eats the straw from the manger, and a sheep lays on the ground beneath the manger. Right at Joseph’s feet there a large pig. Why is  he there, so close to the Child?  

In those days pigs were unclean animals. The Jews refused to eat them. On a journey to Joppa, Peter had a dream in which God commanded him to eat all kinds of food. There’s no fool that’s unclean, God said. All creation is  made clean through the saving power of his Son.

The whole world is welcome to the Manger. 

Artists remind us we can never exhaust the mysteries of life and the mysteries of God. There’s always more.