The world is currently focused on a virus that we call Covid-19. There has also been a spiritual virus that has afflicted humankind and infected everyone of the human race from the beginning of time until Jesus returns in glory. The virus is damaging both personally and corporately. The virus? Pride!
Hosea in the first reading at Mass today [Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12] states “Israel is a luxuriant vine.” The word “luxuriant” means rich or wealthy. But it can also mean that the society and nation is “empty.” The virus (sin) of pride has made people feel that they can live their lives independent of God or without listening to what God has spoken to them through the prophets. History has always proven this type of thinking as destructive to a society. As it will eventually for the nation of Israel in the time of Hosea.
Pope Francis in his exhortation about the joy of the gospel, Evangelii Gaudium, reminds us of the truth that Hosea was speaking to the people of his nation:
86. In some places a spiritual “desertification” has evidently come about, as the result of attempts by some societies to build without God or to eliminate their Christian roots. In those places “the Christian world is becoming sterile, and it is depleting itself like an overexploited ground, which transforms into a desert”…. Yet “it is starting from the experience of this desert, from this void, that we can again discover the joy of believing, its vital importance for us men and women. In the desert we rediscover the value of what is essential for living; thus in today’s world there are innumerable signs…of the thirst for God, for the ultimate meaning of life. And in the desert people of faith are needed who, by the example of their own lives, point out the way to the Promised Land and keep hope alive. In these situations we are called to be living sources of water from which others can drink.
In the gospel at Mass [Matthew 10:1-7], Jesus calls his 12 apostles and invites them on mission. We need to remind ourselves of Jesus’ call to us and our sharing in His mission of “make this proclamation,” ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand.” (v.7) The Preface at Mass when we celebrate Christ the King has the most concrete description of Jesus’ Kingdom. It is a kingdom of truth and life, holiness and grace, justice, love and peace. What does it mean to proclaim these qualities and to build our world around them?
Truth and Life: The catechism begins with these words, “The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself.” Psalm 63 reminds us of our hunger and thirst for God whether we recognize it or not:
You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
Saint Augustine has summarized this thought with the statement that our hearts are restless until they rest in thee, O Lord. To live and to proclaim this truth about life, Isaiah 55 invites us to put God back into our lives and into the center of our society and nation:
All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare.
Justice, Love, and Peace: With the demonstrations that have been occurring, often there have been signs stating, No Justice, No Peace. The focus of this statement and the demonstrations have been the use of force by police against people of color. Justice also includes the dignity of each person. If the dignity of each person is not respected, then there is no peace. The bishops in a document about the economy written around 1986 stated that society is evaluated based upon on how the least among us are doing. We have witnessed the high mortality rate due to Covid-19 of the elderly in the nursing homes. The situation of these vulnerable population was enhanced when governors used the nursing homes for Covid-19 patients who needed ventilators and critical care. Abortion has always been a disrespect of the dignity of very least among us. I read in an article that stated that between 2012-2016, there were about 136,000 abortions of African-American babies in New York City while there were only about 118,000 African-American babies born. No justice, no peace. I have always tried to follow the seamless garment idea when dealing with life issues. If God is the author of life and we are not, then we have to respect all lives, regardless of age, health, crimes they have been convicted of, etc. The seamless garment idea can challenge some of our beliefs.
Holiness and Grace: Life is all about grace, the life of God working inside of us.
Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. [Ephesians 3:20-21}
If we truly believe this fact, then holiness and grace require us to give God the credit and to be thankful.
An elephant broke loose from a herd and charged across a little wooden bridge that stretched across a ravine. The worn-out bridge groaned, barely able to support the weight of the elephant. Once the animal was on the other side of the ravine, a flea that had lodged itself in the elephant’s ear exclaimed with satisfaction, “Boy, did we shake that bridge!”
In today’s gospel [Matthew 9:32-38], Jesus heals a man who is both mute and possessed:
A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.
With the healing, Matthew’s gospel will shift its focus to Jesus mission. He has taught the Kingdom values in Matthew 5-9; Jesus has manifested His authority to teach by the various miracles over nature that He has performed. Now is the time of mission. He will pick His apostles (followers – us!) and then goes about the proclamation of the Kingdom of God.
We probably don’t identify with the deaf man who was possessed. But we should. In baptism, we were freed from the grasp of satan by the forgiveness of our sins. As part of the baptismal ritual for infants there is an exorcism prayer. For adults seeking baptism, there are scrutiny rituals celebrated at Mass during the season of lent. While the word “exorcism” brings to mind all sorts of Hollywood movies, there is a spiritual truth about being born with original sin. But once we are baptized, our mission is to join the apostles in proclaiming the Kingdom of God. We continue Jesus’ mission in the world.
As baptized Christians, our lives are one of conversion and mission. As we mature in our faith, we understand Jesus’ teachings better. Examining and evaluating our lives from the perspective of a deeper understanding of our Christian faith, we are called to acknowledge our sins and failures. As one author stated, to live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed much.
Currently, we are experiencing an unprecedented call to change in our nation and in our world. After the call to change, where is the call to return to God? There are a lot of accusations about past sins. But the procession to the One from whom we can receive forgiveness of our sins is missing. Maybe that is why Jesus in today’s gospel also states:
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest."
When we were baptized we were anointed as priests, prophets, and royal (kingly) people. Saint John Paul II mentioned that to be a “king” is a call to service:
If…being a king" is truly possible only by "being a servant" then "being a servant" also demands so much spiritual maturity… In order to be able to serve others worthily and effectively we must be able to master ourselves, possess the virtues that make this mastery possible. Our sharing in Christ's kingly mission-… is closely linked with every sphere of both Christian and human morality.
As a prophetic people, we remind others that our call to conversion and the realization of a vision for a better, more just world requires God to be intimately involved in the peoples’ and nations’ lives. As one author stated:
Prophets insist that we cannot recreate or transform our world while we ignore the God who created us and the voice of God that speaks to us. The message of the prophet is that of humility
The fact that we are called to speak out as a prophetic people is mentioned frequently by various statements from the popes. Saint John Paul II called for a “new evangelization,” a re-evangelization of Christian nations and peoples. Where once the faith was lived with great fervor, that fervor has died out. Too many people live as if God were incidental to their daily lives. For instance, in a document about the vocation of the laity in the world, the Church states:
Vocation and Mission of the Laity: The Church is sent to continue the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, which "by its very nature concerns the salvation of humanity, and also involves the renewal of the whole temporal order”… The "world" thus becomes the place and the means for the lay faithful to fulfill their Christian vocation, because the world itself is destined to glorify God the Father in Christ. … The lay faithful, in fact, "are called by God so that they, led by the spirit of the Gospel, might contribute to the sanctification of the world, as from within like leaven, by fulfilling their own particular duties. Thus, especially in this way of life, resplendent in faith, hope and charity they manifest Christ to others"
Bishop Robert Barron published a book titled Saints and Sacraments. He named St. Claire of Assisi as the “saint” associated with the Eucharist. Her fervent prayers before the Blessed Sacrament helped save the town of Assisi from foreign invaders. At the end of the chapter, Bishop Barron includes some of the comments that other saints have made regarding the Eucharist. I share with your some of those statements. I pray that it will invigorate, or re-invigorate, our love and desire for the Body and Blood of Christ.
Saint Maximillian Kolbe: If angels could be jealous of men, they would be one reason: Holy Communion.
Saint Maximillian Kolbe: You come to me and unite yourself intimately to me under the form of nourishment. Your blood now runs in mine, your soul, Incarnate God, compenetrates mine, giving courage and support. What miracles! Who would ever have imagined such!
Saint Damien of Molokai: The Blessed Sacrament is indeed the stimulus for us all, for me as it should be for you, to forsake all worldly ambition. Without the constant presence of our Divine Master upon the altar in my poor chapels, I never could have persevered casting my lot with the lepers of Molokai, the foreseen consequences of which begins now to appear on my skin, and is felt throughout the body. The Holy Communion being the daily bread of a priest, I feel myself happy, well pleased, and resigned in the rather exceptional circumstance in which it has pleased the Divine Providence to put me.
Saint John Vianney: All good works together are not equal value with the Sacrifice of the Mass, because they are the works of men, and the holy Mass is the work of God. Martyrdom is nothing in comparison; it is the sacrifice that man makes of his life to God; the Mass is the sacrifice that God makes to man of His Body and of His Blood.
Saint John Paul II: To evangelize the world there is need of apostles who are ‘experts’ in the celebration, adoration, and contemplation of the Eucharist.
Saint Teresa of Kolkata (Calcutta): Jesus has made Himself the bread of life to give us life. Night and day, he is there. If you really want to grow in love, come back to the Eucharist, come back to that adoration.
Saint Faustina: This Bread of the Strong gives me all the strength I need to carry on my mission and the courage to do whatever the Lord asks of me. The courage and strength that are in me are not of me, but of Him who lives in me – it is the Eucharist.