Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 135

Reading 1

Amos 8:4-7

Hear this, you who trample upon the needy
 and destroy the poor of the land!
 "When will the new moon be over," you ask,
 "that we may sell our grain,
 and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat?
 We will diminish the ephah,
 add to the shekel,
 and fix our scales for cheating!
 We will buy the lowly for silver,
 and the poor for a pair of sandals;
 even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!"
 The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
 Never will I forget a thing they have done!

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8

R. (cf. 1a, 7b) Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise, you servants of the LORD,
 praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
 both now and forever.
R. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
High above all nations is the LORD;
 above the heavens is his glory.
Who is like the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high
 and looks upon the heavens and the earth below?
R. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
 from the dunghill he lifts up the poor
to seat them with princes,
 with the princes of his own people.
R. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2

1 Timothy 2:1-8

Beloved:
First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers,
petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,
for kings and for all in authority,
that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life
in all devotion and dignity.
This is good and pleasing to God our savior,
who wills everyone to be saved
and to come to knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God.
There is also one mediator between God and men,
     the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself as ransom for all.
This was the testimony at the proper time.
For this I was appointed preacher and apostle
— I am speaking the truth, I am not lying —,
teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray,
lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.

Alleluia

Cf. 2 Corinthians 8:9

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Though our Lord Jesus Christ was rich, he became poor,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Luke 16:1-13

Jesus said to his disciples,
"A rich man had a steward
who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,
'What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
because you can no longer be my steward.'
The steward said to himself, 'What shall I do,
now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.'
He called in his master's debtors one by one.
To the first he said,
'How much do you owe my master?'
He replied, 'One hundred measures of olive oil.'
He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.'
Then to another the steward said, 'And you, how much do you owe?'
He replied, 'One hundred kors of wheat.'
The steward said to him, 'Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.'
And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.

"For the children of this world
are more prudent in dealing with their own generation
than are the children of light.
I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,
so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
is also trustworthy in great ones;
and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?
No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and mammon."

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

Have you ever heard the saying, “Do what you say and say what you mean?” In other words, just knowing something and acting upon that wisdom are two different things. Having wisdom is not enough. It must be used to influence our actions and speech. The world can be a harsh place, and it can become more unforgiving for those people who do decide not to pursue wisdom or use it to their advantage. Knowing and loving Jesus Christ is obviously important to our faith, but it doesn’t end there. What we know needs to be put into action and be allowed to shape our lives. A decision-making process lacking the influence and knowledge of Jesus Christ is lacking and defective from the start.

 

There are many traditions and customs in Christianity. There are also religious holidays and observances that we are required to do, along with an abundance of prayers which add richly to the overall Christ Experience. All these things, coupled with Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church, are intended to influence our lives and guide us into the proper direction, all the while inviting us into a relationship with our God. If we do not take the time to know what all of these things mean and we do not use them for their intended purpose, then the impact that they can have on us both spiritually and mentally can easily be lost. We then become ignorant to that one thing that we are asked to believe in: Our God. Just doing the right thing is not enough. We must have a full understanding of what we are doing and why. Obligations cannot be made just because we were told to do it. God does not want us to think or act that way. Instead, He wants us to want to do all these things because we want to. The more that we conduct ourselves this way, the deeper our love and dedication to God will be the result.

 

Jesus wants us to be on fire with our faith. In the Book of Revelation, He spoke to the Church of Laodicea:

 

“I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot.* I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

 

This is a rebuke for those who do not put faith into action. We cannot say one thing but do another. That is not what a relationship is all about. An encounter with Jesus Christ is an invitation into a relationship with the Trinity and a spiritual journey that will ultimately lead to eternal life. The journey to our destination is meant to start now, with Jesus Christ at our side and the Holy Spirit in our hearts. It is through the Holy Spirit that we experience the Love of God and it is through a relationship with Jesus Christ that we encounter Our Father. This cannot even be contemplated if we do not find ourselves in the right mindset to listen and put the wisdom that we gain into action. An analogy that comes to mind is that of a man looking out the front door of his house into a treacherous thunderstorm that has rolled in. The rain is beating down heavily. He knows that if he does not put on a raincoat, he will be soaked in a matter of seconds. Yet, he complains that he does not want to wear the raincoat because it is uncomfortable and he doesn’t like the way it looks. Eventually, he shrugs his shoulders and steps out into the rain without the jacket, thinking that maybe he won’t get wet. Just because we don’t want to do something or act a particular way, doesn’t mean that what we were supposed to say or do wasn’t the right thing. We can easily be that man: knowing that we should be doing something, but ignoring it in favor of an easier way even thought we know there is no benefit, the former being the best choice all along.

 

Jesus said, “Remain in me and I will remain in you.” This is a promise of a true relationship that Jesus made to all of us. The Apostle Paul codified this by even going a little further: “The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure, we shall also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.” The term, “dying with Him,” paints a very powerful picture: If we profess to follow Jesus and keep Him close to our hearts, mirroring that with an adherence and reaction to what is being said, then the spiritual experiences that we have will be unmatched in their intensity and their commonality. Living a life with Jesus Christ will have a direct effect on our conduct, thoughts, and overall action. This is as long as we are open to this effect and do not instead push it way in favor of material distractions and material things.

 

The Parable of the Dishonest Steward gives us all a reminder that we all have to be on our guard and also not to take a relationship with God for granted. We are surrounded by evil and disordered desires. Society, the dwelling place of Satan, is overflowing with temptations of the flesh, sin, and a brokenness that can easily suck us in, blowing us off the better path into the darkness of a life without our creator. We cannot just ignore the things of this world that might be dangerous to us or can possibly lead us out of a relationship with God. We must understand how things work to survive through them. We do not have to like these things or promote them. We must be aware of them and understand what they are: a distraction and things that will pull us into damnation. Yet, it is good to acknowledge their existence and understand them. That does not mean that we should  partake in them, but instead make them powerless by not engaging them. Awareness is the first step to becoming fully victorious over them. We can then become another man, one who puts on the rain jacket when it is raining outside To know one’s enemy is the first step to defeating it in battle.

 

Ultimately, it is up to us to decide who we collaborate with and engage with. By knowing what we already know, we can start building a solid foundation on which to live our lives. We can then become unafraid of delving deeply into a relationship with God unafraid of the consequences and unafraid of the world around us.

 

Deacon Tom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Lectionary: 638

Reading 1

Numbers 21:4b-9

With their patience worn out by the journey,
the people complained against God and Moses,
"Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,
where there is no food or water?
We are disgusted with this wretched food!"

In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said,
"We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.
Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us."
So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,
"Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live."
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 78:1bc-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38

R. (see 7b) Do not forget the works of the Lord!
Hearken, my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable,
I will utter mysteries from of old.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
While he slew them they sought him
and inquired after God again,
Remembering that God was their rock
and the Most High God, their redeemer.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
But they flattered him with their mouths
and lied to him with their tongues,
Though their hearts were not steadfast toward him,
nor were they faithful to his covenant.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
But he, being merciful, forgave their sin
and destroyed them not;
Often he turned back his anger
and let none of his wrath be roused.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!

Reading 2

Philippians 2:6-11

Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

 

 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
because by your Cross you have redeemed the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel

John 3:13-17

Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

The Tree of Life centered in the Garden of Eaden is seen by us as the Cross of Christ. We were created by God and it is God who continues to give us life, regardless of the impact of Original Sin upon His creation and on us. Our turning away from God and perchance to sin through the exercising of our free will, has already been remedied through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. The Cross stands as a constant reminder that God, in His infinite wisdom, has already offered us the hope and solution to our disordered ways which have made that which was created perfect imperfect. Throughout all eternity, Jesus Christ has always been the answer to everything that was defective through our own faults, the original one being our wantonness to be gods ourselves, exercising that which was given to us as a precious gift to the evilest of ends: our will.

 

God has always wanted one thing from us: To love. God so loves us that,

 

 

“He gave his only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him might not perish

but might have eternal life.”

 

We are further reminded of this through the Gospel reading today. Jesus removes all doubt of why He was sent into this world. There was to be no condemnation, but an opportunity for salvation. The Word becoming flesh marks a full revelation of the Divine Plan and Beatific Vision; a culmination of all things throughout eternity itself. Jesus Christ has always been central to that plan and central to our destiny, be it with Him or without Him. He is the one thing that is constant in an ever-changing world.

 

The healing power of Jesus Christ in our lives is offered to us without limitation. It only takes a turning to Him and acceptance of Him into our hearts. Jesus stipulates this in His proclamation today. There is a prerequisite belief that needs to come from us, which can then clear the way for Jesus to enter our lives. Through this faith, there will naturally come a surrendering of our will in favor of the will of God. Just as Jesus became obedient to death on a cross, we are encouraged to become obedient to God, living the life of Jesus Christ. When we become obedient and live out our faith through our thoughts and actions, our lives will then become aligned with God and we will cease from resisting that which we know is true: God knows best and doing His will is far better than trying to fulfill those things that our will would prefer to do.

 

Today being the Feast Day of the Exultation of the Cross, we are reminded that the Cross of Christ needs to be lifted high in our lives. Its importance to us should mirror the importance it has to all of creation. Where it was in the Garden of Eden should be where it is in our hearts. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians,

 

 “We proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and utter foolishness to the Gentiles,”

 

so too must we proclaim it in our lives as Christians. We must also follow the example of actions, surrendering to Him and adhering to His words. Walking with the Crucified Christ, means that we are also carrying our own crosses, bearing the weight of all things that overwhelm us. Our sins are included, all of which will be removed by Him when His journey is completed. So was He crucified, so are our sins and mortality crucified. So as He was resurrected, we become Children of the Resurrection with our sins washed away in His blood. We are then new creations and are afforded all benefits that come with our birthright, being God’s Children.

 

The joy and happiness of the Resurrection cannot be experienced without the agony and pain of the Cross. Jesus proclaimed that He was the gate that leads to the Father. It is through Him that all need to journey to encounter the Father and enter into relationship with Him. A relationship with Jesus comes first, urged on and solidified through the presence of the Holy Spirit, which then ultimately leads to the Father. The Cross is the key to all of these occurrences and is the key that unloads the way to salvation for us, all of mankind, and all of God’s creation.

Deacon Tom

FURTHER REFLECTION ON THE EXULTATION OF THE CROSS

 

(My Catholic Life.com)

 

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, also known as the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross, commemorates three historical events: the discovery of the True Cross in 326, its initial exaltation for public veneration in 335, and the recovery of the Cross from the Persians in 628. Nowadays, this feast also celebrates the boundless impact of Christ’s Cross upon all of creation.

The Edict of Milan, issued in 313, granted religious freedom across the Roman Empire. This was a mutual agreement between Roman Emperors Constantine I in the West and Licinius in the East. Before this edict, Christians had endured various state-sponsored persecutions over the prior two and a half centuries.

After the Edict was signed, from 314 to 324, Constantine and Licinius were in continual conflict. The tension escalated when Constantine accused Licinius of plotting against him. In 324, Constantine defeated Licinius in battle and subsequently executed him on charges of conspiracy. This made Constantine the sole ruler of the Roman Empire, including Jerusalem, which had previously been under Licinius’s control.

In 326, Constantine’s mother, Saint Helena, a devout Christian, embarked on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Her mission was to identify significant sites from Christ’s life and establish churches at those locations. In Jerusalem, she aimed to find the True Cross and to build a church over the sites of Mount Calvary and Jesus’ tomb, known as the Holy Sepulchre. Upon identifying Mount Calvary and the empty tomb, she discovered three discarded and buried crosses. After an investigation, the local bishop confirmed they were the crosses used to crucify Jesus and the two thieves. Since Helena did not know which cross was Christ’s, she arranged for a sick woman to touch all three. The woman was immediately healed upon touching one of them, indicating that it was the True Cross.

Following the discovery of the True Cross, Mount Calvary, and Christ’s tomb, Emperor Constantine ordered the construction of a church to encompass these sites and house the True Cross. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was erected and dedicated on September 13, 335. As the legend goes, the following day, Christ’s Cross was brought outside the newly built church for the faithful to venerate. Thus, the first showing, or Exaltation of the Holy Cross, might have occurred on September 14, 335. Over the next three centuries, because liturgical celebrations were not widely centralized, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was likely celebrated annually in Jerusalem and varied in other ecclesiastical jurisdictions.

In 614, the Persians invaded Jerusalem and took the True Cross as a trophy. The Persians, primarily followers of the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism, were not Christians. Allowing the Holy Cross to remain in their possession was seen as sacrilegious. Eight years later, in 622, Eastern Roman Emperor Heraclius initiated military campaigns to recapture Jerusalem and the True Cross. Finally, in 628, he triumphed, and the following year, Emperor Heraclius entered Jerusalem with the True Cross, restoring it to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. After that, the Feast of the Holy Cross became a universal celebration within the Church, starting in Rome and subsequently spreading throughout the entire empire, and has been celebrated annually on September 14 ever since.